<p>Alright, my financial aid situation is a mess, but this I know. My mom only makes 35,000 dollars a year. This would lead me to believe that I would be getting a full ride to Harvard, if I am accepted.
BUT, of course, it's not as easy as it seems. My father recently passed away, so we will be collecting life insurance money in the near future. Every bit of this money will be put towards paying off my father's debt. Will collecting this money affect my financial aid? =/
Furthermore, my mother only supports me, so our 35,000 dollars is plenty for us, and we are by no means living in poverty. Will the fact that I am my mother's only dependent affect my aid?
I suppose what I'm asking is this: is a free education for those with an income below 60k a year a general rule, or is it definite regardless of other factors?</p>
<p>assets - debt + income < $60,000 a year = full ride.</p>
<p>If my understanding of financial aid is correct.</p>
<p>Surely that’s not right even in the slightest.</p>
<p>Say if you own a house valued at $500k and have no debt but an income of around $20k a year (single parent), thus in your calculation that is equal to $440k. Now under your equation again, that would mean this person would get ANYTHING BUT A FREE RIDE and hell, might even pay the top rate of education at Harvard. </p>
<p>That’s absurd.</p>
<p>Are assets even taken into account when considering financial aid at Harvard does anyone know?</p>
<p>I’m not that familiar with exactly how financial aid works, but I think assets are indeed taken into account when calculating aid, though not in the way bitesize mentioned. </p>
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<p>But I’m thinking that after you use the money to pay off the debt, it won’t be on your parents’ bank account anymore, so it won’t affect your financial aid situation at all…</p>
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<p>The fact that you’re the only dependent will affect aid. You can plug everything here and see how much of a difference it makes: [FinAid</a> | Calculators](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/calculators/]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/calculators/)</p>
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<p>There are lots of factors that are taken into account. I would post this question again in the financial aid forum where there are posters who are more knowledgeable about the process, and perhaps called the Harvard financial aid office to ask about your situation.</p>
<p>Good luck [noparse]:)[/noparse]!!</p>
<p>I’m deeply sorry about the passing of your father; my condolences to you. </p>
<p>I’m not a Harvard student, but what I understand is this: if Harvard really wants you, they’ll try and put themselves in your family’s shoes and understand your family’s financial situation. As such, I suggest you place your primary emphasis on getting accepted first. Best of luck!</p>
<p>^^^Starryeyes101</p>
<p>See: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/945819-schools-new-financial-aid-initiatives.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/945819-schools-new-financial-aid-initiatives.html</a></p>
<p>There are several threads on this issue already; the above is just one of them. Since 2007, Harvard no longer includes home equity when calculating a student’s financial aid – no matter how much the house is worth. See: [Harvard</a> announces sweeping middle-income initiative | Harvard Gazette Online](<a href=“http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/12/harvard-announces-sweeping-middle-income-initiative/]Harvard”>Harvard announces sweeping middle-income initiative – Harvard Gazette) If you don’t believe what Harvard parents are saying, then please call the Financial Aid Office and ask them yourself. The number is 617-495-1581.</p>
<p>I am the sole dependent of a family that makes < 30,000 a year, so I believe I can be of some use in answering your questions.</p>
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<p>I doubt it.</p>
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<p>The “no family EFC under 60,000” rule applies to a one-child family as much as it applies to a 30-child family.</p>
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<p>Almost definite. Your primary residence does not count toward your EFC (Expected Family Contribution), but I suppose if you have a slew of additional properties it would count against your aid. I am guessing that is not the case for you.</p>
<p>Harvard’s financial aid is very generous and they are not looking to catch people on technicalities. If your income is what you say it is, your parents shouldn’t expect to pay anything if you get accepted. You will still most likely have to come up with a ~$1000 student contribution from a summer job or something, though.</p>
<p>@StarryEyes</p>
<p>I now realize my calculation is flawed, but in the example you gave, they shouldn’t be given a full ride, anyway. Someone making 20k couldn’t possibly afford the mortgage on a 500k home. Even if the home was paid off, they couldn’t afford the utilities nor the taxes on the house/land.</p>
<p>As a student whose family income is also about $30,000, I completely agree with what DwightEisenhower said.</p>
<p>I would also add that the EFC is 0 provided that annual income is less than $60,000 and one has what the schools call “typical assets.” This means assets such as account balances, cash, and such, but not the value of your home. I tried looking for clarification on what “typical assets” means, and I found Stanford’s definition of “typical assets” means <$250,000 (for those of annual income <$60,000) on their website. I would suspect Harvard and the other Ivies to hold a similar range.</p>
<p>Now, what this means is that, if you do have a large sum of money lying around, go ahead and pay off all your debts and home loans first. Then if your assets are low enough, you’re fine.</p>
<p>Thank you so much, you all have been most helpful. I’ll be visiting Harvard in a few weeks, so it really helps to know kind of where I stand. =]</p>
<p>@bitesize</p>
<p>Your calculation was absurdly wrong and that was my point. </p>
<p>In the example used, the house say for examples sake, was given to said mother (with mortgage paid off), when she got divorced from her husband. She still makes <$30k per year and thus my point is, a student in that situation should be given a full-ride no?</p>
<p>@Gibby, </p>
<p>Thanks for your clarification; I heard sch a change was introduced (do you know if this is Ivy League wide, or just Harvard by the by?), but wasn’t sure if this was exactly the case regardless of family situation.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>@StarryEyes101</p>
<p>Yes. But the women in question would be homeless, anyway. Property taxes :O.</p>
<p>EDIT: After reading my initial post again, I concur with you. That calculation was terrible, haha. Even though assets are obviously taken into account, they probably are not in the very rudimentary fashion that I suggested :X.</p>