<p>How much money is too much to be made by your parents to limit or even get rid of any chance to get any need-based financial aid?</p>
<p>I don't think I've ever seen an ultimate answer because it would entail putting in every possible family situation into every single college's institutional calculator to come up with the magic number that is the limit of financial aid. It is not a relevant answer anyways, because the question is only important to the asker about his own family situation. What you would have to do is to put your family estimated or any numbers in the calculators and keep increasing and changing parameters until you get the limit.</p>
<p>Need based aid is determined by more than income. The number residing in the household, the number enrolled in college, the total cost of attendance, other aid received all contribute to determining whether a student is eligible for need-based aid. I've had students with 14k EFC remain eligible for Subsidized (need-based) Stafford Loans. I also had one family with 60k AGI be eligible so Pell Grant funding (family of 8). I've also had a family of 2 with an AGI of 20k have no need-based eligibility.</p>
<p>sorry to hijack ... </p>
<p>is high school tuition calculated to determine financial aid?</p>
<p>AKittka, financial aid is determined in many different ways. FAFSA will not take high school or other private school other than college into account for financial aid purposes. Private colleges that use PROFILE or their own methods can take that into account. Do not know how many do.</p>
<p>It depends on your EFC and how generous the school is. If your EFC is 50,000, you aren't gonna get anything. Calculate your EFC and compare it to the cost of the school. The difference is what you should expect for aid if they meet 100% need but it may not be what you actually receive.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse.. from my thread lol. thanks for the response. i just don't understand how paying total high school tuition of roughly 120k between my sister and I counts for nothing (basically 4 years at a state funded school like PSU). but i guess it was my parents' and my decision to pay to go to high school when i could have gone for free to public school. oh well, it's a little frustrating.</p>
<p>As someone who has had all of her kids in private school, I do know how you feel. I feel that private colleges should honor the private tuitions parents pay for siblings seeing that their very existence is on the same plane. For state schools and the FAFSA, I can understand the omission, as it is a family choice.</p>
<p>The biggest variable, by the way, in qualifying for financial aid, is the choice of colleges. If you are applying to state schools that use FAFSA, you may not get aid other than subsidized loans even if you qualify for need according to FAFSA and EFC. If you are lucky enough to get into Harvard or one of those other top flight, well endowed schools that have generous financial aid guidelines, you may get aid despite a high family income, and assets if you have sibling in private school or other special situations that the schools would recognize in addition to their more generous income and asset limits.</p>
<p>War Chant, an EFC of $50K from FAFSA may qualify you for financial aid at schools that use additional forms and calculators.</p>
<p>It was just a rough number, from my experience (and siblings) though along with the PROFILE, a high EFC = little or no aid. Once again, it does depend on the school. But lets say, a public school that only uses FAFSA, you are unlikely to get anything,</p>
<p>why live in North Wales to go to private school. Schools in that area are some of the best in the area.</p>
<p>The schools are going to think, if your parents could afford that they can afford to keep paying for college. </p>
<p>Why should a 60K HS education count towards getting free money from a college?? that would have covered the COA of 4 years of some PA state colleges.</p>
<p>
[quote]
why live in North Wales to go to private school. Schools in that area are some of the best in the area.
[/quote]
seriously. </p>
<p>It boggles my minds that you can pay $15,000/year for private high school but then want a break for college.
BTW - many, many private colleges use only the fafsa. I can think of the 3 private colleges that my kids who were publically educated in high school attend(ed).</p>
<p>PROFILE users and colleges that may have a supplement to FAFSA or their own apps, may give consideration for private school tuition for siblings. Catholic colleges often give consideration for that situation, in addition to giving some merit money to those who graduate from catholic schools. </p>
<p>There are many reasons for families to want their children in private schools and make it worth while to pay that premium. That goes for high school, lower school, as well as college. Parents who can pay $15K for state colleges may often want financial aid to pay for a private school that costs much more. Same philosophy in effect.</p>
<p>nothing wrong with paying for private schools. Catholic HS around here is <5K (I'm not sure exactly). My point is, this person lives in a GREAT school district. If the parents can afford to pay 60K for HS, surely they can afford to pay for college, even if it's a 15K a year state school (fafsa only). And no, those schools won't care about the fact that your parents are paying HS tuition for a sibling.</p>
<p>People in philadelphia send their kids to Catholic schools so they don't have to attend the local school. North Wales is a completely different education situation than Philadelphia</p>
<p>Philadelphia</a> Education News and Colleges - Philadelphia Inquirer</p>
<p>affluent neighborhood, top notch PUBLIC schools. I think this would be the school that you would attend as a public HS in North Wales. I could be wrong</p>
<p>A GREAT school district for one kid, could be a disaster for another. There are many reasons why parents who live in a good, or even great school district choose to pay for private school. I can see where a "public" uni would not make any consideration for private tuition, however, the same philosophy for those who pick private colleges over public ones can hold. I guess those who live in Virginia, Ca, or Michigan should not get financial aid for Harvard under that logic.</p>
<p>here are AKittka's stats. He has a great chance for merit aid at schools that give that (regardless of income, EFC, etc)</p>
<p>Both my kids are in private school and both get financial aid to do it but we pay part of the cost and it still will affect our ability to pay for college when the first one goes. Don't assume people in private schools can afford to pay for college easily a lot of us get financial aid for PS. I'm really unhappy to hear that the tuition payments to private school don't count - didn't know this before.</p>