<p>The financial aid package just barely meets the FAFSA EFC which is way beyond affordable for us. I will call the F.A. office and plead our case and see what happens. But if the Ivies only meet EFC, how do middle class people afford to pay for an Ivy League school?</p>
<p>My S has been awarded merit aid at some highly-regarded non-Ivies - is this where everyone in our position ends up? He is a National Merit Finalist and Scholar, does this have any pull in getting more aid at an Ivy?</p>
<p>I'd like to be able to keep the Ivies he was accepted to in play, but it does not look possible. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Yes, they can be affordable! I am currently enrolled at UPENN and paying tons less than my fafsa EFC. My suggestion would be to do exactly what you said and call the Financial Aid Office. I am considered "middle class" and Penn became very affordable for me. I would try to explain your entire situation because financial situations can be very different even for people making the same income.</p>
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<p>is this where everyone in our position ends up? >></p>
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<br>
<p>"ending up" at a good school where your financial need is met is not the worst thing in the world. You are making it sound like the Ivy League is the only place that is not "ending up". Re: EFC...I will venture here that many many folks feel their EFC is more than they want to or can spend on college costs. This is especially true for the middle income families. If you truly want the Ivies for your student, and the EFC is what it is...than try to figure out a way to make it work for your family.</p>
<p>it depends on what you consider middle class, the cost of living in your area, and whatever expenses your family finds yourself with. i foudn that my schools didn't meet my college board profile estimate, ie they gave me less htan i expected. however, if you read my other threads you may not consider me middle class, but trust me, i will be significantly in debt upon graduation despite getting a 16k or full grant to need merit based scholarship and I'm praying my parents are approved for loans (due to the fact they are heavily indebted anyway). in my situation i got accepted to a few quite prestigious schools (i didnt apply to any ivies tho)
this all being said, i feel it is worthwhile for me to go into debt so i don't have to go into a community college or rutgers, both totally opposite of the small, intimate, learning environment i wanted (basically i knew i wanted an lib arts college). and I really like Lafayette the college that is giving me its top scholarship. so i know lafayette is not an ivy (although the quality of education appears to be quite high if you ask me or you look at its grad shcool placement) but i will find a way to get to an expensive private college.</p>
<p>anyway, good luck and i hope you have better packages than i am faced with.</p>
<p>
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But if the Ivies only meet EFC, how do middle class people afford to pay for an Ivy League school?
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</p>
<p>All of the ivies meet 100% demonstrated need.</p>
<p>Cost of attendance - EFC (expected family contribution - what the family pays) = demonstrated need. Keep in mind that your FAFSA EFC may not be your actual EFC because the FAFSA simply qualifies you for federal aid (pell grants, subsidized/unsubsidized stafford loans, perkins loans. etc.) as each school requests either the CSS profile or their own FA form.</p>
<p>First, conduct a thorough review of the Profile to make sure you completed everything correctly and did not overstate any items. Do you have any unusual situations, such as high unreimbursed medical expenses, or caring for your elderly parents? If so, let the colleges know.</p>
<p>as sybbie notes, the efc is what your family is expected to contribute. Schools that meet 100% of need (as calculated by THEM), meet the rest of COA.</p>
<p>At schools that meet 100% of need, is it typical that they also have a student summer earnings portion and student self-help portion? Yale's was $6200 and will increase for the class of 2011. Even if the school says the family's contribution=EFC, these student portions must be added back to calculate the total true cost to the family.</p>
<p>Meeting 100% of demonstrated need has become quite clear to us with an Ivy package. I have no problem paying the EFC as determined by the Profile and the school's formula whatever that may be. Well, actually I do but I can deal with it. I also think that a Stafford loan of 3500 plus workstudy is not out of line in the package. What I do have a problem with is the additional $7000 in loans.</p>
<p>"But if the Ivies only meet EFC, how do middle class people afford to pay for an Ivy League school?"</p>
<p>There are several ways:</p>
<ol>
<li>Change your life style - live as frugally as you can(e.g. not change cars, less eating out, getting rid of cable, cell phones and lattes, drive less). Any middle class person can very easily cut down the expenses by 10% without changing the lifestyle by much.</li>
