<p>Hey everyone...im in a middle class family, my parents combined make like 130k approximately, but we live in New York which is an expensive state to live in. So i dont think id qualify for financial aid. I have 3 siblings as well. So my question is if others any others are in the same boat. It seems like people on this site need extreme financial aid or arent worried about the price of tuition whatsoever. My parents are trying to coax me into a state school in the SUNY system but its really not what i want. So i dont know if this made sense but im just trying to figure out if people in my boat can afford the 30K price tag of William and Mary for example or if their searching for other less expensive options.</p>
<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I'm in the exact same boat as you. My parents make a combined 130-140k a year and we live in a very expensive city. Our cost of living is very high and my parents are nearing retirement. To make things worse, we have a fully paid house. I don't think we'll get a cent of fin-aid. We're Canadian and my parents had been saving to pay for Canadian Uni, which is less than half what US costs. They don't want to pay for my tuition in the States. What am I gonna do!</p>
<p>You could receive merit aid, although that is impossible to predict at any given school. Remember to apply for financial aid (FAFSA and maybe Profile depending on the school) where ever you apply, many schools will not even condider you for any aid (even merit) if you don't.
You may receive loans (and again if you don't apply you have no chance of this)
Check out what each school's requirements are for aid, each school is different. For example one school my d applied to had an interview requirement to be eligible for aid (not to get accepted) which we missed and so - no aid.
Also don't discount the SUNY schools completely - Geneseo for example is very highly ranked and is lovely.</p>
<p>130 - 140K and no mortgage payment? Yikes.</p>
<p>Tons of people would love to have your financial problems. :)</p>
<p>Pay part of it out of savings, part out of current income, and get a home equity line for the third part.</p>
<p>Does it make any difference if on top of that 140K theres like 70K in taxes?</p>
<p>In the other thread, you indicated:</p>
<p>Family income: $160,000 USD/yr
House: $720,000 USD, No mortgage
Savings: ~$100,000 USD</p>
<p>Most taxes do get considered in the financial aid formulas. But with that income and that savings, I doubt that you'll come up with an EFC (FAFSA or Profile) that will be lower than the Cost of Attendance at the schools you're considering.</p>
<p>Try the calculator at FinAid and see what your FAFSA and Profile EFC's are.</p>
<p>I'm in a similiar situation - high middle-class income, three kids, expensive area....my parents want me to go to a UC, which is an option, but I really want to go somewhere else that happens to be private and across the country. My dad has said he won't sign any loans, so I don't know how I'll make up the difference between the cost and what he can pay. My brother wants to go to a UC that's 30 minutes from here - thank God for him! At least someone's going cheap.</p>
<p>Wow, I'm not the only one. My mom just got another promotion, so she's making quite a bit, but not enough to pay a ridiculous amount each year. I'm not sure how much it is, but I do know our house is worth $600,000 because of crazy house prices and I won't qualify for any FA. My parents said if I was their only kid, they wouldn't hesitate to take out a second mortgage out on our house or use some of the equity we have, but I'm not the only child, I'm the oldest of 4. They want me to go to a good out of state school, but if I don't find enough scholarships, they're pretty much keeping me at UF. I've been trying for a few on Fastweb.com, but so far I've only gotten $1,000 from AAA, and its a savings bond. Are these essay contests I'm doing worth it, and should I apply for every one of them? And how much can you usually get from local scholarships?</p>
<p>The seniors at my school have typically applied for as many local scholarships as possible. I think they usually get anywhere from 1,000-5,000. One girl got the equivalent of a free ride at a private college, so there's definitely hope. I'm just disappointed at the rising costs of college - if you're really rich, no problem, really poor, you get grants, middle class, you get screwed.</p>
<p>At least your parents 'wouldn't hesistate to take out a mortgage'. My parents don't even have a mortgage on our $800000 Canadian house, but they still refuse to take any loans or equity etc. I'm screwed for American schools, but at least we have Waterloo and McGill up here.</p>
<p>"...middle class, you get screwed."</p>
<p>I think this thinking comes in part from a misguided sense of what most families make. Most families don't make 150K-- that's more than three times the median, and not 'middle class' in any realistic sense of the term.</p>
<p>A family making the median family income has excellent prospects of getting considerable financial aid. And even a family making twice the median has a chance of getting some aid, depending on their assets.</p>
<p>Sometimes kids who grow up in affluent neighborhoods think they're financial situation is typical, because all their friends have the same things they have.</p>
<p>There are some incredible merit aid awards IF you research & find the schools that are searching for YOUR strengths--high test scores, high grades, ECs, interest. Some schools publish what they look for in granting merit aid. My son applied to colleges known to give good merit aid for credentials like his & was able to get 1/2 tuition from 2 of the schools he applied to, a full-ride at a 3rd school & an acceptance with NO money from a 4th school. The other 4 schools he applied to rejected him.
I have read of others who have also gotten merit awards, mostly from the colleges themselves. Your college counselor at your HS may be able to help advise you about which schools have given merit aid to students with credentials similar to yours. There are threads on CC about schools which give good merit aid, listing websites.
The schools exist & it helps if you fit the needs of the colleges--being from a different area of the country/world, have a skill/talent they are trying to develop, etc.
