So how exactly does my family owning a business affect the NPC?
I agree that the best financial options may be instate publics or private schools. For example, the private LAC my kid attends guarantees at minimum full tuition to all with family income under $125k. Once your parents have a chance to look at the finances, run the NPC at MIT (which is known for generous need-based aid) and a few others on your âprestigeâ list. Perhaps your family will find them affordable, but if not they may need to come off your list.
Also, start researching the competitive merit scholarships at schools of interest (e.g. GTech Stamps) If you feel you can devote the time and effort to the additional requirements, it is worth taking your shot. Any school that is only affordable with one of those scholarships should be considered a financial reach.
Best of luck!
ETA: I was mixing up threads when I responded. Apologies. It sounds like your family has the financials handled. I will leave my post in case it is helpful to others.
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It is a fair and honest statement. Many students (and parents) feel that way. Have you visited any of your academic & financial safeties?
This year will be full of discovery and you are just starting. You may very well end up attending one of your reach schools. Or, you might find a smaller, more specialized program that you didnât know existed, and end up attending a school that was never on your radar.
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I have only visited GT and Auburn. Not that GT is a safety.
Each schoolâs NPC is different and some may not ask any questions about businesses (but will still take business value into account when actually determining your financial aid). But some businesses are considered parental assets and also some business deductions that are allowed for tax purposes are disallowed for financial aid and will be added back in. So it gets complex and it means the NPC may not be accurate for you.
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What did you think of Auburn ? What did you think of Ga Tech ?
Take reputation out of it - what did you actually think of each ?
Which part of the state are you from ?
So how would I determine a precise estimate for that school then?
Auburn had a nice campus but it was in a small part of town. GT had a nice campus in most areas but was in downtown which I enjoyed more.
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Just came across thisâŠ
Not sure of its accuracy but seems to reinforce your impressions.
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There is a long thread discussing this show.
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If you like more of a city, Cornell likely shouldnât be your ED1. Princeton - suburban - but not a city.
You might want to refine some of these choices - and even look at a UAB for your instate if youâll have one.
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Most UC web sites refer to the weighted-capped version of HS GPA (the 4.29 in your GPAs). Exceptions would be if they specify unweighted or weighted, or GPAs greater than about 4.4 are shown (weighted-capped is unlikely to be over 4.4).
UC admission readers do see all three GPAs that are calculated after you put your courses and grades into the UC application.
Perhaps the one question the OP can ask the parents would be âis $91k per year for college ok?â to verify that the parents are aware of what they are promising. A confident âyesâ answer means no more worries about cost. But other answers may be less assuring.
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Yes, as long as the EA school does not have a restriction against applying ED to other schools. Most EA schools do not, but a few of the most popular ones on these forums do.
In general, when there is no restriction preventing applying EA, it is best to do so, because some EA schools fill up their classes, popular majors, or merit scholarships early. Also, getting an EA admission that is affordable turns it into a safety, which may allow not having to apply to other schools that you like less than that EA admit school. For rolling admission schools, apply as early as possible for the same reason.
This is absolutely NOT true.
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For colleges using only the FAFSA as a financial aid application form, your FAFSA EFC or SAI as it will soon be called should be viewed as the MINIMUM you will be expected to pay at these colleges. Most of these colleges do not guarantee to meet full needâŠand they do NOT.
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For colleges that guarantee to meet full need, the FAFSA is not a particularly relevant document. Itâs the CSS Profile or a school financial aid form that is used to determine the awarding of institutional need based aid. The Profile delves quite a bit deeper into your finances than the FAFSA does.
Are your parents divorced? Do they own a business or are they self employed? Do they own real estate other than your primary residence? If NOâŠrun the Net Price Calculator on each college website with accurate figures. At this point this can only be used as an estimate as the NPCs are set for students starting college this fall 2023âŠand thatâs not you. But it will give you a ballparkâŠand you can run them again when they are reset.
I just saw this:
My parents own convenience stores.
This will most definitely complicate your need based aid potential. Business owners have deductions allowed by the IRS for tax purposes that are not allowed for financial aid purposes and are added back in as income at some colleges.
Do your parents own the buildings in which any of these stores are located?
Apologies to @twogirls. I did t mean to direct this reply to that poster.
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The MOST important number you need is what your family can and will pay annually for you to attend college. Then you need to find a college that will meet this budget.
In your case, it might be better to do a deep dive for merit aid which does not consider income or assets or business ownershipâŠat all.
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My bad. I meant take the other one just to see.
I misunderstood. I thought OP wanted to do CS or business.
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The NPC works best for families that have one house, W2 jobs, no business income, and a relatively simple financial situation. If your parents own multiple business properties and have a more complex financial situation, you cannot get a precise estimate from the NPC. But there is good news.
If your parents have sent one child to an expensive 4yr university, have already agreed to pay for that child to attend medical school, and have told you and your 2024 sibling ânot to worry about costâ, I would assume you do not need to worry about a precise estimate. It sounds like your parents have more than enough money to send you to whatever school you choose.
Donât worry about the NPC. Believe your parents when they say donât worry about it. Just focus on researching the schools and ensuring you have at least one or two inexpensive options in case of emergency.
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Alabama STEM to MBA makes sense for the combo although Iâm not a huge fan of no work experience MBAs. And career outcomes are strong.
But if OP likes more city - the UNL program sounds wonderful but their stats are pretty high. Will be a tough but not impossible get I imagine.
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That was true for us, at my daughterâs school. We were assigned a FA counselor who we corresponded with regularly, and we were told (I asked) that the cost was based on our Fafsa EFC. That was what we paid. The school was one that met full need.
Note: most schools do not do this. That is why I have repeatedly stated that FA is based on the school and on your own situation.
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