<p>^Wow I hadn’t heard of that scholarship, and I have googled the hell out of UC financial aid. Is that the only full ride in the entire UC system? Now I feel like there are hidden secrets. </p>
<p>You’re right about the under 80k thing. That really bothers me though - you could be a single parent making 79k with one kid and get a full ride or a family of 6 with 3 currently in college making 83k and get no money.</p>
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<p>Well, if they party hard enough to actually flunk out, then they lose their “scholarship” (the generous financial aid grant) as well as their ability to attend and graduate from the school…</p>
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<p>[Mechanical</a> Engineering at UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.me.berkeley.edu/StudentAffairs/ProspectiveStudents/Undergraduate/Drake.html]Mechanical”>http://www.me.berkeley.edu/StudentAffairs/ProspectiveStudents/Undergraduate/Drake.html)</p>
<p>No idea if there are any other full rides at any UCs. Not sure what the current policy on Regents’ Scholarships is (amount varies depending on need, which means that it is theoretically possible that a very needy Regent’s Scholar could get a lot of scholarship money).</p>
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<p>Blue and Gold Opportunity is not a full ride; it is a top-up of grants to full systemwide fees (in-state tuition). In some cases (where the financial aid formula would produce more grant aid than that), it may not actually add any additional grant aid.</p>
<p>You’ll have to experiment with the net price calculators to see if there is a significant discontinuity in grant aid as a given family (same number of students in college, same family structure, same assets or lack thereof, etc.) crosses the $80,000 per year income threshold.</p>
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<p>It has a lot of exceptions, enough to be bogus as a generality in my book. It’s not true if you have any appreciable assets. Even if you have zero assets, it’s not true for Princeton, or Brown, or Penn …</p>
<p>Try running the NPC for a $130K income even with zero assets at Brown - the COA is between $30-40K/year. This is not a rule that helps people to in general determine the COA for Ivy League schools.</p>
<p>There is absolutely no rational justification for paying that kind of money to attend a high-prestige school. A student with the stats to get into such a place will certainly qualify for full rides, or something close, at any of hundreds of fine private schools. And that student, if he or she has the drive and determination to match the smarts, will get a first-class education wherever he or she winds up - and will be a top student. And a top student almost anywhere will be in an excellent position for admittance to a graduate program, a professional school, or direct entry into the workforce. </p>
<p>If a family can afford to pay the premium for a high-priced school and chooses to use their disposable income that way, that’s their privilege - but it does not mean the education will be any better at all.</p>
<p>Not all ivy league schools (or top schools in general) follow a 10% rule. They all have their own formulas, with their own size of endowment. They factor in different things (ie Harvard does not factor in home equity). </p>
<p>Even with $0-low assets, my COA at Brown and Harvard were significantly different. Due to size of their endowment, how much money they set aside for financial aid, and their formula. It was a difference between $5000 and $14000. 10% if my income is somewhere between there, closer to the $5000</p>
<p>BobWallace, you might want to follow Alwaysleah’s suggestion to the OP and actually look at the Ivy FA policies. The “10% of income thing” is not a sham. Leah explicitly stated Harvard which is true, and that is the most generous college out there. Yale also has a 10% of income rule which goes to $130K. [Financial</a> Aid for Prospective Students In-Depth | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/financial-aid-prospective-students]Financial”>Affordability: The Details | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions) Obviously it doesn’t apply at the $150K you used. CPUScientist is correct that each school treats the income and assets differently.</p>
<p>Yes, University of Washington is a very good public university and has attracted a bunch of bright, high-stats kids from my son’s (local) class of 2012. If you can get into Harvard, and can afford Harvard, go to Harvard.</p>
<p>The Ivy League is an athletic conference. Its membership is not homogeneous.</p>
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<p>If you are financially irresponsible and have no assets and no college savings, then some of the Ivy schools limit to 10%. Not all Ivy schools.</p>
<p>If you are financially responsible and have assets and/or college savings, the price for even those schools go up.</p>
<p>Saying “the 94% that make less than 150k would pay 15k or less [at Ivy schools]” is wrong in multiple ways.</p>
<p>Bob Wallace, having little or no assets doesn’t mean someone is/was financially irresponsible. Why don’t you appreciate that you’re fortunate and not make judgements about situations of which you have no knowledge.</p>
<p>Mea culpa. There are many possible reasons for lacking assets, including personal tragedies in health, death, divorce, job loss, etc. On the flip side, many people who have assets may have gotten them through inheritance or other avenues. Those sentences came out way more callous than I intended - hand slap well deserved.</p>
<p>Soooo…why do these conversations always come to cost?</p>
