<p>My friend and her family own a business and are quite wealthy. My friend drives a BMW and she got it when she turned 16. However, her mom began transferring their income to various untraceable places including real estate and out of the country, so when applying to colleges it seems as if they are a low income family. My friend's older sister received a full ride to Brown! I just think its really unfair that middle class families who work salary paying jobs have worse financial aid packages than business-owning people who cheat the system.</p>
<p>That is.. really sad. I wonder why they are so worried about the expenses of college if they are that well off.</p>
<p>Well they have three daughters, all pretty close in age, so I guess it would be money saved. I wish that there was some way to be fair about all of it though... lying is bad.</p>
<p>You don't know what their financial situation is. Just because they are 'business-owning people' -- that doesn't mean that they have a higher family income than 'middle class families who work salary paying jobs'.</p>
<p>In fact, many small businesses operate pretty close to the edge, and some operate at a loss some years. The business they own may appear to be flourishing, but their expenses may exceed their income from the business.</p>
<p>On the asset side, converting liquid assets to real estate investments can be a good investment strategy, as well as a smart (and legal and ethical) college financial aid strategy.</p>
<p>You may be right-- they may be defrauding the system. But you can't always tell a families financial situation by outward appearances.</p>
<p>I'm positive though because they live in the richest neighborhood in my city (all the houses there are $1 million+) and my mom asked her mom about how she got her daughter a free ride to Brown. They started transferring funds out five years before the eldest daughter started high school.</p>
<p>That is very frustrating. I know of similar stories.</p>
<p>Many people in wealthy neighborhoods are living way beyond their means. Some actually end up bankrupt in the end. Debt is something folks do NOT share with their friends.</p>
<p>I agree that debt is not something people share and that many people live beyond their means - does that make it ok for them to expect and manipulate the system? In my opinion, no. </p>
<p>I also do recognize that in many situations the grandparents have bought house, furniture, cars, etc for the family and grandkids and this is not always known ether. However, it is still very frustrating to see someone living "high on the hog" with substantial need based financial aid. </p>
<p>I have seen this in many forms, in education, in health care - especially in people who live beyond their means. They tend to be shocked at how much a service cost and somehow think that they should not be required to pay the full amount.</p>
<p>In all honesty, I tend to agree with Magsmom. There are some small-business owners who hide their assets to try to cheat the system. I often heard about few pillows filled with 100$ bills, mattresses filled with 20$ bills- cash is untraceable. They cheat on taxes, cheat on financial aids, and cheat on their wives- more often than not they can get away with em .:rolleyes: And yes sons and daughters of those damnable small-business owners who are on schools large financial aid roll love to drive bimmers or benzes or other big wheels, wear Armani clothes, and flaunt lots of cash, while good kids from middle to upper-middle class (salary working) family are paying full-fare tuitions, driving moms 10-year old Honda, working during summer. :rolleyes: But lets not fret about this - they will pay heftily for their sins in this life or afterlife. </p>
<p> Should life be fair- Yes. Is life fair- Heck no</p>
<p>Too bad there isn't anything we can do about it.</p>
<p>That is why I cannot wait until the rule the Bush administration goes into effect. When you fill out your FAFSA all your income information is to automatically be doubled checked by the IRS. That will not help the situation of O/P's pal, but at least it will cut back on fraud. I hate hearing of folks cheating the system.</p>
<p>Merlin:</p>
<p>Your FAFSA is already checked against the IRS filings and then sometimes the school will want verification by signed 1040's and proof by W2's.</p>
<p>You don't need to "cheat" to beat the system. The system is already too easy to beat, and BTW, getting easier because of new tax reduction programs. Thankyou GWB. And please do more audits because I have our taxes done professionally, taken the tax course, and of course sheltered monies in tax deferred vehicles that are not counted in the FAFSA. </p>
<p>Iroccolli:
If your were well off (even wealthy) would you not hire an advisor(s) to help you maximize your wealth, minimize your taxes, and provide for your children the best opportunities? What would your peers, spouse, and offspring think of you if you did not maximize wealth. That wealth also was perhaps redirected towards investment in hiring people to work in the business, trades people to build that $1 mill home, to pay property and sales taxes. </p>
<p>As the Queen of Mean, Leona Helmsley, said "Only the poor, pay ..."</p>
<p>"As the Queen of Mean, Leona Helmsley, said "Only the poor, pay ..."</p>
<p>LOL, Last time i checked, this Queen of Hotel got indicted and stayed in a Big House for Tax-Cheating :rolleyes:</p>
<p>"Too bad there isn't anything we can do about it."</p>
<p>Yes, there is something we all can do about this "injustice"</p>
<p>Vote for Democrats !!!</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton 2008</p>
<p>I personally do not cheat on fin aid at all because I would rather die than do that. However, at this time, your FAFSA is not checked against all too much at all. If you are picked for income verification, you send in your tax forms and the fina aid folks go by those. A very dishonest person could make up whatever they wanted with regards to their taxes and no one would know unless there were differences in paperwork. There is no automatic safety net against fraud as of this time and a lot of folks fall through the cracks.</p>
<p>Where I used to go to University, a great many people lied left and right on the FAFSA. And would just handwrite a 1040 if asked for any proof of income.</p>
<p>I am not a republican, but when the Bush administration passes these new rules and whatnot, a lot of folks are going to start being more honest. And, a lot of folks who do not qualify for grants and whatnot are going to come out on top as long as they do not lie. Wait until a person's income is automatically checked with the IRS when they fill out there FAFSA, a lot of things will change.</p>
<p>LMAO @ the chick who lied about getting raped.</p>
<p>^Huh?</p>
<p>I'm not saying that what my friend does isn't smart, it would be great to get a full ride to any ivy league. However, lying about being a low-income family is where I begin to object. My family lives comfortably but are middle class nonetheless and I hate how I'll probably be spending more on college than she will be and how she'll probably be viewed differently by the adcoms because of her decent stats in light of her "low-income" situation.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>decent stats in light of her "low-income" situation.>></p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>No one living in a neighborhood of one million dollar homes (as you posted this person did) is viewed as low income by the adcoms.</p>
<p>That's technically not cheating the system. The system has a list of assets that are included with the analysis of a family's economic status. By choosing assets not included doesn't mean that the person has cheated the system. It just means that she abided by the rules. As far as owning a business, it may not be doing very well. Anything other than a corporation will pass income straight through to the child's parent. For instance, all business owners such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, and s corps pass income straight through to the owner of the company and is taxed within its own tax bracket. Essentially, the family didn't cheat the system but maximized social benefits.</p>
<p>The majority of the analysis boils down to the family's income.</p>
<p>its how america works, the rich elite, the republicans, even bush went to harvard with c averages</p>