<p>So yesterday my family and I were crunching numbers to determine how much different colleges are actually going to cost me. Harvard and Princeton's net calculators both said we'd get about $27k-29k in financial aid. According to its calculator, Brown (my first choice) will give us a grand total of $0 in financial aid. Is this accurate? Is a family making less than $200k per year with two younger children really expected to pay $61k+ a year? I noticed that Harvard and Princeton both used their own calculators, while Brown outsources its calculator to the College Board's website, does that diminish the accuracy of its results? I really want to apply early to Brown, but there is no way I can possibly commit to a school at $61k+, which is completely out of the question for my family.Thanks!</p>
<p>Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford are in a completely different league as far as need-based financial aid. No other places even come close. So yes it is entirely possible that Harvard and Princeton could be significantly less expensive for your family than Brown would be.</p>
<p>Sit down with your parents. Find out what they consider is affordable. Run the NPCs at all of the places on your list, and see what is left after you cut out the unaffordable options.</p>
<p>Very possible. Harvard, Princeton and Stanford provide pretty significant need based aid to families with incomes of $180,000…sometimes more.</p>
<p>Brown does not have aid that is this generous. If your parents earn in the $180,000 range, their family contribution could very well be $60,000.</p>
<p>Those younger children won’t make very much difference in YOUR family contribution as they are not yet in college.</p>
<p>Both of my younger siblings attend private school, and from what I’ve heard, Brown takes that into account.</p>
<p>And my family makes more in the 130K-150k range. Does Brown really expect my family to give almost half of their income to my college when they have two other children?</p>
<p>Harvard, Princeton and Yale that provide generous aid for families in the 180-200k range with typical assets. While Stanford gives very generous need based aid , they cap it at 100k (free tuition). </p>
<p>Stanford states
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<p>Do your younger siblings currently attend high school?</p>
<p>430…with an income of $130,000, your family contribution will be between $32000 and $43,000 roughly. So a school like Brown WILL expect your family to contribute that amount to your education annually.</p>
<p>If there becomes a point when your younger siblings are in college at the same time as you are, your family contribution will be roughly split evenly between those in college. BUT that will on,untranslated into additional aid for those in college if they attend colleges that meet full need for all…guaranteed.</p>
<p>But here is the good news. If you truly have the academic stats to be a competitive applicant for Brown. You could garner merit aid elsewhere to soften the financial burden for your family. There is a thread with a stick pin above called “automatic full tuition/full ride scholarships”. Look there.</p>
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<p>Families are expected to pay for college with past earnings(savings), current earnings and future earnings(loans).</p>
<p>I just ran Browns NPC (no asset, 5 HH members)</p>
<p>130K HH income - 43K net cost
150K HH income - 45K net cost</p>
<p>Brown and Darmouth are the least generous among the Ivy League schools. Cornell/Columbia/Penn are in the middle. HYP are the most generous.</p>
<p>For our situation, we are full pay to all Ivies except H and P.</p>
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<p>However, all of them will do a financial review should you submit a peer school’s award letter.</p>
<p>H & P do not consider primary home equity. Home equity may probably be the main reason why you are not getting aid from other schools.</p>
<p>This brings another issue. If I apply ED to Brown, will that decrease the amount of aid I can get because I don’t have any competing offers to show Brown?</p>
<p>You will not be able to compare offers from multiple schools if you apply ED to Brown. You will have to make a decision to accept their offer of admission with THEIR financial aid offer only.</p>
<p>What you won’t know…it might be the best offer you will get, and it might be the worst.</p>
<p>If finances are a significant consideration, I would very much suggest you apply RD so you will have multiple offers to compare.</p>
<p>The offer you get from Brown will meet your full need per their formula regardless of ED or RD. But if you apply RD and get a better offer from a very similar school with very similar need based aid policies, you might be able to get a positive review from Brown. </p>
<p>The financial aids from different schools are expected to be very different. That is why the federal government mandated the NPC for each schools several years ago. For people that have simple income, asset and family situation, the NPC should be quite accurate (with the exception of merit aid).
When financial aid is crucial for the decision, do not apply ED as you will not be able to compare FA package.</p>