Financial aid for kids with well-off parents

Paying for College
1

Hey guys,

I just got a quick question. I am a high school senior this year and is about to fill out my fafsa info.

I was just wondering if I would be able to get financial aid since my parents make a fairly good living. Is there a cut off point where you won’t be able to receive any financial aid? My parents make around 500-600k, so would I still be able to get a decent amount of aid or would it be virtually nonexistent? Also I would like to note that neither of my parents are US citizens, but I am, so will that have an effect on how much aid I will receive?

I know some of you guys may call me greedy or privileged for wanting to get financial aid when my parents are well off, but I want to go into med school in the future which is really expensive so I am just trying to save a few dollars here and there.

Thanks in advance,

2

You’re highly unlikely to get need-based financial aid. You can still get merit aid. Look for schools that give merit aid.

If your parents don’t file US taxes, it will be even more difficult to file a financial aid application.

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3

If your parents earn that much money they can afford to pay for your college. You have no need so no need based aid.

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4

Yes, there’s a cut off for need based aid and the maximum income level is well below half a million dollars. Why would colleges offer need based aid to a family who earns more than 7 times the median US income?

If you file the FAFSA you can take the federal student loan (~$5500/year), but if you want to go to med school then you should avoid those loans if you can. If your stats are high enough you should be able to get merit aid. A number of top ranked schools (Ivies, etc) don’t offer merit, so you need to read school websites carefully to know what’s available

Have you discussed a budget with your parents? If you go to a lower cost undergrad will they help you with med school?

5

You won’t qualify for need based aid.

Target low ranking schools where you have stats above the 75th percentile to hunt for merit $.

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You will qualify for federal unsubsidized loans ($5,500 for freshman year), because these loans are not need-based. You do have to file a FAFSA to get them, though. I agree with the suggestions to look for merit aid.