Do I qualify for a financial aid appeal?

To whom this may concern,
Hi! I hope this question finds you well. I am recently committed to Yale university for the coming fall and was wondering if I can appeal my financial aid (I am currently paying full tuition). My parents make around 230k a year working 15 hours a day, everyday managing a buffet. They own around 10 real estate properties where they make very little income as they use the rent to pay off mortgage. As a result, my fafsa EFC was around 400,000 which didn’t make much sense to me. I also have an older brother who is a rising junior at NYU university paying full tuition (without housing fees and such) Also, as of recently, due to the coronavirus my parents business has closed and they have no other sources of income. I’m sorry if I come off as spoiled but I was just wondering if I should bother appealing my aid as I really want to alleviate the financial burden that college has on my parents. They don’t mind working a few extra years to pay for me and my brother, but I may have to take some loans and I am really just trying to get them the vacation that they have earned in the last twenty years.

I expect that your giant EFC isn’t because of your parents’ business income, but rather due to all of the property that they own. Did you run the Net Price Calculator at Yale’s website before applying? If so, what did it predict your costs to be? You could try running it again with the changed financial situation and see what the numbers look like.

  1. How much equity is there in each of the 10 rental properties you own?
  2. How much rent is collected on those properties (that’s income)
  3. Do your parents own the buffet they “manage”?

It sounds like you think Yale should be giving you need based aid so that your parents can use the rents they collect to pay for rental properties. Is that right?

I agree with @happymomof1 . The equity in 10 rental properties is likely what is driving up your EFC.

Oh…and by the way…Yale uses the CSS Profile. The FAFSA EFC is meaningless. Some of the deductions your parents take for their rental “business” are likely added back in as income for financial aid purposes.

Even if Yale decided your family contribution was half of what you are saying ($200,000 instead of $400,000), you still wouldn’t get a nickel if need based aid.

You certainly can appeal your aid…but if your family can’t pay the full cost for you to attend Yale, why did you commit to that college.

Your folks can liquidate one of the properties, these schools can see that your parents have significant assets.

You would need many millions of dollars in assets to have an EFC of $400,000…and especially with two in college at the same time. Like $7 million.

How long have your parents owned these 10 or so rental properties? If each had $550,000 in equity, that could be your issue…plus the rents they generate.

Was your sibling’s EFC the same?

What was your siblings EFC for this current academic year?

This is your parents choice. They chose to buy 10 properties. They chose to work 15 hour days to finance those 10 properties.

Financial aid exists for students whose parents REALLY can’t afford to meet the costs of the education of their children. There are families on public assistance who make $0. There are families whose children qualify for free or reduced lunches. They would love to own a home.

If your parents business has closed, because of the Corona virus, the school isn’t going to fund you when your parents have 10 properties at their disposal.