That is my understanding as well…which is why I flagged @kelsmom
The equity in those rentals, seems to me, would have needed to be included on the FAFSA.
But back to the thread. Everyone…good luck. This LONG journey is going to be wrapping up soon. Hoping for affordable acceptances for all!!
Yes, asset value is reported for all assets owned when the FAFSA is filed & is based on value on the date the FAFSA is filed.
Does anyone know how I can move the FA discussion to its own new thread?
One of my older kids had interviewed for a full tuition scholarship at a college she was very interested in attending. Shortly afterwards a small envelope arrived in the mail. We were immediately disappointed. She opened the envelope on the way home from school and we were glad we didn’t make any assumptions and throw it away because in that envelope was a letter informing her she had won the scholarship! We would definitely have appreciated receiving a bigger envelope for that one!
I concur with @MMRose, and want to add that you can pay the interest on the loans as you go, so that the loans don’t get any bigger than they are when you take them out. The federal loan program is structured in such a way that if you skip out on say, loan year 1, and later decide you really need that extra cash, you can’t go back and retroactively access that money. So we found it best to take out the fed. loan, pay the interest on it, and plan on paying the whole chunk off at graduation if it possible.
I also am not averse to the students having some financial stake in their own educations. Skin in the game, so to speak.
Perhaps the mod team can do this @momofboiler1 …or @BeverlyWest just start a new thread asking about financial aid. If it’s music program specific, do it here. If it’s a financial aid question…it could be started in the financial aid and scholarship section.
This is good information folks can also ask about when on their round of tours. When my kid auditioned many years ago, there were break out sessions for the parents at a few colleges that specifically addressed this. At some…this didn’t happen at all.
Hi @momofboiler1, maybe you can help, since I feel like my post 1483 got this thread off track. From that post down to here is about scholarships and financial aid and doesn’t really fit with the purpose of the thread (with the exception of post 1506, which was actually on topic 
). Can you help move those to their own thread? Thanks so much for your help.
I’m a member of several boards on CC and this one is the most active and supportive of them all. 
Son is doing a zoom audition/interview sunday. Then an inperson audition next Saturday. His first inperson audition actually.
From email communication it seems both are formalities at this point.
Then DePaul and Syracuse want him to do a voice lesson with faculty.
I feel bad money is guiding the college choices thus we havent done sample lessons before knowing if the school is affordable.
Toi toi toi to all the kids auditioning at Jacobs this weekend. My D goes Sat for grad school in Opera. At this point we are just driving her to and from.
I continue to be amazed at how your son has done so many virtual and recorded auditions. He’s gotten great acceptances. I hope he feels very good about his work. 
Same, in that I do feel bad that money will be guiding our decisions, but OTOH our kids will find schools where they will thrive and have a great time, and experience some of their lifelong learning on their instruments/voice. You are working hard to find that gem for your kid. I don’t know him, but I bet he will always appreciate that. My son hasn’t done any sample lessons, either, mainly because we’d never heard of them until after he’d applied to several schools and I found this forum.
My kid has his zoom audition with Berklee in a couple of hours. It’s amazing how this journey has taken turns. Berklee was originally scheduled to be his second ever audition, in person back in mid-December. Instead, it will be his final one, done virtually from here at home.
Things changed for several reasons, one being limited resources needing to be put toward a mix of likely options. His dad was very sick, and having spent $2500 to audition at Miami the prior weekend, we just said 
maybe we should not go to Boston this week. Now, here we are, almost done with this phase!
ETA: I just realized it’s garbage day. Fingers crossed the trucks have all gone by before 10:00! I think they’re already done. Who but a music parent would be worried about their kid’s college application because it’s garbage day?
Toi toi toi! This weekend will be great. I hope you have a wonderful time in Indiana.
This journey can be a very bumpy one. Toi toi toi to him! I am sure he will do a wonderful job.
In my view, there is nothing wrong with letting money guide the college choices. I would venture to say, that as hard as this music major path is at times, and as hard as it is for us as parents to watch the struggles and disappointments, it is very healthy for our musician kids to go through this now with our support.
Very few of our kids are going to come right out of school with a steady, solid and well paying music job. That is ok…as it is the nature of the profession. I so appreciate the parents on this thread who post about the multifaceted lives of their working musician kids. It reminds that the path is bumpy…but a great ride.
What my son has learned over these past few years (before and in conservatory) is that money matters. He lives frugally, advocates for himself to request additional funding for festivals or other music opportunities and carefully weighs the cost and benefit when making decisions. This is not a bad thing, and he is in good company with his musician friends and colleagues. They would rather wear a slightly worn tux, prioritize having a wonderful and expensive instrument and have the pure joy of making music with other amazing musicians.
We cannot give them everything, but they will make their own opportunities!!
My son is frugal as he grows up. Weve had talks about the future and hes very realistic and level headed.
His voice teacher said he could do them but i didnt want him clicking with a teacher when the school was out of budget. That seems it would be a waste of time for both my son and the professor. Plus his fall was packed with football season.
I appreciate your post, thank you! I agree 100%. I was going to add that it’s a blessing my kid’s learning so much through this process, but my post got long and I decided to just respond to 2plus trio. I see my kid maturing and learning more about financial decisions, and making much better ones than I did at his age. Thank you for your eloquent response. I’m saving it.
My kid has been saving money for a couple of years to have post-college funds when he’s starting his career. And since he only eats cereal… 
We went with the idea that of course money would play a role, so apply to a range of places and see how it all shakes out. If School A and School B are both good fits, and School A costs 10k/year more, School B should win!
Sage advice! Thanks.
Ah, but then he can look up where that teacher is in the summers…