Howard is not a bad pick for a prospective IR student: good diversity training and smack dab in DC!
Our son is going to check out Howard. He qualifies for tuition+room. His first choice is Temple, which also gives good merit aid. SAT is a little higher than OP, but GPA is a good bit lower.
Look into Miami University (Ohio). The competetive merit scholarships could bring down the price into your budget. It is going to be hard to attend a school for $20,000 that is not one of your instate publics.
Sounds like Dad’s thinking is you can get a great education at a instate public for $20,000 so that is what he is willing to pay. Smart Dad. Lucky kid. I feel the same for my kids. We could afford more than $20,000 -$25,000 a year but that is the max we are willing to pay. If they want a more expensive school they need to earn it through merit. I just pray my kids recognize what a gift they are being given.
You are actually very fortunately to have that much family income. It is unfortunate that your father is not willing to save/pay for your college.
@ClassicRockerDad I find the crack that her dad wants her to stay close to home to have babies a bit over the top. None of us has any information about his motives. You do not know the family’s other financial obligations. There may be elderly relatives they are paying someone to care for (have a coworker doing that) or other family members they are helping out. I actually know several comfortably well off families that have told their kids that they are willing to pay up to the cost of going to the in state flagship university but anything beyond that the kid has to earn scholarships or otherwise figure it out how to pay for it.
Parent also need to save for retirement and other kids. I don’t think we should say they just don’t want to pay more. Just bc I will do something, I do not think it is the only right answer.
And I do think parents may be shocked by the current COAs! And kids may be shocked to understand that $65k a year is way more than most people can come up with. I’m not sure most affluent kids understand even how much $ that really is!! In NY, you would have to earn $130k just to pay the college bill! Everything we pay for costs double from income due to taxes (except certain deductible items, college not being one at that income level.)
So think if it as my parents make 325 and refuse to pay $130. 35% of income!
Or look at after tax income of about $170, and paying $65 out of that…
Makes it a bit easier to grasp the magnitude…
I would love to be in the room when that discussion takes place. I don’t think a “most” upper middle class white suburban kids would attend Howard for their undergraduate degrees (even if it’s a free ride). They would attend for Medicine and Pharmacy graduate degrees, without hesitation, if they have borderline Stats. A family member attended a small Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) Program at a Black Inner City Hospital (Harlem Hospital), that targeted African American Nursing graduates. The program offered no (zero) tuition, paid books and a $600 per month stipend. The program received hundreds of applications from across the US from white applicants, despite its locations and not so high prestige.
http://www.tax-rates.org/income-tax-calculator/?ref=nav_income indicates that a $325,000 wage/salary income for married filing jointly with one kid and standard deduction pays about $99,000 in payroll and (national and Indiana) income taxes, leaving a net of $226,000.
Note: if OP is a senior, this, in my opinion, is WAY TOO LATE for parents to be telling a kid for the first time what they are willing and able to pay toward college. This should be done, at the latest, in the middle of junior year when lists begin to form and visits begin to be made. Parents, do this before your kids make assumptions based on your income or wealth.
@billcsho said:
Huh? The Dad is willing to spend $20K/yr ($80K over 4-years) which is just enough to cover Tuition, Room/Board/Books at IU and Purdue (and some of the other in-state institutions). How did you arrive at the conclusion he did not save any funds for college? It is also possible that he has a very large family. There was a female student who indicated that she might not be able to attend Cornell University for Engineering, despite the fact that both her parents were physicians. Turns out, the parents had 9 children and she was the first in line to go off to college.
Personally, I can’t think of anything I’d rather spend money on then the education of my kids, but that’s me and those are my values. Y’all can do what you want.
Whether this kid is lucky or unfortunate depends not only on facts we don’t know, but on philosophy.
Michigan State has an International Relations program through the James Madison residential college. OPs stats would probably get her an invite to the Honors College which would likely result in in-state tuition and a $3,000 yr. scholarship as well as $3500 to study abroad. If she becomes a National Merit Finalist, she’d get free room and board and another $4,000. Maybe merit money for undergrad would allow her parents to pay for grad school in a more cosmopolitan setting than East Lansing or West Lafayette…
IU is my alma mater, and it’s a great school. I think you’d be happy at IU, most students are.
What is about the schools on your current list, that are too expensive, that you like?
There are small liberal arts colleges in the northeast that may give you enough merit aid to come under 25-30k, total COA. Is the 20k rule set in stone?
You know it’s their choice. You are lucky the give you money for college tuition. I know some posters like criticize some parents lifestyle, but the bottom line it’s their money, their choice. My kid also knows some wealth lay family, not the $325k income family but a whole more and guess what? The kid is going to a UC but the family flies first class to their original countries.
Thank you for so much of a response! I was not prepared for all of these comments, but let me clarify a few things.
As @mom2collegekids pointed out, yes, I did previously believe that my parent´s income was at 200k, this is what my mother had told me as a rough estimate. My dad (who did graduate from IU, you guys are on the ball), the one who handles the finances, told me yesterday that it would be closer to 325k. Part of the reason I was unaware of this amount is because I am not treated like money grows on trees or anything of the sort. I attend an urban public high school and all of the clothes I purchase come from babysitting, particularly families with whom do not even know my parents and know me independently. Please do not assume from one number that I am spoiled or ungrateful. I do not think I am unfortunate! I simply said that this number was unfortunate for receiving college aid. I believe in the college aid system and I am not demanding to receive aid that I do not need, I know and believe that that should go to families who cannot afford college otherwise.
Yes, I do realize that many of the schools I was originally looking at will not ever satisfy the 20k dream. I have crossed them off my list. I have applied to both Alabama and IU. Thank you to all of you that pointed out the automatic scholarships, awesome! Also, I looked at OSU and their many merit scholarships. Also thanks for helping me understand the work-study program, I´m assuming I can still get a job with the university somewhere like at the library or something, hopefully. Thank you all for your thoughtful responses! 
Also, no, my dad does not want me to stay close to have babies. Like many of you suspected, he wisely does not want to spend an exponential amount for college when he and the rest of his family received a perfectly good education at a state school. My mom differs a little bit, but she was also straddled with debt until her 30s. He was an accounting major at Kelley at IU and is trying to make it the most logical decision possible. I forgot to mention that I also have two younger sisters within 3 years ago! 3 students at once is a lot, and I understand where he is coming from and do not question his reasoning. He has said that he can make it manageable for all three of us to get through undergrad with $80,000-$90,000, which I am very happy and grateful for. I was just looking for some advice on getting the most bang for that! Thank you for all your help!
@ClassicRockerDad, maybe parents are older and want to retire soon? Maybe they have other children to send to college? Maybe they just don’t want to spend money on college tuition they don’t have to, when Indiana has perfectly respectable universities and colleges that are much cheaper to attend.
Although I do agree 20k really limits OP’s options… and yeah, 325k in Indiana goes a long way… Honestly, IU may give this kid a small merit package, making it even cheaper. Maybe they’re just cheap?
If OP were in IL, he couldn’t even attend most in- state schools on that amount.
@gigglebot3 you sound like you have a great head on your shoulders! best of luck and I’m sure you’ll find a great fit for a price you can afford.
deleted, not relevant at this point.