<p>1/3 of that 200k goes to taxes, leaving ~130k nearly half of which would go to college at a top tier school. That’s excluding the insane living costs of Santa Barbara.</p>
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<p>Money for school is not supposed to come directly out of income. It’s supposed to come out of savings, income, and future loans. </p>
<p>Secondly, at “top tier” schools, there might be some financial aid even for that bracket. If not, and you can’t afford it, don’t go to an expensive top tier school.</p>
<p>meteman - the thing is you are neglecting the fact that living in Santa Barbara is a choice, and that living in Buffalo, at the salary you could make there, would still net you a very nice home, and a lot left over. You are paying for something, which presumably you are getting, or you would be living in Buffalo.</p>
<p>meteman, you live in CA with plenty of choices for instate tuition. If you would like to save some money start with the UCs and Cal States. If you want to save even MORE money, have your child start at one of the CA community colleges and commute from home.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>Yes to the above posts!</p>
<p>meteman…</p>
<p>Believe me, I hear you. I’m from California and own property there. But, the formula is based on the idea that you’ve been saving for college these last 18 years. So, someone with your income should have been able to save a few thou every year. That would help go towards your EFC. And, with that income, you could afford to borrow a bit to also help cover your EFC.</p>
<p>Remember that the PRIMARY responsibility to pay for college lies with the family…not with the gov’t and not with any school.</p>
<p>Going to expensive colleges (like living in expensive areas) is a choice. If you can’t afford an expensive college, make other choices.</p>
<p>We have a VERY high EFC because of rental properties. So, we gave our boys a choice… Take big merit and we’ll help with grad and med school. Or, go elsewhere and we can only help with undergrad. </p>
<p>They chose big merit.</p>
<p>But, you have another choice…your UC system. </p>
<p>If your EFC is $55k+ (like you suggest), then you can “cut” your EFC by almost half by having your kids go to a UC (COA $30k).</p>
<p>or…you can do what my kids did and accept huge merit scholarships…which can really reduce an EFC. We pay very little for our older son’s undergrad (about $2500 per year) and about $8k per year for our younger son (Less than the cost of their Catholic high school!! LOL). They’ll graduate debt-free and we can easily help them with grad and med school expenses.</p>
<p>"The COLLEGES might expect you to spend all of your savings if they gap you in aid…but FAFSA assesses assets at 5.6 % (approximately). That is NOT all of your savings on kiddo number one…for four years it’s about 24% of your savings…and that’s if the account earns NO interest. Per FAFSA. "</p>
<p>thumper: I know you have been saying this for quite a while. However, it seems that many believe that they should be subsidized all the way.</p>
<p>“Remember that the PRIMARY responsibility to pay for college lies with the family…not with the gov’t and not with any school.”</p>
<p>Amen.</p>
<p>Those on this thread who b*** because they are (like my family) middle or upper-middle class and can’t necessarily send their kids to the most gold-plated of institutions, should go on over to another thread, entitled “Just in time for Christmas . . .” or something similar. The comments from the OP and applicanot, one of the respondents, give a vivid sense of what it’s like to be applying to college as a high achiever with no family resources or support. In my opinion, these are the kids who ought to be receiving financial aid. If my kid goes to Flagship U rather than, say, Vanderbilt, it will make zero or practically zero difference in his life outcomes. If a kid whose circumstances are seriously constrained gets a big scholarship to a good school, on the other hand, it can make a truly gigantic difference.</p>