How does college aid work for families with large middle/high school tuitions?

<p>Hi, if someone could give me some direction in this predicament, it would be of great help. My family makes ~$100,000/year, but we also pay around $17k/year for Jesuit high school and Catholic grade schools. However, I noticed that there isn't really a place to put that info on the FAFSA, and on all the predictors we've tried our EFC is way higher than my family will ever be able to pay, and I am afraid that number will prevent me from getting very much financial aid, and thus making my top schools unaffordable. Right now my main two are SLU and Creighton. I got $17,000/year and $14,000/year from each in merit respectively, but that still leaves about $30,000 a year for both, which we just simply cannot do. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Thank you so much!</p>

<p>High school and middle school tuition are not factors on the FAFSA.</p>

<p>High school tuition only is taken into consideration on the CSS profile. Since you are graduating, there will be an expectation that the tuition that your parents used to pay in order for you to attend high school, they will now use for you to attend college.</p>

<p>I forgot to mention that I have two younger siblings as well, so even with me graduating, we are still going to pay over $10,000 a year for elementary/secondary school education.</p>

<p>Does not matter. It is your family’s choice to have you attend private school. The FAFSA still does not consider other children attending private/elementary/middle or high school. They only consider siblings who are currently in undergrad.</p>

<p>Talk to both your high school guidance office and the financial aid office at the school. Catholic schools feed into catholic colleges, and there are a lot of awards and grants and tuition waivers that you might be eligible for or that your siblings might be eligible for while you are in college</p>

<p>Aid from FAFSA is federal aid…from tax-payers. The system isn’t set up to give a family more federal aid because they choose to send their kids to private K-12…that’s a choice.</p>

<p>I’m not criticizing; my own kids went to Catholic K-12.</p>

<p>The Catholic univs may take SOME of it into acct if you tell them, but on FAFSA, it won’t make a difference. However, the Catholic univs not going to give you “dollar for dollar” credit. If you’re paying $10k per year for private K-12, then a Catholic univ may give you a couple thousand more, but not the whole amount. </p>

<p>And, at some point during your college years, will any of your siblings be in pricier Catholic high school??? If so, then at that point, your parents will be paying a lot more than $10k per year for 2 younger sibs.</p>

<p>Since it sounds like you may end up with an unaffordable EFC. You run a big risk that you may end up with NO affordable schools. </p>

<p>What schools do you know FOR SURE that you have all your costs covered???</p>

<p>What are the NPC’s saying that your family should pay?<br>
And…how much will your parents pay?</p>