<p>So I have gotten into my dream college - Duke. I am so excited to have been accepted and the only thing i had to worry about was financial aid. And I got my financial aid package today. It sucked. I cannot afford to pay that much for college. I received 4800 dollars in aid. I am so incredibly sad. My family does not make that much money. My dad is a police officer and my mother does not work. The reason our financial aid is so crazy is because we own rental properties. We literally have no money. none. I am going to be denied my dream school because I cannot afford it, that is the only reason. I cannot believe I worked so hard and did so well to only be denied because of my financial situation. What can I do? we are appealing the financial aid decision, but should I write the undergrad admissions office as well. They are the ones who admitted me and if they want me to go there, do you think they would encourage the financial aid office to give me some more money? Can I beg? I got am amazing financial aid package from Wash U, BUT I DONT WANT TO GO THERE. I understand it is a great school, but Duke is where I want to go. I DESERVE TO GO, THEY ADMITTED ME! I know life is not fair, but this hurts so bad. I cannot even explain how incredibly sad i truly am. If anyone knows how to get more money out of colleges, could you please help me. I have applied for tons of outside scholarships, but that will only get me so far.</p>
<p>This is what Duke's web site says:
"Duke is strongly committed to its financial aid program and the principle that a student's financial resources should not be a barrier to enrollment. We view need-based aid as an investment in students and look forward to being of assistance. For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, Duke's admissions policy is "need blind," which means that applicants are accepted regardless of their ability to pay for college. Duke will meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need as determined by University calculations. "</p>
<p>Do you know why if your need is so high Duke gave you so little money? Is there a chance that your family made errors on the financial forms? </p>
<p>My advice would be to call Duke's financial aid office and find out why your offer is so low. Make sure that they know about the financial aid Wash U offered, too. Assuming that Wash U's offer was all financial aid, not merit aid, seems that a great disparity between that offer and Duke's could lead Duke to reconsider.</p>
<p>I am really, really sorry about how you feel- I know it must hurt. But - I say this as gently as possible - if everyone who owned property decided it was "out of bounds" for college, taxpayers and alumni would be putting a lot of people through school that don't really NEED the help, though they may WANT it.</p>
<p>I have owned rental property and know how expensive it can be to maintain. But can any of it be mortgaged? Can any of the rental income go to your education? Would your parents agree to sell off any of it? Since only about 5% of parental assets are counted, the total value of the assets must be fairly high - high enough to have equity available to mortgage (because wouldn't the FAFSA have figured the NET worth when considering assets?).</p>
<p>If your parents are unwilling to sell or borrow against the property, you may be out of luck. It is unlikely that an appeal will work based on this fact alone (unless there is merit money available).</p>
<p>I know this isn't the reply you wanted. :(</p>
<p>Query: If rental property has been fully depreciated, I understand that if sold, the depreciation must be reacptured, meaning that the value is lower - Can this recapture provision of the IRS code lower the equity stated on FAFSA? (It is, after all, a debt owed to the IRS upon disposal fo the property).</p>
<p>No, it's when the property has NOT been fully depreciated that what you took out has to be recaptured, correct?</p>
<p>Maybe there is an accountant on CC that knows the answer to your other question, but I can't IMAGINE that the FAFSA takes into account FUTURE tax payments owed as a liability. I have never filled out a FAFSA but I wouldn't think there would be a line for that....</p>
<p>mjs4n6 - Congratulations on your acceptance to two fantastic schools. I'm sure you're deserving of these honors. By all means appeal your financial aid decision. Perhaps a mistake was made, in which case you can celebrate your good fortune in Durham next Fall. BUT, if no mistake was made then Duke HAS rejected you. You presented your financial situation honestly, and they elected to reject it. It may be time to move on. What would you be doing now if Duke had waitlisted you with no aid?</p>
<p>What about mom getting a job? I know that sounds kind of funny but if I didn't already work.. I would surely be willing to get a job to help out with S's Dream!! Have you talked to her about it? I know how you feel as well.. but rental property, mom don't work.. does sound like there is money there somewhere.. My h and I both work and our EFC seemed insurmountable.. we make under $100,000 K and our EFC was over $25,000/year.. LOL! We have no stocks, bonds, etc and certainly no rental property.. D is looking at Rice and fortunately they did give us an $11,000 grant.. BUT coming up with the $24,000 is going to involve ALOT of scrimping and some major loans (including some taken out by D)... sure Duke is your dream.. but what are YOU (and your family) willing to give up to attain it? And, well, sadly enough.. you have to decide if it is worth it or not. I wish you the best of luck and know that things will go well for you wherever you go.</p>
<p>Don't most top schools use the EFC to determine what you (or your family) can afford to pay toward college expenses? Did Duke use a different calculation than other schools that you applied to?</p>
