<p>Did any one think or plan for the possibility of annual College expenses being in the mid to high 50’s? Our family’s circumstances are similar to some here. It is disheartening to be in a position of having sacrificed and saved (while making a very good living) having your child work incredibly hard and excel and have them be faced with taking on significant debt. I will say honestly that I resent it.</p>
<p>"Hold on…who says the kids from the lower income families walk out scott-free? Their financial aid packages inevitably include loans as well. "</p>
<p>The loans are limited to a low ceiling. The financial aid packages are very generous - at least for me so far.</p>
<p>Like I said we made a decent living but we had at least three kids in college at the same time and at one point we had four kids attending. Lets just say both your family and mine earn $200,000. Do you think it is unjust that the family with four kids in school would receive financial aid?</p>
<p>By the way kids who receive any financial aid are also taking out loans.The only kids who have no loans are the kids who have a very very low EFC. I would never have a problem with a student in that situation having no loans. There but for the grace of God go I…</p>
<p>Kids with no EFC are up against all kinds of financial problems. Just think about this one little simple example. When each of my kids graduated they were gifted a brand new wardrobe to start their careers. Do you think the kid with an EFC of 0 has that advantage? The list of advantages go on and on. Try not to let it bother you and be grateful that you can afford to do so much for your child.</p>
<p>“Believe me, if a family has a combined income of $200,000 and lives in a nice house etc. there is not enough money leftover to be able to fork over $57,000/year for any college”</p>
<p>Maybe the parents should have saved up instead of buying such a nice house/car, etc. $57,000 is ridiculous and crippling and it’s not fair for the kids, I know, but the parents have responsibilities too. The price tag is what it is, parents should research these things early on especially if they know that they will be paying a lot.</p>
<p>If the parents make over $200000 a year and have 1-2 kids, there is no way that they should not be able to pay that amount if they had some planning and they aren’t spendthrift. The kid has the option of getting a job here too.</p>
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<p>Well in my case, as I’m sure it is in others, my parents definitely could’ve paid for Cornell if really necessary (they make, together $200,000 a year, I have 1 sister, graduating from college this year, and we live in a medium sized suburban house outside of nyc), but perhaps the biggest factor of the decision was: is it really necessary? Like many families, mine could have taken out loans and paid it out over many years, but a Cornell undergraduate degree just isn’t worth over $240,000(total cost of attendance for 2012-2013 is about $60,000/year), with graduate school in the future and when I can earn a good degree from schools like Rensselaer or shine at SUNY buffalo and go to a top 10 Engineering university for graduate school.</p>
<p>I’m also considering applying as a transfer student after 2 years to the college of engineering (as a junior). Not extremely focused on doing it, but I was thinking i might as well apply and see what happens.</p>
<p>Cortana since you were accepted in ED, I guess thatsy you didnt get ANY aid.
Colleges are scrutinised for giving less aid because of the binding.
So you should wait eagerly for RD decions & hope that you get in HYPM the most generous colleges or a merit scholarship from somewhere else.</p>
<p>$200kish is how much private universities cost for 4 years, and that’s how much people pay for in other schools too. If you want to transfer to engineering then you need to take engineering requirement courses in your first year already. There are MANY graduation requirements in the engineering school and majors, and you would be really falling behind if you don’t transfer by the end of your first year.</p>
<p>"So you should wait eagerly for RD decions & hope that you get in HYPM the most generous colleges or a merit scholarship from somewhere else. "</p>
<p>I got a hefty amount of aid even when I applied ED. Also, application to HYP is really not merit based and is skewed towards hooked applicants - if you are unhooked your chances are much lower than they already seem no matter how brilliant you are (It becomes a very unfavorable lottery). Cornell regular also becomes much, much tougher. It’s an exchange - an very unlikely shot at HYP (which imo is not worth it if you are unhooked) or a good shot at cornell via ED? Note that if you apply ED that Cornell is your first choice school, so it would be nice for you to know if you would really want to be here for 4 years.</p>
<p>“with graduate school in the future and when I can earn a good degree from schools like Rensselaer or shine at SUNY buffalo and go to a top 10 Engineering university for graduate school.”</p>
<p>You can do that. It’s your choice. If you wanted to do engineering to begin with and pay a lower tuition, you could have also applied to CALS as one of the two engineering majors if that’s what you want to do.</p>
<p>@Colene: It’s a fact that colleges in ED give less aid, simply because one cant compare fin aid packages of other colleges.
Cornell allows applicants to compare packages in RD with that of other IVIes + MSD. So in RD Cornell shells out more to ‘attract’ ppl towards joing them.</p>
<p>This is what happenes NORMALLY.</p>
<p>Bottom line - private schools with limited/no merit aid (like Cornell) are quickly becoming schools that serve only two populations: students from low-income families and students from extremely high income (ie. well over $200 K/yr with trusts, etc) families. Those families in the middle, (100-300K/yr) are generally not going to invest $240K+ for an undergraduate education especially if they have more than 1 child even if they’ve been saving. The price tag is just too high.</p>
<p>I agree with you dysphorichousewife that schools like Cornell cater to low income and wealthy families. However, I think you are wrong when you say that upper middle class or whatever they are referred to ($150,000-$300,000) aren’t going to send their kids to Cornell and the like. We fit into this group and we are making the sacrifice to send my son. And I know many other families that are doing the same. You are right - it is a huge investment, but we feel it is worth it. FYI, we have some money saved for our children’s colleges, but for the next few years a large portion of my salary will pay for his tuition and room and board. We are fortunate to have a two income family. I wouldn’t be willing to take out a loan for him to go to college - but I know families that do. We feel we are making the right choice for our child - but certainly don’t feel we know what is best for anyone else.</p>
<p>njmom if your family above $200k you are pretty much considered higher class - you are already at the top 3%tile or higher in the nation in terms of income. At that level, you are not expected to need “need based aid” because you are already pretty wealthy.</p>
<p>Colene I realize we are fortunate. But it has not always been that way. My husband owns a business and for years he reinvested in it so that it could grow. It has only been the last few years that we have done this well. We have had lean years where we couldn’t save for college. We still have our retirement to consider. Believe it or not paying full freight will be a sacrifice.
