I live in an area that has appreciated a lot in recent years (Northern Virginia) so whereas when my parents bought their home it was 300k. . . It has nearly tripled. . . Will that skew my aid, because we are by no means wealthy enough to outright pay 70k a year. Thanks.
Schools that consider home equity will consider what that equity is the day you file your financial aid application forms. So…if you house how has $900,000 equity, the schools will use that number. Why wouldn’t they? If you family sells your house, that is the profit they will have.
So…look for schools that either don’t use home equity OR schools limit that amount.
Oh…and you are very fortunate to have a LOT of very wonderful instate public options in Virginia that cost far less than $70,000 a year. I would suggest you seriously consider some of those schools.
There are also lots of schools around the country that cost less than $70,000 a year. I’d you can’t afford a $70,000 a year college…look at schools that don’t cost that much.
It depends on the policies of the schools. Those who consider home equity will consider the current value. Make sure you apply to some schools that don’t consider home equity. Run the Net Price Calculator for the schools you’re interested in. You should also ask your parents how much they’re willing to pay.
There are a lot of schools that don’t consider or limit home equity.
Any college that only uses the FAFSA won’t consider your primary home equity. Some Profile schools, and some schools that have their own financial aid form do include primary home equity.
But really…your parent income is what drives need based financial aid in most cases. If your parent income is above a certain amount…you would not receive need based aid anyway.
You would be fretting about this for no reason if your parents are high income earners.
Im not worried about the income - I know several people who had extremely high incomes, yet still received some scholarships (majority paid for). But thanks for the replies.
Don’t confuse merit aid with need-based aid.
Need based “scholarships” or merit aid??
Sure, some kids with high income parents get MERIT aid which doesn’t consider income or assets. If that is what you are asking about…then your equity in your primary residence won’t matter.
But it COULD matter if financial need is considered.
Really…some folks worry about home equity affecting NEED based aid when their incomes are sufficiently high that they don’t qualify for need based aid anyway.
So…are you talking need based aid…or merit aid concerns?
ETA…I can’t think of ONE college that costs $70,000 where a student would be guaranteed to get $70,000 or even $50,000 of merit aid. Maybe someone else can.
Here are the stats you posted on you chance me thread. I don’t see a SAT or ACT score. Did you take that…because for merit aid, you would need a great SAT or ACT score as well.
There is NO merit aid at all at Dartmouth, Princeton or Harvard, and very very limited merit aid at Georgetown. But these schools do guarantee to meet full need for all. However, with $175k to $200k income, you aren’t going to get a free ride there either…and not close to full costs being met with need based aid. Not close.
If you can not pay the full cost of attendance at any UC, then take this off your list. The UCs don’t give any aid to out of state students. Costs are about $65,000 a year.
You are a resident of VA, so don’t count on getting much in aid from Rutgers.
Same with McGill…you aren’t a Canadian citizen.
NYU is well over $70,000 a year, doesn’t guarantee to meet full need for all. Merit aid is possible, but a free ride isn’t. Your parent ability to pay will be considered.
U Denver would likely give you some merit aid…but not a free ride and in terms of need based aid, the school will expect your family to pay their family contribution.
You are a resident of Virginia…so UVA is going to be the best cost deal for you even without aid.
So…how much can your parents contribute annually for college? You need to get that question answered.
To what schools?
Three words: Washington and Lee. The merit aid (Johnson Scholarship) is amazing, and the school is phenomenal and only getting better.
@luckymama64 indeed the Johnson scholarship is terrific…but it’s competitive and not at all guaranteed…for anyone.
Georgetown, Amherst, Smith and Princeton do not include home equity in their aid calculations. Brown hits home equity particularly hard.
I recommend running the NPC calculator for any schools your daughter is interested in. Best of luck!
Where are you getting this information? The best single site source I have seen for data on home equity impact on need-based financial aid says that Amherst, Georgetown and Smith all use home equity up to 1.2x income. Maybe the data has changed, but I doubt it. All the numbers from the spreadsheet available in the link below are from 2017.
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/will-your-home-equity-hurt-financial-aid-chances/
@thumper1, you are correct that the Johnson is very competitive, BUT W&L gives amazing merit-based scholarships in addition to it. I would strongly suggest you apply. Also, their need-based aid is very generous as well.
Definitely, will look into W&L they have sent me stuff before, the only reason I hadn’t done so is because I’ve never really looked at the Midwest as somewhere I’d potentially go to college.
Washington and Lee (W and L) is in Lexington Virginia…which is NOT in the Midwest.
You must be thinking of Washington University St. Louis…but the Jefferson Scholarship is NOT for that school. It’s for Washington and Lee…in Virginia.
So what was your SAT score? You wrote in an earlier post that you would be taking it in June and again in August.
OP. If you can mix up a college only a few hours from your home, you have work to do. Make a list of every college in VA. Get a college guide.