<li>Postpone your retirement.</li>
<li>Tap in to your assets fixed or liquid.</li>
<li>Get loans</li>
<li>Have a non-working spouse? - send him/her to work.</li>
<li>Make the kid earn few thousand dollars.</li>
</ol>
<p>I think many times the barrier is psychological. Look at it this way. Let us suppose your kid was not smart. Would you still have paid for his/her college eduation at a state college?</p>
<p>If the answer is yes than all you are looking is the gap between your EFC and the cost of the state college.</p>
<p>Once the kid is in college you can easily save 3-4k/yr. About 2-3 k in your child's living expenses and 1k from uncle sam even if you don't qualify for tuition tax credit or life time learning credit. If you do, it could be more.</p>
<p>First, congratulations. You obviously have a very accomplished son.</p>
<p>I basically agree with thumper1 and simba--you have to set your priorities. However, I would urge you to consider whether it is really that important for S to attend an Ivy. As an NMF, he can get a full, DI athletic quality ride in the honors programs at some fine state schools (although at this point, he'd probably need to do a gap year, but I'm not sure). Think about it--mightn't both you and he be better off if he did that and you set up a trust fund for him with half the money that you saved? (I know, that is a very unCC way of looking at things).</p>
<p>It is doable if you have savings set aside for your child's college education which approximates your EFC. If you are doing it totally out of current income then it may be a problem to cover current living expenses and your EFC without a lot of parent debt. I think the Ivies and other schools which meet 100% of your demonstrated financial need expect you to meet your EFC from savings, current income and parent loans.</p>
<p>Again, I believe we should pay the EFC, and the student should borrow the maximum Stafford each year and take advantage of the work study component. What I have trouble with is the notion of loans in addition to that.</p>
<p>Really, no, it is near impossible for mid class to afford ivies. ppl like us are too rich for FAFSA but to poor for 100% tuition. Screw the ivies with their expensive tuitions...goto a mid-top tier school and get the same job, learn the same amount, and pay a lot less than those rich kids.</p>
<p>I think that if you invest some of your disposable income for college (I know easier said than done) from the time your children are young, say infancy and toodlers, then you will have enough to cover the EFC and let the student cover the student portion of the EFC and the reasonable level of loans and work study it should not be that hard. Target a dozen or so local outside scholarships to replace loans annually and lessen work study hours. Let the university know if you have ANY special financial circumstances. Also, try to minimize your income junior year of high school...no over time, second jobs (I quit mine), hold the bonuses...monetary gifts to student should be put in parents name or a 529 plan. It can be done, with a little planning; we are middle class $80K-$100 depending on the number of projects/jobs/clients, and will be sending our D to an Ivy. Pay off as much consumer debt as possible before senior year of high school, (I'm still working on this one).<br>
Frankly, I was too afraid not to save, my goal was to save enough for a state school and it worked out fine. We would be in big trouble if not for the college fund begun 16 years ago, it is really a life saver, and I only saved about $150 per month (automatic deduction from checking) after putting an initial few (like $2K-$3K) thousand dollars in the account and had about another $3k from relatives added over the years. That is my humble opinion, again investing saved us, big time!</p>
<p>I think that if a typical middle class family made college tuition its top priority, it could probably be pulled off. For example, suppose the bank is willing to make a mortgage loan with payments up to 28% of your gross income. Most middle class families will spend the full 28% if it means that the kids won't have to share bedrooms. Instead, what if you spent only 18% of your gross income for a house that was much smaller? If you saved and invested the other 10%, that would add up to quite a lot over 20 years.</p>
<p>Similarly, most middle class parents hire a baby sitter once in a while and go out to dinner or wherever. It does wonders for marital relations, but if you took the same money and invested it, it would probably add up to quite a lot over 20 years.</p>
<p>Another area that costs a lot of money is activities. You can easily spend $3 or $4k per year on music lessons, soccer swimming, and religious school, and church/synagogue membership. Again, if you saved and invested all that money, it would really add up.</p>
<p>I bet if you ruthlessly scrimped and saved, you could have enough money saved up to pay for 1, possibly 2 ivy league educations. Your kids would probably have developed some interesting attitudes about money. And if you have 3 kids, you're still screwed. But there it is.</p>