<p>Rising junior here, I know it's early, but I really want to settle the financial ground before I get my hopes up for specific colleges. </p>
<p>Background
Income: $250,000-$280,000
Employment: Both parents work (one in a fully stable job, the other for an unstable corporate industry (biggest earner))
Investments: Typical 401k, House, Stocks
Other Factors: No debt (besides mortgage, cars...etc.). </p>
<p>Will be the only one going to college.</p>
<p>I know financial aid is usually non-existant for families with incomes of $150,000+. Considering this, I know I will have to take out loans. This is where I'm lost. My family has talked briefly about the subject and my parents have stated that they will generously pay for half of my undergraduate college. I'm looking at top 30 (preferably top 20) schools with price tags around $50,000 a year. </p>
<p>Question is...where do I begin finding out what I can do? If they're offering to pay for half...I'm looking at about $100,000 in debt if I go to a top school. I know this is outrageous and very risky...but is it nearly impossible to get away with? I'm not dead set on any tier of schools, so suggestions are greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Plan on majoring in business.</p>
<p>Also, would seeing an accountant possibly help us? I know we've thought about seeing some kind of financial manager about it, but will they know the workings?</p>
<p>Thanks!
P.S. If I sound really naive, I'm really sorry. We've never been through this process before and neither of my parents graduated college, hence we are all lost.</p>
<p>100K is too much to take out in loans. You’ll need to find a school that will give you merit aid or go to your state university that costs 25K or less.</p>
<p>Agree $100,000 is too much and you will not qualify for any federal aid except for the federal direct loans that most everyone can qualify for. $50,000 is the price tag for coastal private colleges. There are some in the midwest that are less than that. Look at state publics as well as colleges private and public where you might garner some merit money. An accountant or financial planner will help them structure how they will pay so never a “bad” idea to sit down with a financial planner. $25,000 a year is a pretty good budget to work with. Your smart to start where you are starting (with the finances) before you get serious about your college searching next year.</p>
<p>If you are looking at a school in the top 20, presumably you have the grades to substantiate that. As GTalum says, look at schools that will give merit aid.</p>
<p>My suggestion is that your list includes:
at least one in-state school (that you can probably afford without any loans)</p>
<p>at least one school that offers automatic guaranteed aid based on stats (there are threads here that talk about them), such as Univ of Alabama, Indiana University</p>
<p>a couple of schools that offer ‘lottery’ style, in that, while you may be eligible, the award may go to someone else (eg, Univ of Southern California, Univ of Miami etc).</p>
<p>Congrats on your grades, for dealing with this up-front, and for coming in with a good attitude about what your parents will contribute (rather than what they cannot do). That will get you far in life.</p>
<p>*I know I will have to take out loans. This is where I’m lost. My family has talked briefly about the subject and my parents have stated that they will generously pay for half of my undergraduate college. I’m looking at top 30 (preferably top 20) schools with price tags around $50,000 a year.</p>
<p>Question is…where do I begin finding out what I can do? If they’re offering to pay for half…I’m looking at about $100,000 in debt if I go to a top school. I know this is outrageous and very risky…but is it nearly impossible to get away with? I’m not dead set on any tier of schools, so suggestions are greatly appreciated*</p>
<p>Oh my…you should not graduate with more than $30k in loans TOTAL!!! And, that will be a pain to pay back!!!</p>
<p>And, you can’t borrow much without co-signers anyway.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>With your parents’ $25k per year, and generous merit, you can afford many schools. :)</p>
<p>If you have good stats, then you will have good options!!!</p>
<p>I don’t think this student is looking for need-based aid.</p>
<p>And, your post is naive and judgmental. Just because a family earns - say $100k+ per year, doesn’t mean that they can pay $50k per year for one child in college, much less two. You also can’t assume that this family has always been earning this salary. The mom may have recently returned to the workforce…or one parent may have been laid-off for awhile forcing the family to go thru savings.</p>
<p>Also…various parts of this country are very expensive to live in. Some people are paying $12k+ per year in property taxes for normal-sized family homes…on top of their mortgages, etc. </p>
<p>And…in this student’s case, the highly paid parent’s job is unstable, which would cause most families to pause before committing to spending $200k on college.</p>
<p>Anyway…this student has a few choices since he won’t get need-based aid and he can’t qualify for large loans (nor SHOULD he get them)</p>
<p>And…no accountant is going to be able to change anything to qualify this student for aid. The income is too high. Period. </p>
<p>1) Apply to schools with a COA of about $25k</p>
<p>2) Apply to schools that will give him enough merit that his remaining costs will be around $25k or less.</p>
<p>3) Borrow $5k per year, add it to his parents’ $25k …and also apply to schools that give him enough merit. </p>
<p>I would strongly suggest that you apply to some schools with competitive merit (where you don’t know if you’ll get merit or how much)…and apply to some schools with ASSURED big merit so that you’re CERTAIN that you have some affordable schools.</p>
<p>Coste, what state are you in?