My son tried hard to get good merit aid because we don't qualify for "need based" aid and he did NOT want to attend the out-of-state public U which offered a full-ride. We are all happy that he got enough merit aid to allow him to chose one of the other schools which accepted him.
Applying broadly to a carefully selected list of schools is a good idea, so you can compare merit awards from "comparable" schools and decide which works best in terms of finances, academics, and social issues.
Very few people can comfortably afford the tuition, room & board at many US colleges & universities of $120,000-200,000, so it truly is difficult, especially if there are sibblings, parents near retirement, medical bills, etc. Some folks go to a less expensive school initially & then transfer after a year or two, so the total out-of-pocket expense is lower.</p>
<p>Not to bring down your thread/concern, but I really dont think you realize how lucky you "middle class" people are. </p>
<p>Being poor and getting grants is in no way a better situation to being middle class and "screwed." Even when you're dirt poor, you cannot count on sufficient grants. </p>
<p>A coworker of mine only got about $800 in grants for a tuition bill of about 4k. His mom makes under 20k a year, he works 35 hours every week and 60 hrs during breaks to help his family out and pay for tuition. </p>
<p>My boyfriend's parents, divorced, make about only 35k a year combined. He has to work over 40 hours a week, live at home, and still take out bank loans for his 13k/year tuition. The only free money he gets is the $600/year scholarship his employer offers.</p>
<p>And then myself... my mom brings home less than 15k a year. Admittedly, I did not even try to apply for grants this year. During high school, I worked my butt off to save money for school, and since I managed to save 16k and received a 5k (non-need) scholarship, I highly doubt I would have gotten much aid anyway. But I don't think my lifestyle in school was enviable... I worked 16 hrs/week my freshman year; 26hrs my sophomore year; and 35-40 hours my junior and senior year (yes, illegal). Since junior year, I've had to help my mom out with the household finances. Last year I gave her 7k. So far this year I've given her 2.5k. I don't know how it will work-- if it will work-- but, in college, somehow I'll have to support myself, support my family, and still find a way to pay tuition. </p>
<p>BTW, dont think the reason why these parents make only 15k-20k is that they cant hold down a normal job. My town is severely economically depressed. We simply do not have many good-paying, white collar jobs. We used to have some decent factory jobs, but many closed down or went to Mexico. :0(</p>
<p>But anyway, you are lucky in the sense that you still have affordable options (although they might not be your first choice). And you are EXTREMELY lucky in the sense that, in college, you probably won't have to support financially anyone but yourself. So don't think grant money makes our college financing any easier. Sure, I've also heard a few stories about people getting practically free rides from need based aid, but that is definitely not standard for every poor student out there. In short, poor does not equal substantial grants. You are still probably waayyy better off than the average "poor" student. Be grateful for that.</p>
<p>Ceecee, I can't tell you how much I admire you and all those similarly situated who overcome much more adversity than many others can even imagine. Check & see whether your employer offers scholarships--some do give them and/or help pay for tuition for their employees to further their education.
There are schools which guarantee they will meet 100% of financial need, including Ivies. Of course, it's really tough to get into them, but if you do, they guarantee folks with low income & low EFC will NOT have any loans. This would really be worthwhile considering, particularly if your profile makes you competitive. Sometimes schools which meet 100% of need without any loans are MUCH cheaper than other schools.
Good luck! You are right that there is much to be grateful for--health, the ability to research & network, the ability to attend school, the ability to have & make choices.</p>
<p>it seems as if there is no definate answer in this thread, also is anyone muslim in this thread (no interest loans for us :( makes the situation even worse!)</p>
<p>My parents are in a similar circumstance...
~6 figure income
~700,000 house, no mortgage</p>
<p>But I have rich grandparents who gave me 75,000 to use in a college fund, so I didn't even bother filing for need aid.</p>
<p>*Uconn will only cost in total roughly 20,000 a year (nice merit package), so I am basically set for undergrad. and my parents are willing to pay for grad. school. yay!!!</p>
<p>Hey sanguine99, looks like I might be going to UCONN based on financial reasons as well. My parents have a 6 figure income, too, but we do have a mortgage and no college savings...Will you be an out-of-stater or a resident?</p>
<p>Is UCONN your first choice?</p>
<p>I'm OOS. UCONN was initially my safety, but the more I looked into it, it looked like where I wanted to be. I was rejected at my reaches (Duke and Dartmouth), but accepted at WPI and RPI. The more I thought about it, I wanted a broad base education and I didn't think I could find that at a technical school. I didn't want to apply to Umass because MA public higher education is garbage (even though I got a full ride to Umass amherst).</p>
<p>Uconn was initially around 33,000 a year OOS, but I got about 10,000 in merit aid and a research stipend. I also received a few minor scholarships (not school affiliated) worth about 2,000 and renewable for 4 years.</p>
<p>Another thing which turned me on to UCONN is the shear number of brochures and papers they sent me to try to recruit me. I got into the honors program, I have received 2 phone calls from students, etc. UCONN also has a really good reputation for sending students to graduate schools. I think I will be really happy as a Husky for the next 4 years :)</p>
<p>I guess will both be at Shippee (or wherever they house honor students)...</p>