<p>The thing is, where we live, that income makes us middle class. My parents are divorced and that's theirs combined. I feel lower middle class. Live in a run-down house, don't buy a lot of nice things, etc. parents alway arguing about money.
My dad puts a lot of his salary into retirement, as he got a late start saving for that and he is nearing it.
I go to an expensive private school that costs 30,000 a year
And we pay 60% of that.</p>
<p>the cost of ur private school is the yearly income of my parents combined. **** and embrace the fact that you wont get any aid</p>
<p>y would I embrace that
But seriously, we’re struggling to pay 15k a year
No way we’d be able to pay 60k / yr</p>
<p>You’re not going to get any need-based aid. Tuition is ridiculously high, and financial aid generally sucks most for middle-class families, but you can’t claim to “feel lower middle class” and expect to receive more aid. You make what you make.</p>
<p>Ok
I think FAFSA had us getting several thousand</p>
<p>Yes, you’re not going to get much, if any, need based aid. If I were you I would start looking hard at your state flagship schools… much more affordable than OOS or a pricey private.</p>
<p>I don’t know what your parents are doing with their tax/FAFSA forms, but mine make far less money than yours, and FAFSA gave us 0 aid. We got a few thousand in grants only after an appeal. Tuition/financial aid played a huge role in my college decision, and I fought with my parents about it again and again. Paying for college is difficult for most students; in the end, it’s up to what your parents are willing to sacrifice, and whether you think your experience will be worth the money.</p>
<p>Well I mean I might not even have to worry about this lol
if I don’t get in. </p>
<p>but my friend got I think 10k and he’s richer than I am</p>
<p>He might have gotten a merit scholarship, which are need-blind.</p>
<p>yeah
Idk much about my parents’ finances other than their combined income b4 taxes</p>
<p>Your family was expected to save commensurate to the history that those with that income should be saving, and you, as student should have saved some too. They are expected to tighten the belt and scrimp like crazy while you go to college and put some current income towards the cost, like what they will save having you out of the house if you go away to college, and what they were paying to your high school, and some. You are expected to work too, summers, and find a part time job during the year. Start now for weekends. My kids earned over $10K one summer working 2 jobs, one at a camp all day, one bussing tables at night and one giving private lessons to kids. Tough work, but you’re young, you should be able to do this, right? Also, you can borrow. Stretch out those 4 years to 10 and take out some loans. Not a whole lot but on your parents’s pay levels, they can borrow a little more than some families. I cringe when I see families with low EFCs, zero EFCs looking to borrow, but they want to do this for their kids though it is financial suicide at their income levels. Not so with your family, They can start looking into downsizing to make those loan payments. And you can borrow up to $5500 freshman year, and bit more than that each year. </p>
<p>So that 's how families do it. Past, present and future earnings from parents and student. Past in savings present in earnings and future in loans.</p>
<p>no it was fin aid he got
I think their income is lower but they sold some company and got a few hundred k</p>
<p>I suggest you worry about this after you get in and stop trying to speculate what your friend’s parents do or do not make.</p>
<p>ok
y do I sense hostility?
It’s just an innocent question</p>
<p>I’m so poor I don’t even have air conditioning
and I guarantee you the place I live in is lower quality than the one most of you live in
I’m aware this is irrelevant to fin aid
I just don’t know where the money is</p>
<p>johnhawked:</p>
<p>I’m sorry it seems like you’re stuck. Everyone on here has given you all the speculation we can. The only piece of advice I can give is that if you have tangible proof and explanation of your actual living standards, by all means, if accepted, share that with the financial aid department. If possible, I would have an accountant look at your information so that you can present yourself in the best (or technically worst I guess) light. This is the only thing that will get you any significant portion of aid, as it has been mentioned, 200k is not going to garner you much.</p>
<p>As for now, stop worrying! You have to get in first haha… focus on aid once that happens.</p>
<p>Run the estimated financial aid calculator: people making 200k+ can (and do) get financial aid. The final aid figure depends on myriad other factors, not just income.</p>
<p>johnhawkes, you sense hostility because a lot of us could only dream of a 200k income.
If you haven’t already, start applying to private scholarships and merit scholarships. Those are probably your best chance at funding for college right now.</p>
<p>Well I think my dad puts a lot into retirement
so what we end up netting is really not that much for where we live</p>
<p>^As I’m almost positive that wouldn’t exclusively include government retirement (the investment annual cap is fairly low in comparison to a 200k income), does he put it in pensions or just have money sitting around for “retirement use”?</p>