So you don’t agree that those making high incomes -but don’t have huge disposable incomes are left with a greater burden then low income or very wealthy trust fund families?</p>
<p>If you mean recently gained high incomes with absolutely no savings then perhaps, if you have several kids and MUST send them all at the same time to college w/out financial aid - but only in those conditions. Otherwise, there are many ways for it not to become a burden and low income families really have it worse. Need based aid schools consider your savings, so if you have a lot of it then you are not going to get anything - that’s for sure. Also, you have the choice of choosing a school with merit based scholarships, or a state school w/ a full ride if your kid is academically qualified (not too hard). At the very worst, the kid can take a gap year before college until finances are more stable (doesn’t hurt your chances if you are productive). Low income kids don’t really have many options. If they don’t get into a need based financial aid school (which is really, usually limited to the top top schools), then they are going to have a really hard time. It isn’t easy for them to get in one either because of the lesser amount of academic opportunities they were given.</p>
<p>I do not think it is right that low-income students get off debt-free or debt-capped when they will have the same college degree and earnings capacity of students with family incomes $40-110K who are stuck with no cap on their loans. Those elite colleges assume family will help pay the loans. Well, they assume wrong in many cases, and it really stinks. That’s why they should not pick winners and losers. It is never equitable. It would be better to give everyone a loan cap. </p>
<p>If you have five children, pay really high taxes in NY and the college is counting the home equity-the family is already struggling terribly to pay the higher CSS EFC. Money can’t be squeezed out of your house, and must be bled from income. There is no way to help pay off the student loans. So these students are crippled, esp. in this economy with low wages and scarce jobs, while the debt-free students have it easier, can consider graduate school, get on with their lives, save for their weddings and have much less anxiety in general.</p>
<p>This system makes many mid-middle class families crazy and stressed paying for elite college, or else they have to tell their kids they have to settle for less. They have somewhat settled for less already. Believe me, many families whose kids are not capped have no money for tutors, pricey prep courses, music lessons, sports training costs, summer camps or experiences, vacation, etc., esp. if they have more than two or three children. </p>
<p>I know it is what it is, but I think it would be better to have a loan cap for everyone rather than for selected winners.</p>
<p>Let’s agree that kids coming from low income homes have it the toughest. However in the case of all kids who go to the Ivies where merit aid is not an option, the families that have incomes between $150,000 and say $300,000 often have to sacrifice to send their children to those schools. Of course I have some savings for college. But I also have another child who is a junior in college this year.
Here is an example of how in certain cases the kid who gets full financial aid makes out better. We know two kids from my kids’ high school last year. Both went to schools that met full need. One kid’s mom decided not to work so she could be home to raise her children. They make about $60,000/year. They rent a 3 bedroom townhouse in our community. They go on family vacations visiting relatives who live on the beach in the Carolinas. They share one computer for the whole family. The other kid’s parents both work. I think they make about $200,000 (maybe a bit more - not sure). They also have 2 children and live in a lovely four bedroom home. They can afford what they can afford - which is about $46,000/year per child. They got no financial aid. So their daughter will have to take out loans and owe about $40,000 when she graduates, while the other kid will owe absolutely nothing. Both will get degrees from top universities. But the kid whose parents decided to both work will be disadvantaged upon graduation.
I am not whining or screaming how unfair the system is. Nor am I saying I have any answers. I am simply saying that not all situations are black and white.</p>
<p>Maybe the answer is that Ivy league schools are simply not worth taking out huge loans for a prestigious undergraduate education name, which matters very little for applying for a job in the future.</p>
<p>We won’t be taking any loans Cortana431, but we will be sacrificing - which we feel is definitely worth it. I would also disagree that a top tier school " matters very little for applying for a job in the future."</p>
<p>@Gcny, loans are capped at $7500 for families making over $120000/year, $3000 for 70k-120k/year, NONE for under 70k/year - fulfilling total need.</p>
<pre><code>"Maybe the answer is that Ivy league schools are simply not worth taking out huge loans for a prestigious undergraduate education name, which matters very little for applying for a job in the future. " - they aren’t, but you should not need to. They consider your income, your savings, and your expenses when they calculate your aid. Tuition is ENTIRELY covered for students who make < 70k/year, and loans are capped as said before^.
</code></pre>
<p>For a student coming from a family with $120,000 income and $200,000 assets, parental contribution is reduced to $12500/year - This is a pretty reasonable number.</p>
<p>“For a student coming from a family with $120,000 income and $200,000 assets, parental contribution is reduced to $12500/year - This is a pretty reasonable number.”</p>
<p>Wow, you’re not kidding!</p>