And are you looking for a top 10 business school?
Eg., Kelly is well regarded and Indianna is a public U. with comparatively reasonable OOS rates. Umich has Ross, def top tier, and while OOS tuition is quite high for a public school, it’s still about $10k less than east coast privates/hypsm or LACs – and occasionally gives good merit for high stats/accomplished students with a hook (you said your parents didn’t go to college – that makes you first generation, a good hook!). That said, all in, UMich is still about $48 k (compared to $58 k average total COA at some of the other top 20s.)</p>
<p>Quick update, I don’t have amazing grades but I will graduate top 10 (out of 450-470) in my class (2,000+ noncompetitive public) with a 4.4-4.5 if all goes well in the next two years. Getting a tutor at the end of the summer for the ACT (possibly SAT) to improve my score. My extracurriculars are pretty good and I’ll have good leadership roles in big organizations. (So planning on applying for private scholarships ad so forth as well…) I’m not taking the highest math course I am able to, but I’m taking the second highest (will take calculus before graduation, it wont be AP however…I tried honors math this year and it hurt me).</p>
<p>The income has just came into the picture in the past five years, with bonuses (around 25k after taxes) coming in the recent years. This is the main line for what my parent’s have offered, but they have also mentioned that they may dip into 401k or other investments. </p>
<p>My whole thing is I don’t want to hinder my career by not going to a top business school, but I also realize having tens of thousands in debt is a horrible thing to do to yourself right from the start. </p>
<p>I currently live in Missouri (St. Louis area). I would like to go to a more well regarded institution to experience the competitiveness and have the options for more internships in an environment that offers such.</p>
<p>I talked to my mom today more and she said she’s willing to help, but I may have to take out some loans. Typically she gets her bonus yearly, but the outlook in three years is hazy based on projections (it was this year too, but it went well and it was received). They may be willing to pay off some of the debt after I graduate with the money as well as long as it’s coming in (which is unclear obviously).</p>
<p>How does applying for merit aid work? Are my options wiped for applying ED anywhere then? </p>
<p>I also considered transferring after sophomore year from a lower college to a better college for graduation, but how hard is that to do so? I know it could split costs up greatly and I’d probably leave with very little debt if I used that route.</p>
<p>*I also considered transferring after sophomore year from a lower college to a better college for graduation, but how hard is that to do so? I know it could split costs up greatly and I’d probably leave with very little debt if I used that route.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>That’s possible. you could accept a school’s large merit scholarship for 2 years, and then transfer.</p>
<p>What are your scores so far? </p>
<p>how likley is it that you’ll get the scores for a top B-school?</p>
<p>Current ACT is 25…however, that was without studying/prep and not so good test-taking habits the night before. Yes, low currently. Getting the tutor and am prepping now.</p>
<p>Not gearing for any Ivy or UPenn, maybe not even top 20. Just looking for something up there that will match my scores (taking ACT multiple times this coming year). My ACT is the one thing I need to work up…I know this. Trying to be reasonable with what I can get, but am confident with the tutor. May try SAT too.</p>
<p>English/Writing is my best subject, however I did poorly on the grammar sections (which later my teacher tutored me) for some reason. Math is my weakest subject, but am focusing on that and science. Obviously not the greatest, but this is without any prep.</p>
<p>Your family is similar to ours. We told our son we would pay $35K a year. If your parents are saying $25K a year, you need to look at your state schools, OOS schools with low sticker prices, private schools within commuting distance, schools where you have a shot at merit money. Catholic colleges seem to be a good bet, not the big name ones but schools like St Joseph’s in Philly, U of Scranton, Sienna College, Duquesne U, Manhattan College, and others like these in your area.</p>
<p>25k is just a starting point, its not solid. They may or may not add on to that. Depends on what it all costs. I just want an idea. There’s good chance they’ll pay off some debt after graduation (25k+).</p>
<p>But thank you for the suggestions. We do have similar schools in our area that are decent, I just really wanted to leave the area for better opportunities.</p>
<p>Merit at many schools is not need-informed, and you will not actually be eligible for any need based assistance with that income. But some top schools don’t offer merit ( b/c all applicants are at the top pretty much). The best way to get merit is to look for schools where your gap and scores are in the top quartile of their published ranges of matriculating students.</p>
<p>Applying ED needing FA is appropriate only when you have one top choice above all others, a dream school, when your only question is “Can I afford it?” If the school does not offer enough to support attendance, you decline the offer and apply RD elsewhere (you can also apply EA to other schools).</p>
<p>You don’t seem to have a number one choice, and should compare bottom line costs, so I agree, don’t apply ED anywhere.</p>