<p>Hopeful Dad, please...you don't need to justify anything to us parents! We're all painfully aware of the costs to raise a child today and the sacrifices we are willing to make to provide our children with the best education. Good luck with the school's decision!</p>
<p>HopefulDad: I ditto jennycraig.<br>
I simply felt the need to reply to the child that was calling me dishonest.</p>
<p>HopefulDad -- that is excellent news, and good information to have for future applicants since such a distribution can make a huge difference in the EFC.</p>
<p>Linda -- I am with you there on the refrigerator issue!</p>
<p>Please stop arguing online with the children, everyone. We're the adults here.</p>
<p>allidoiswait - yes, we are adults, I am not "arguring online with the children." The CHILD called me dishonest, I simply replied to him that it is incorrect and pointed out that he has been promoting a dishonest act for a month on another thread. Teenager or not, when someone says I'm dishonest, I'm doing to set the record straight. My integrity is important to me and I did not want others (adults included) to not have the accurate information.</p>
<p>You know, I had been a jerk, and I'm editing this. </p>
<p>Linda S, here is what you SHOULD have said:</p>
<p>Biggest had a reasonable point: What sorts of things are excludable, and when is it appropriate to do so? When the school specifically says so? When your financial planner/accountant says so? It's a decision a lot of us face, in various different ways. Finances are rarely simple, and sometimes things can look dishonest that are actually just leveling the playing field, Biggest. As the families of boarding students, we all struggle to pay for the experience, and sometimes we need every LEGITIMATE advantage--it's not dishonest, hon, it's showing your financial situation in REALITY, not through the plain numbers that the school may be looking at. Numbers don't tell you about sick kids, terminal family members, soon-to-be-incapacitated parents, or layoffs from jobs. Therefore, it's our duty as the paying family to help the schools get the big picture. :)</p>
<p>My husband and I are both in our 50's and both freelance. We have some savings, but we face retirement with no pension. Some of our savings is in IRA's, but only about a third. Does SSS take into account the ages and future work life of the parents when making their decisions?</p>
<p>acemom - yes they do (or at least they SAY they do) have age as part of the forumla.</p>
<p>I believe that age and assets that are marked for retirement are taken into account. That seems to have been the case in our family where the legal guardian is a retired senior citizen.</p>
<p>Thank you (breathes a big sigh of relief).</p>
<p>Each school may take the information given to them whatever way they want to. Probably some good things to keep in mind:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The more the school wants your student, the better the FA package will be. For all but a few of the schools who basically meet every student's need, you need to make sure that your student is a good fit for the school -- and that they have something to offer the school. This can be athletics, academics, community involvement, connections, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Schools will exempt savings in official retirement accounts (pension, 401K, IRAs) but will include assets that may be earmarked for retirement, but are not "official" vehicles for retirement savings (i.e., rental property, standard mutual funds and stocks).</p></li>
<li><p>Schools do not expect every penny of savings to be used for school costs. Most schools have an "asset allowance" which increases with the age of the oldest parent. I don't have the exact figures for BS calculations, but I do know that for FAFSA calculations a family with the oldest parents aged 45 will have an asset protection allowance of approximately $45,000. After that asset protection allowance, a portion (usually something below 10%) will be expected to be used for school costs. Keep in mind that home equity is part of those assets.</p></li>
<li><p>As far as taking into account future work, this is something that the individual school will need to take into consideration -- and again, this is where you can really benefit if the schools wants your student. Most schools will expect both parents work, work full-time and work until the standard retirement age of 70+. They also will expect the parents to continue to earn the same basic amount that they have in the past. They consider other work choices to be personal choices. </p></li>
<li><p>Future work income -- they will expect the same/slightly higher income in the future. If that is not the case, you will need to amend the info that you filed. Schools take into consideration income that was earned the previous tax year (for instance, you give your 2007 income figures in order to calculate your FA for the 2008-2009 school year). If things radically change (job loss, layoff) you can request a special review of your financial aid package. Some schools are better about this than others -- depending on their FA budget and how much they want your student.</p></li>
<li><p>I always recommend that you start the whole process by getting an estimate of your EFC (Expected Family Contribution). This link is fairly accurate, just make sure you chose "institutional method" and input the correct info (read the amounts off your tax forms, don't guess). Yes -- it is a college calculator, but the formulas are very similiar:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid</p>
