<p>Okay, I would very much like to go to boarding schoool but since my family has to pay for college too it doesn't seem too affordable. I know a lot about financial aid and such. But lets say that a family with an income of $135K-$145K has to pay for a a big name school (exeter, choate, andover, hotchkiss, ect.) What kind of financial aid is about right? If it is a family of 4 people?</p>
<p>It gets a lot more complicated than how much you make and how many people are in your family...</p>
<p>$140K per year is a lot more to someone living in a medium sized city in the South (like I do - and I only wish I made that much), than in NYC or Boston, where that salary makes it difficult to afford a starter home.</p>
<p>Parental assets (and debts) also figure into the equation. A family with a lot of house debt and no other significant investments will get more aid than one with a fully paid home and rental property.</p>
<p>If you want a basic range to look at figure on your family's EFC (expected family contribution - also known as every friggin cent) to be between 13 and 20 percent of your family's AGI (adjusted gross income). So for that $140K family, somewhere betwee 18K and 35K per year.</p>
<p>If this seems like a lot of money, it is. The formulas work very much the same as College Formulas. You might run your numbers through one of the FA calculators referenced on the college side of CC. Prep school, like college is a major committment and they want you to have skin in the game.</p>
<p>Given your screen name, I am assuming that you are looking for athletic opportunities. When it comes down to highly-recruited athletes (ones who change the level of the team from day 1), you are more likely to get a generous aid offer (meeting the EFC or perhaps slightly exceeding it) at a school where there is a winning tradition in that sport. </p>
<p>There is a saw in athletic recruiting that all FA is "need-based". It depend upon how much THEY need you.</p>
<p>goaliedad...where do you get that "basic figure" of 13-20% for an EFC? I've had one child already go through bs (now in college), another leaving for college in the fall, and my youngest is going to bs in the fall. We've done FAFSA's and PFS's for all. The EFC has never been that high a percentage of AGI. Indeed, it has been less than 10% every time. I know there are many factors involved, but that seems high.
You hit the nail on the head with the "need" though. My oldest son received significant FA....but with loans. My youngest is that "team-impacting athlete" you refer to. He got a full grant....even more than the EFC.</p>
<p>EFC of 40-50% representin' here. Apparently there's a massive money bush in my backyard that I haven't been pruning or harvesting. Check it out: </p>
<p>Kingdom: Plant
Division-Phylum: Maximolucrephyta
Class: Viridis Rursus
Order: Fisculae
Family: Fisculae Mazumae
Genus: Hibiscaboodle
Species: Hibiscaboodle Wampumalea
Applicable<em>Common</em>Names: IRA, Keogh, 401(k), Life Savings, Retirement, College Fund, keeping a balance on credit cards, the new roof and paint job and deck repair, car maintenance conducted on schedule, and replacement value of appliances, furniture and structures that can last a while longer with a little duct tape, etc.</p>
<p>Interesting that you only ended up at 10% AGI....</p>
<p>My estimate is from people I know personally. My personal run through the college calculator ended up at 18%. SSS figured about 19%. I think my sample may have been skewed because I had a large contribution to a pre-tax IRA which greatly reduces my AGI, but not the EFC (it gets added back). I also had (when I ran the numbers) an emergency cash fund (which has since been spent on tuition) of about 5 mos. pay (I live very conservatively as I've been laid off 2x in the last 7 years).</p>
<p>I think having multiple kids in tuition paying schools also has a big impact on that percentage in your case.</p>
<p>I will stand corrected as to the rough estimate. Your Mileage WILL Vary. Could be 10%. I would still venture to guess that the college FA online estimators will be reasonably close to what SSS will figure.</p>
<p>In our case, the school has also been quite generous, although I cannot say full-ride. We are satisfied.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Kingdom: Plant
Division-Phylum: Maximolucrephyta
Class: Viridis Rursus
Order: Fisculae
Family: Fisculae Mazumae
Genus: Hibiscaboodle
Species: Hibiscaboodle Wampumalea
Applicable<em>Common</em>Names: IRA, Keogh, 401(k), Life Savings, Retirement, College Fund, keeping a balance on credit cards, the new roof and paint job and deck repair, car maintenance conducted on schedule, and replacement value of appliances, furniture and structures that can last a while longer with a little duct tape, etc.
[/quote]
Don't they also call that a money tree? LOL</p>
<p>Can I get some seeds?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That's the thing! I can't find the darned thing, let alone make cuttings or save seeds. I know I've got pear and peach trees but, frankly speaking, even those fruits don't give out any juice to speak of no matter how hard I squeeze them. They're all pits, with very little flesh. Maybe it's not a money tree or bush. Maybe I'm holding a winning MegaBall Jackpot ticket. It could happen. I buy them every now and then and never check to see if I've won, figuring that there'll be a headline in the paper if a local store had sold the big prize winner. Yeah, that explains it. I'm a lottery winner and the SSS people know it and I don't.</p>