I’m currently a junior in high school and am looking to apply not only in-state (where I can basically get in for free) but also to some schools like Harvard, Northwestern, and Columbia. I’m worried I won’t really receive any financial aid. I’m the youngest in my family of 4 (1 older sibling). Only one of my parents works but makes around $200,000 per year. This income is pretty high and I went to the Harvard price calculator and tuition only goes down to around $45,000 from $63,000. However, $45,000 is still a lot of money for us and I’m not sure if the fact that we have a lot of debt to pay off will affect my probability of receiving financial aid. To actually be able to attend one of these schools, I would need tuition to be around $30,000 or lower (which is still very high) after scholarships and aid because my parents think I’m wasting so much money that will take years to pay off. Is it even worth it to go with all the loans we would have to take out?
What are your stats?
You need to ask your paernts how much THEY will pay WITHOUT loans (since they already have a lot of debt and have other kids to pay for).
There is no merit scholarships from Ivy and it is super competitive from top-tier schools even if they do offer merit scholarships. Your better bet is to look at affordable schools based or those that are less competitive but bigger chance for merit scholarships. There is little mercy to family making $200k per year as they expect the family to have set aside education saving.
Your family consumer debt will not be taken into consideration when these generous colleges calculate your need based aid. If the net price calculator says $43,000 for your net cost at one of these colleges, it is unlikely that the number will drop to $30,000. Your parents have a very high income.
What is your older sibling doing? Will that sibling be in college at the same time as you?
Harvard is one of the best financial aid schools, so if it is not affordable, your list likely has to be merit seeking or low cost.