Didn’t the OP say it was her NET income that was $45K?
Oh wait— mom2collegekids already pointed that out. Sorry to repeat.
Yes…she said net…but what IS her AGI? She doesn’t have to tell here…but if somehow it was below $50,000…we’ll…then that could put her in the position to qualify for simplified needs.
Then again…maybe she simply has too much in assets to qualify…and too much to qualify for significant need based aid,
adjusted gross Income
She is asking what your AGI is.
@gearmom and @DadTwoGirls , there are, as you know, PROFILE schools that are still very generous with merit $. We paid less for one of our s’s undergrad to a PROFILE school than it would have cost to send him to our instead Flagship.
@jym626 I’m putting all the poker chips for high merit $ on DS3. He could have the stats.
Ack autocorrect. *instate flagship
With a net income that low, much might depend on the type of the other assets - how they are treated by each school.
If most of the $450K is invested in the primary residence - even in a 2 family home where the family lives in one side and rents the other out - earning the $45K, then Profile Schools may treat it differently than if it were invested in cash or mutual funds. There is no hard and fast rule as all schools seem to keep their formula secret. But if the school does not treat home equity as an asset in their formula, then perhaps a significant chunk of those assets would be exempt from consideration.
Rule of thumb used to be a full needs met school (like Columbia) expects 20% of income and 5% of assets. If they protected $250K of the assets, it might be conceivable they’d expect anywhere from $19K and up - which would seem quite a bargain.
It’s hard to imagine the income before taxes will be that much higher considering the tax bracket.
Probably lots of expenses related to maintaining/repairing/updating rental properties can be written off and reduce taxable income.
Your responses are confusing.
Re:post 102…are you saying your AGI is under $50,000? Or what?
***just look on your 2016 tax return…look at your AGI. Is it be.ow $50,000? Please answer in a full sentence.
It is hard to give you even sort of good suggestions with information that is sent in chunks.
And again…if the assets are a huge issue…you may need to reconsider Profile Schools that will most definitely consider those assets. Simply put, the schools are not going to give you need based aid so that you don’t have to use a portion of your assets…or so that you can own secondary real estate. Those Profile schools are giving you their institutional money.
The fafsa really calculates primarily your eligibility for federally funded need based aid.
Your kiddo could apply to University of Chicago. They use only the fafsa, and a short form of their own. So THERE qualifying for the simplified needs test would be beneficial. At many other private colleges that use the Profile…the assets will be considered.
Did you have capital gains from investments ?
Yes AGI is below 50K, in assets 2 rental properties valued at 80k each plus around 400K in brokerage acc
Did you have profits from stock sales? Because with conservative investments, as you mentioned, less than half your income seems to com from interest on investments. Am assuming the rest comes from the rental properties. Are we missing anything?
@gearmom The real question when it comes to big merit is where does the student stand after they cross the stat threshold. Stats are the bottom rung of the merit ladder in terms of competitive merit. In terms of this thread, the extreme competitiveness of large $$ merit at top schools needs to be highlighted. The OP hasn’t posted any info outside of basic stats, so recommendations are really based on unknowns. Her Dd may have national writing awards, etc that will increase her competitiveness and large non-automatic merit may make some schools affordable. But, if schools with guaranteed merit were applied to as real possibilities, it would mean some affordable options without all desired outcomes hinging on small percentage outcomes.
@pamelamk This list shows the schools that use the Profile. https://profile.collegeboard.org/profile/ppi/participatingInstitutions.aspx They will include the rental properties and the brokerage acct and some will include the equity of your primary residence.
Have you run the net price calculator for the schools on your list?
Are your financially comfortable with the results.
The reality is that she was really not presented any financially feasible options.
The financial safeties (Florida publics, where her D can get bright futures is are schools that D does not want to attend).
There were recommendations as to where D can get merit, but they do not seem amenable to those suggestions.
Everyone seems to be getting caught up on her FAFSA like if the family meets the simplified needs threshold that they are going to get all of this money. Even if she is eligible for simplified needs, with an income boarding close to $50k, the reality is that :
- The family is not going to get a lot of money in federal aid, definitely not full Pell. You are talking about maybe $1k plus a $5500 loan.
- The overwhelming majority of FAFSA only schools do not meet 100% demonstrated need
With the rental property and investments, the family would not be able to file a 1040A, but are choosing to file the long form, so on face they will not even be eligible for the simplified needs test.
The schools with the most generous resources will ask for either the profile or their own financial aid forms.
D has crafted a list where those schools will look at your assets. Even at schools that meet 100% demonstrated need, may end up costing more than the family is comfortable paying. Even if grandma is willing to help pay, any monies paid on D’s behalf for school is going to be income on the financial aid forms next year (netting them less financial aid)
I agree with @Mom2aphysicsgeek that it will be hard for her to get competitive merit at the more selective schools because she will be one of many.
A dream school is not a financial nightmare. There is an excellent education to be had at many schools, if family keeps an open mind. They need to have a realistic talk about $$ especially how much they are realistically able to pay or borrow for her to attend school.
Family can’t lose sight of the fact that **D will go to college. **
A select private school is not a reward for doing well in high school, especially one that is unaffordable. Her "reward’ for doing well is the fact that she has affordable options if she is willing to embrace them.
So your AGI IS be,ow $50,000. Right?
That being the case, you would need to qualify for a means tested benefit to qualifynfor the FAFSA simplified needs test since you can’t file a 1040A or 1040 EZ tax form…and you are not displaced workers.
But remember, this is for FAGSA purposes ONLY.
I would (as others have suggested) strongly urge you to look at schools where your kiddo will qualify for significant merit aid. That is not income or asset dependent. But yes…this will mean that a number of top 20 schools will be off the table.
Maybe you said this…but have you set a firm net cost budget with your kiddo?
I believe someplace you said you could pay $25,000 a year. This should be very helpful with your instate public universities…look at honors colleges there too.
from bright futures here in FL with her stats she will qualify for almost a full ride, if not 100%, but she doesn’t want to stay in FL, she wants to go out of state in the NE, I was hoping she could get some merit aid, and some money from scholarships she’s been applying here and there, and we can help with the rest, between 25k and 30K hoping thats what its left to pay including room and board.
For her to attend a school for merit money in the Northeast, she would almost have to get a full tuition scholarship.
Because of the appeal of the Northeast (especially at schools like Northeastern, BC, BU), the sad reality is, they don’t have to give out a lot of full tuition scholarships, because they have the market that will bear the nominal scholarships that they do give out an enough full pay families.
Boston University even went on the record that while they are need blind in the admissions process, they are not talent blind when it comes to giving out their money and have done some admit-denies (academically admitting a student, but not providing enough aid to attend).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/education/edlife/finaid-pappano-t.html
@pamelamk She has her whole life to live in New England and she can actually afford to do so if she is nit crippled with debt. NE is not a place for good merit because it seems everyone wants to go to school in NE ( or California). Why can’t she move north after a free education?