Ultimately is this still your parents message, that they will make any price point work? Conversely have your parents shifted their position and told you to worry or set limits about money now that you have had several discussions?
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They own their own business. Surely they have records from 2022 about their income, etcâŠthey donât need to have already filed their taxes, but filing does make it easier because the numbers are all in one place.
You said you did some net price calculatorsâŠwhat did you use for info?
@An_D,
I suggest following @ucbalumnusâs advice and asking your parents a very specific question: âIf I get accepted by a college that costs $85k/year, will you be able to pay for it over all 4 years?â
If the answer to that is a solid yes, then you should go with that. If not, ask them specifically how much they can afford to pay and whether they are willing to provide all their financial information on the FAFSA and CSS forms.
Based on these answers, we can guide you, but itâs important your parents are being truthful with you. You have suggested above that you suspect that may not be the case. If so, those generous auto-merit schools should definitely be on your list.
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Trust, but verify.
The answer to the question âIs [$83k, $85k, $91k, whatever the most expensive college on your list costs] per year for college ok?â should help you verify that they know what college may cost and are willing to pay for it.
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Theyâve already told OP $25-30k a year when he pushed on full cost, if Iâm not mistaken, much earlier in the chat.
So the question will be for those higher, can aid get OP to the price point. Hence my most recent suggestion a few messages ago.
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Youâre right
I will be interested to see this revised list of college options. The OP says they are making one. Hopefully, the parent price point is one consideration. And hopefully this poster has opened their minds to schools that can meet that.
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Thatâs a good reminder for this long thread.
I think itâs important to also remember this student is applying for some expensive reaches. He knows his parentsâ stated budget of $25-30K. What he doesnât know is the approximate COA of any of his reaches, as estimated by each schoolâs NPC.
If his parents can afford up $30K/yr but are unwilling/unable to fill out FAFSA/CSS to qualify for financial aid, that would make it impossible to attend most of the schools on his original list. I think being in the dark about this is what worries the OP. No university is going to provide need-based aid to families who do not fill out FAFSA and/or CSS. The student should trust his parentsâ promises, but I understand why he seeks clarification in the midst of contradictory and incomplete statements.
Fortunately, he has affordable great options.
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And we and this student also donât know how their business is structured and how that will affect need based institutional aid at some of these Profile Schools.
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I strongly feel that WE do not need to know how the parentsâ business is structured. The only thing we need to know is the studentâs budget. We can offer advice as to how to arrive at that budget, but we do not need to know the nuts and bolts. I believe some questions are too intrusive.
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Oh I donât want to know how the business is structured. Thatâs none of my business. BUT this absolutely could affect institutional need based aid and the accuracy of the NPCs. Just sayingâŠthis student needs to be aware that the NPCs should be viewed as a gross estimate onlyâŠunless they specifically ask for business ownership information.
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There is hesitation when I mention 80k/year and then around 160k for the other two but still have not changed their answer.
I got my parents 2021 form which had a much higher income than 2022. I was doing the calculator on my own and was not sure where some of the stuff was for example the business income and losses. I searched it up and it said it would be on the schedule C but could not find it. There for it was incomplete and I could not calculate.
How specific do the questions need to be. Most of them just ask the value of the business and the amount owed on the business.
Also we have 7 people total in the household if that helps clarify any info.
This totals 3 years instead of 4. The first year could be approximately $80,000, and the remaining 3 years would be about $240,000 (probably more).
Do you have schools on your list that will cost $25,000-30,000 a year?
I am confused by your reports. Your parents gave a cost of 25-30,000 a year. They also hesitated when you told them $80,000 but still have not changed their answer. Do you mean they have not changed their answer of spending 25-30,000? Or do you mean they can still make any cost work?
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They have not changed their answer about this.
Ok so your parents stated that they can make any cost work.
Create a list of schools that come in at 25-30,000, a list of schools where merit is possible, and a list of schools that meet need.
That will be your final list.
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BIG News. I just got my college sibling to help me accurately fill out the NPC for Cornell using the 2021 1040 form. The price came out to $43,434. This form showed a lot more money than what will be shown in the 2022 form.
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So I am assuming that the actual price will be lower. Also my college sibling said that we do not own the business because it is being leased out to us.
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