<p>What I’ve come to notice on this site is that some people have different priorities when it comes to education. For example, my parents have been paying 20k a year for the past 13 years at a private k-12 school. Some parents think this is absolutely ludicrous because there is a free high school right down the street from me. I (and my parents) would say the private school education definitely payed off. Going to an ivy is a similar situation. My parents are in no way rich, they just set my education as one of their top priorities. We don’t take vacations and we don’t have a big house for this reason. Their point of view is that education is something that they are prepared to spend money on and they think it is worth it.</p>
<p>Yes, people have different views. Yes people do succeed at state schools. Ivy does not guarantee success. Saying that the level of education is equal is false IMO however. This is subjective but someone who believes otherwise please comment. I am not referring to a degree however. In many cases, a degree from ivy and state schools can be of equal value in career placement. In some industries, name is everything(i-banking). So it really depends on how you perceive the subjective aspects and what you are willing to pay for a better education.</p>
<p>Paying 20,000 dollars a year for a high school education IS ludicrous. There is no way of twisting it into a sensible thing. I’m sorry haha but you’re kidding yourself if you honestly believe that paying 20k for a HIGH SCHOOL education was completely worth it. </p>
<p>If you got into an Ivy, you would’ve gotten in regardless of if you went to the 20k school.</p>
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<p>My feeling is you’ll find a lot less sentiment around here against spending for a fancy school than borrowing for one.</p>
<p>I’m right there with you on private school, my kids go to private school. But if there was a private school next door with teachers more engaged and focused on education than research, smaller classes, beautiful facilities, a motivated student body, and my kids could go there for free … (i.e. small LAC with great merit aid vs. full price research university). </p>
<p>And if I couldn’t afford private school, then my kids would go to a good public school (like I did) and they would do well there also …</p>
<p>By going the free LAC route, I also get to save the college fund for postgraduate education, where the gap between elite and state is probably larger …</p>
<p>OK … I have to ask … </p>
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<p>If your child was offered a free education at every school in the country how would you decide … put all the names in a hat and draw one at random … after all a top student can get an equivalent education at any school?</p>
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<p>There is an advantage to go to private school. I can’t stand naive people who have no experience with a topic having such strong feelings. If you have never been to private school, don’t give a baseless argument. I used to attend private school before high school, but I discontinued because I got admission into one of the top public schools in the country(top 20). Even then, my parents and I were still considering the option of paying 30k/year for private high school. It is true that 30k is pretty much nothing for my parents, however, I do know kids whose parents skimp and save to give their kids this type of education. Their are many advantages to it, but I personally don’t need it. I am not trying to sound arrogant or anything, and trust me, I hate using this word, but people refer to me a “genius”. I feel that I am a very independent learner. My current school(top 20 public) is hyper competitive, teachers don’t teach or do anything else, and they just assign crap loads of work. One girl was complaining to a teacher that he doesn’t teach, and he said “Im not a teacher, I am a facilitator”. For students like this girl, not super smart, but above average, private school is a great option. I will make an example of my sibling. He is a smart kid, but no where near super smart. At private school he truly gets spoon fed. He is a hard worker, and wants to do well. He is able to take hard classes and participate in many ECs because of private school. The class is small and personal, and they are flexible and let you take whatever you want. They actually spoon feed the students and teach them. They allow them to participate in ECs such as Sci Olympiad and Math League even though they may not have the capability to do amazingly well. The teachers write great Letters of Rec., and they often get into top colleges. While at a school like mine, they would become extremely discouraged and get eaten alive. They go to ivy leagues and alike because of the private school education, not because they are crazy smart or anything. Any hard-working student can succeed with a private school education, no matter the level of intelligence. It is a great investment for kids who are willing to work hard.</p>
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<p>And, yet, consider this . . . maybe the goal isn’t Ivy admission, but rather a good education. You think maybe that’s possible . . . that a family might value their child’s education?</p>
<p>BTW, many private high schools cost twice that amount. Sounds like this family got a good deal!</p>
<p>ImSoAmbitious, while I see your point, private schools don’t always “spoonfeed” and public schools don’t always “facilitate”, and both can do both, either, or neither. it just so happens that that is the situation with your new school and old school.</p>
<p>I agree with dodgersmom-if a private school was in the area and offered a better quality of education than he area public school, i would try my best to send my child there. yes, “a student can succeed anywhere” but some environments are better than others for certain types of students.</p>