<p>Very, very helpful information. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>you are welcome! You would be amazed at how much you learn by reading these boards. The college financial aid board is exceptionally helpful for thinking ahead -- the college financial aid packages are even trickier!</p>
<p>Hopeful Dad, you made my point better than me. My parents are the same for my sibs and me and I will do the same for them.\
Some, eg linda, feel that they can hedge their report and get more money (and keep others from getting that). As an "rare" minority, I could have probably gotten a free ride at any of the schools. I have a single parent who is a lawyer on the reservation, which means he does not make lots. The tribe will also help me. But, my dad had me apply without financial aid as he feels that it is his duty to help me and that the money should go to others. </p>
<p>It does burn me to hear those like linda who go to their camps and have massages, but cannot afford their kid.</p>
<p>hopeful dad sounds like mine and i am as proud of him as i am mine.</p>
<p>as to the script, lady i am a teenager and i have acne. as to the choice of medications my doc prescribes, if they are equal and one requires to be kept cold and one does not, that is not dishonest. how dare you suggest otherwise.</p>
<p>Thank you KitKatBar...</p>
<p>Not that I have to defend myself …but…</p>
<p>Here is what I said:</p>
<p>
[quote]
The school MIGHT exclude the one time disbursement. We had the same thing happen to us 5 years ago and we talked to the school prior and submitted the PFS without the onetime $$.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Then I repeated:</p>
<p>
[quote]
I WAS TOLD BY THE SCHOOLS TO DO IT THAT WAY. That was how the SCHOOLS wanted it. It was not dishonest. The schools wanted to see the EFC without the income that was not applicable.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So you see, I was disclosing everything to the schools, if you had read the posts you would have seen that. AND, I was following the instructions of the schools.</p>
<p>hsmomstef: I agree that college packets are trickier! However, there are a lot more opportunities for kids to get scholarships and such--through the school, through organizations, through their own high school, by writing contests, etc. It's not so horribly dependent on a financial aid review committee!!!</p>
<p>allidoiswait -- true, kids applying to college do have opportunities to apply for scholarships, but those scholarship just reduce the student's need, not the EFC.</p>
<p>for instance -- school costs $40,000 to attend. EFC calculated by the school is $20,000, and the student is offered a FA package of $15,000 in grants and $5000 in loans/work-study/summer earnings. Parents will have to pay $20,000.</p>
<p>Student finds out she wins a huge local scholarship of $15,000! School adjusts FA package for scholarship: $5000 in grant money, $15,000 from scholarship won, parental EFC...still the same amount: $20,000.</p>
<p>there is definitely a benefit to winning a scholarship -- most schools will decrease your loans/work-study/student contribution part before reducing institutional grant monies. But -- unless your student wins enough outside scholarship money to cover 100% of the FA awarded, it won't impact the parent's EFC. </p>
<p>on top of that -- there are very few large outside scholarships. most scholarships are for smaller amounts (which isn't bad, but still) and are usually only for one year.</p>
<p>The best FA for college remains the institutional aid given -- both need-based and merit-based, and many of the top schools do not do merit-based awards (none of the ivies do).</p>
<p>To be honest -- I don't think the FA prospects for college are really that much better. The majority of the school don't meet need, leaving students/parents with quite a gap -- plus, the packages that are given contain loans (for many schools, most of the package is loan-based).</p>
<p>Oh, yes, I see what you're saying. I really only meant that there was a chance to "earn" finaid, as opposed to begging and hoping for it. As far as actually paying goes, you're absolutely right---families are still on the hook either way. :(</p>
<p>But from my experience (and mine alone, I can't speak for anyone else!) I liked the aid best that I had a part in acquiring. There's a sense of accomplishment that goes along with it that I wish was present in BS discussions. Sure, the kids can be proud of the ECs and such that got them IN and offered aid, but it's not quite the same as knowing that you wrote an essay that got you $1,000 for college, that a local organization thinks you are an amazing person, or that your academic efforts got you into an honors college with a stipend, etc. </p>
<p>I guess I'm trying to say that I like when financial aid is tied closer to the student. Not in all cases, but in quiet little ways. As BiggestFoot demonstrated, the kids are fully aware of how much money this process costs. It would be nice if they could feel a part of it---it would nix any feelings along the lines of "Oh, I'm a burden, I feel bad that my family is so stressed."</p>
<p>You are right allidoiswait. Part of my son's FA package IS a merit award that he is very proud of. He earned that based on a variety of things (not a specific application like service club kind of college scholarships, I got those and they are great!). It's not huge, but it's HIS. He feels like HE is contributing to making school affordable and it was very powerful for him to get the letter explaining the award (and what he has to do to keep it each year).</p>
<p>I agree with you -- those merit awards are nice. My son was awarded a merit award at three of the schools he applied to and he was very, very excited.</p>