Some of them explicitly ask if the parents are divorced.
what is different about this thread than the other one linked here?
yea my dad said i get 90% off tuition but he still has to pay taxes on the discount they give, so i guess it ends up being less than 90? he says he can afford it
thanks for the help everyone!
Are you your father’s dependent? Some schools make tuition remissions available to children of employees only if the employee is the custodial parent or takes the child as a dependent on taxes.
Should OP attend NYU s/he will receive a 90% tuition benefit
However, should OP attend a school other than NYU, OP would be eligible for the portable tuition benefit og
Academic Year 2015 – 2016: $5,860 per year for 4 years.
https://www.nyu.edu/employees/benefit/full-time/Administrators-Professionals-Code-100.html
The challenge is that getting in to NYU is not a slam dunk. As others have stated, if you plan to go some place other than NYU or or you don’t get admitted to NYU, you need a financial safety.
Looks like the dad had to be claiming the child as a deduction for all years that the student would be using the benefit.
@gray7time Do your parents know and agree that your dad would be claiming you as a dependent for those 4 years if you got into NYU and went there? If your mom has been the one claiming you, make sure she understands that she will be losing that tax deduction.
The benefit is worth it to YOU, but who knows how your mom will react to that. She may already feel like she’s struggling with you and your sibling with a much lower income than the household that your dad lives in. Divorced parents can sometimes get weird about such things.
AND…if you go to ANOTHER univ and your dad wants to use that 5800 portable towards the costs, then he will have to claim you as a dependent for those four years as well.
Be sure that your mom understands and accepts this.
my mom must be aware of this, because she is also encouraging me to apply so i get my dads discount. i dont think she will be upset about it because our relationship would stay the same and she will still have custody of my brother and sister, but i will talk to her about this. and this would only happen in the case that i get rejected/ cant afford my early decision school.
Or if you want the ~$6k to use as tuition toward the #1 school. Your mother probably doesn’t know the details of NYU tuition benefit or the grant you can use at another school. The devil is in the details.
I would NOT be surprised to find out that your mom has NO IDEA about the “deduction claims”. That is not something that most people would know about. A person just hears, “tuition discount for children,” without knowing the “fine print”.
Tell your mom that during those four years, your dad will be obligated to claim you as a dependent on his taxes …not OLNY if you go to NYU, but ALSO if you go elsewhere and get that $6k for another school.
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this would only happen in the case that i get rejected/ cant afford my early decision school.
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NO!!! This will ALSO happen if you go to ANOTHER school because of that $6k that NYU will give for you to go elsewhere.
Make sure she knows that. None of us want to see you posting next Spring saying that you’re screwed because your mom won’t let your dad claim you on his taxes. Believe me, we have seen all kinds of posts every spring because parents throw monkey wrenches into the process.
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i dont think she will be upset about it because our relationship would stay the same and she will still have custody of my brother and sister,
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You don’t understand how this will affect how much tax she has to pay. You’ve already said that she can’t afford to help with college, so money is tight for her. If so, then she won’t be happy losing the ability to declare you on her taxes.
This could cost her money. And if you’re living with her during summers and winter break, she may be even more annoyed that she’s supporting you, but not getting to take the deduction
While yes, the devil is in the details, one must remain cognizant of the big picture. While mom may be losing the tax deduction and tax credits, if she is not in a position to contribute a lot of money especially if OP should attend NYU, with a 90% tuition break from dad, then it is going price to pay. NO need to be penny wise and $ foolish. If dad’s plan is covering the 90% he will most likely have to pay the 10% to get the tax credit for paying for college. Mom and dad could also hopefully pool their resources so that OP could live on campus. It seems like an excellent deal if you can make it work.
The financially prudent thing to do is find something to love about NYU. What is your dream school? What will they offer that NYU does not? If I were a parent with a good tuition plan, and NYU is pretty much putting golden handcuffs on their employees by making an offer they could hardly refuse, you might have to come up with a pretty compelling reason not to attend especially if your parents can’t afford or refuse to pay for the dream school.
Good luck to you in this endeavor.
Closed per the request of the OP.