OP is clearly asking if there will be any need-based awards. And no, there won’t be (unless there are seriously extenuating circumstances – but it doesn’t sound like it).
No way in this universe.
Not likely either of you will qualify for need based aid anywhere!
A family that has had an income like that for 16 years, likely has a LOT of assets.
A family with $400,000 in income for 16 years should have some really decent college savings.
Need-based FA is for need, not want.
At 400k income with absolutely zero college savings, fullpay for 2 kids in college may necessitate some temporary lifestyle changes, but it still permits enough net income to put food on the table.
Do the NPC for the school OP attends. If they have no assets the calculator will surprise you. I put in 400k, no assets, 10k in deductions, 4 exemptions, no retirement contribution and used a state in the northeast. I got an EFC of $54,700 on COA of $68,000
Your family has earned $6.4 million dollars over the last 16 years. What assets do they have?
You really think someone who has a family income of $400,000 a year has no assets, and no retirement contributions?
What college NPC did you use…Harvard?
This family earns 8 times the average income of a family in this country…EIGHT times the income. They are in the tippy top % ile of wage earners.
When the 1% needs FA to afford college, you know the pricing structure is totally broken.
@thumper1 the OP said he goes to UChicago and it is his brother’s second or third choice after some ivies he is waiting. I tried Harvard, they would not give him aid.
@GMTplus7 I think it is broken. Honestly while the family is well to do, it really matters where they live (which due to work options or ethnicity or family) may not be a choice. Sure if they have lived in Nebraska for the last 16 years and have a 5 bedroom house that cost $250,000 with taxes of $5,000 a year and pay $300 per car in insurance and have no elderly relatives in nursing homes, health problems, child support from a prior relationship or a myriad of other things then they should have millions in savings. However even in Nebraska they pay the first $180,000 or so (someone who is an accountant correct me please) in federal and state taxes. In New York or California they would pay more. Plus on the coast a smaller house would cost $1,000,000 and come with property taxes of $20,000 a year easy. Commuting costs alone run into the thousands a year for many families in New York and that is taking mass transit. If they are in a bad school district or have a kid who needed a special school, that is another $20-40k a year. Childcare 16 years ago ran $1000 per month per kid minimum. About 10 years ago New York Magazine talked about lifestyles in each income bracket in New York City, believe it or not but they talked about physicians who made $500,000 struggling.
Personally think the system is most broken around the $200,000 income point. Since there is such a variation on what that buys you depending on your geography.
Someone posted the other day that the Bay Area was considering giving housing grants to families making under $250,000. Certainly not crying for them but $135,000 a year is a lot to spend. Is anything worth that? I have to wonder.
That’s what we have been saying…no need based aid.
Harvard has pretty much THE most generous need based aid in the country. If he wouldn’t get aid there…he wouldn’t get it ANYWHERE. $400,000 income would put him out of,the range for need based aid…even with two in college.
I’m going to guess that with low assets for that income and time frame, lets say $100k cash and securities…and a house with just a few hundred grand equity…one kid would have EFC of nearly 160k on FAFSA, more than enough for 2 expensive schools a year. So, no.
So essentially in certain circumstances OP’s school is more generous than Harvard. This was NPC not merit, which they also give.
While I agree that the system is totally broken, there is no excuse, barring some medical calamity, why a family making nearly a half mil for SIXTEEN YEARS cannot afford college.
None. Absolutely none.
Families survive and thrive on less than 50k a year. If you’re struggling on 400k, I have zero sympathy.
And don’t give me the geographic blablahblah cost difference. Yeah, I get it. NY and Silicon Valley cost more. And yet, families survive there just fine on 50k or less.
Choices. This all comes down to choices. Anyone who says otherwise is lying, sorry.
I don’t think the OP ever said he needed the aid, just wondered if he and sibling could qualify for it. Don’t we all want the best deal we can get? Wouldn’t you rather pay $30k than $40k?
If little old me could lose $$$ in the market on my 401k last year, just think how much money someone with a huge account was set back. He asked, he now has the opinions of 35 or so posts. Most said no way, but a few said apply and see.
This statement presupposes that colleges have INFINITE financial aid budgets, and that while they can’t even give enough aid to poor families that actually need it, they will be falling over themselves to give a need-based cash grant to $400k+ families that don’t really need it-- yeah right…
I believe the term is need-based aid, not want-based aid.
Even if the parents pay $120,000 a year for 4 years out of pocket, that still leaves them with $280,000 a year to live on. If they can’t live on that income, there is a problem.
@twogirls wrote
That must be in some fantasy world without taxes.