<p>So MJS - Whatever happened to Cornell? As I recall, you also got in there and UW-Madison? Not many students lave the luxury of an Ivy League acceptance as a "fallback"!</p>
<p>I know Rice upped their tuition by 12%, but will the estimated cost really be $35k?? $11,000 grant (congrats by the way) AND $24K out of pocket??? I'll have to go back and recheck my numbers..</p>
<p>I'm also having a hard time with this one. I live in a college town and H and I regularly talk about how nice it would be to own some rental property. However, with a senior and sophomore in HS, we have been putting everything we can into college savings accounts. Our dream of owning rental property will have to wait because our priority now is funding our children's educations.</p>
<p>I would say go to WashU and quit complaining. Do you realize how many people don't even get to go to college? And most of us don't even get into our top choice.</p>
<p>mjs, when your parents talk to you about money for college, it appears that they may have some non-negotiable areas of the family finances that they haven't shared with you previously. I agree that it may be that your mother could work for four years or they could sell one of the rental properties. (That is, after all, part of the rental property scenario - get some income regularly, pay down the mortgage and get a decent tax deduction, and then sell it at a profit later).</p>
<p>If they are not willing to do either one of the two, then you have hit up against their limits and you will have to choose another option. Negotiating with Duke is a great idea - remember that the best way to approach this is to find some change or error in the reporting and ask for an evaluation (perhaps your parents could work with a realtor to provide a written assessment of their properties' value - perhaps they over-reported. I know I made a mistake the first time by putting my retirement account assets in the investment field instead of the IRA/401K field, so it's very possible that there was an error. Once you have an factual opening, you can make your sincere desire to attend clear, and then bring up the fact that other schools gave you more in need-based aid, would they consider improving their offer?</p>
<p>You have very good options, so stiff upper lip! I will say at Duke seems to inspire this incredible enthusiasm among its supporters - it was not on son's list so we didn't research it. Just out of curiousity, tell me, is it just the basketball? What is the sine qua non of Duke?</p>
<p>mjs4n6 - congratualtions on your admissions!</p>
<p>The financial aid situation sounds like a tough one ... I would suggest having you and your parents discuss the situation with the Duke financial aid office and understand why Duke thinks your fmaily can pay more than your family thinks. Given this info your family can decide the next best step(s). </p>
<p>We're are missing a lot of info to try to provide a lot of help. the big one for me is what was your EFC? Does Duke's package come close to filling the gap from its' cost to your EFC? Or did they leave a big gap? Or did your family expect to pay less than the EFC? If you'd like advice this info would help the CC experts a lot.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>jym - the 11,000 grant +24,000 out of pocket sounds about right. At current rates, and 11,000 grant would mean you had about 20,000 to pay. With increases in tuition, room and board, an extra 4,000 doesn't sound wrong.</p>
<p>I think you should grab the package at Washington U. and move on. I think NewHope33 is exactly right - if you can't pay for it, it is the same as if they rejected you. Negotiate if you can, and if they still "reject you", move on.</p>
<p>There are lots of things in life I'd like to buy (mostly, time). I can't afford them. Those are the breaks. I empathize with you that you would prefer to be at Duke. I don't, however, sympathize with you - in the grand scheme of things, I don't see a hairs breath of difference between the two schools (and when and where I grew up, no one would have "dreamed" of going to Duke or Georgetown if it wasn't for the basketball teams.)</p>
<p>May I ask where your father and mother went to school?</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input. Mini - my dad went to UW-Platville but did not graduate and my mom went to UW-Madison. I know I have some great options, and I a quite thankful for them. I know I will probably just have to move on and look at it as a "rejection," but it hurts. Perhaps my parents would be willing to sell a property or something to help, so I will see. Again thanks, and you guys really made me feel better. Life is tough, but we gotta deal! I will deal and move on and be happy!</p>
<p>Just make sure you reported, and they considered, the value of the rental property correctly. There are two aspects, if I recall correctly, the asset value, which should be market price MINUS mortgage, and income stream, which should be as reported to the IRS.</p>
<p>Hmm, as others have said, I would talk to your mother and venture the subject of her going back to work. I'm sure, with the paltry aid I've been offered, my mum is going to be working more the next four years and scrimping a lot at home. As I said to my father at the celebratory dinner last night - "Thanks for my last meal out over the next four years."</p>
<p>Best of luck with your situation - I hope everything works out the way you'd like.</p>
<p>Well, rental properties can be fountains of untapped cash depending upon how much debt is already on it and the level of income. If your parents have lots of equity it would be easy to take out a $100k loan which would have tax deductible interest. No way they should sell unless they are ready to. If they don't want to help in this way--well, Wash U is a good school too if the appeals fail.</p>