<p>People are actually envious of me for my handicap sticker (very severe asthma; I can't breathe.) I would much rather leap tall buildings in a single bound and be happy to walk miles on end which I did before I had asthma. I think they imagine I cheated to get the sticker. I've been told I'm lucky to be handicapped. Huh?</p>
<p>Which reminds me of a street sign I saw in France marking a handicapped spot: if you take my parking place, you'd better be willing to take my handicap too.</p>
<p>And calmom, I didn't take offense, but in fact you did say that high earners are stupid for not taking income into the equation. As others have said, income isn't everything. When I posted earlier about having a negative net income, I didn't say I had zero income. I actually have a high enough AGI to preclude my sons from having any chance of financial aid. It's the AGI that counts, not how much money is left after paying mortgage and property taxes. The reasons for my negative cash flow are good ones, my point is that a high income doesn't tell all the story.</p>
<p>"The reasons for my negative cash flow are good ones, my point is that a high income doesn't tell all the story."</p>
<p>That was my point, as well. We don't resent people who get aid, and we likely could have gotten some if we didn't choose to earn the money to pay our kid's bill. But they shouldn't be envious of the dollar figure on our tax returns unless they're wiling to work as hard as we do, either. We are happy with and grateful for our circumstances.</p>
<p>All this affirms something D constantly says: We can't selectively envy what we perceive to be perks of someone else's life unless we take the whole package.</p>
<p>* for poorer families suffering...well...I wouldn't necessarily say that. I'll admit I have very little exposure to lower class kids who attend schools like stanford, but a very good friend of mine attended Harvard and didn't have to pay a dime. His family made less then $20,000 a year, which explains the very generous financial aid he received, but as they had already fully paid their house off, lived comfortably. The family saves a fair amount of money each year and will be able to retire painlessly. I appreciate the fact that aid like this exists. Without it he wouldn't have been able to go to any college period.*
Sounds like this family can give us all some tips.
Gas is over 3 a gallon, so is milk. We do our own work, mostly on the cars, but parts are still expensive. We try to do our own work on the house, but don't have money or time and admittedly not as much skill as required. Dont even ask how much we spend on medical expenses, glqsses, prescriptions, etc. every month that isn't covered by health ins.
We do have an older dog and she doesnt even * have ins* and even her prescriptions are running $100 a month.
How does any family live * comfortably* on less than $20,000?
Even if your home was paid for , there are maintainance costs, ins, taxes and that is just assoc with housing.
Raising a child who is bright and prepared enough to enter into one of the most competitive universities in the world is amazing enough, but to do it on less than half of the average annual American income is mind boggling.
Please come back and tell us how they did it.</p>
<p>"All this affirms something D constantly says: We can't selectively envy what we perceive to be perks of someone else's life unless we take the whole package"</p>
<p>You've got a wise on there, Mythmom. Very, very true.</p>
<p>I qualify for FA to the extent my kids can go to private LACs for about what I'd pay for in-state tuition at a state U. I believe my state U offers free COA to kids from families with very low income and guaranties no more than $19 in debt on graduation for any student, beyond their EFC. No one living on $20k/year should have your envy. I pay $3k in property taxes on a home with no mortgage (lived here 25 years, thank-you), about $7k in health insurance that doesn't even cover the whole family, a few thou more for disability insurance, and generally have several thou in dental and medical expenses each year. Not counting milk, food, heating oil, or gasoline, that means I've got fixed costs of something like $18k to $20k before I spend one dime of discretionary income. I'm currently paying two college tuitions as well. How do I manage it? PFM. Google it. ;)</p>
<p>PFM is how FAFSA expects us to come up with EFC for COA. (I am acronymous today...probably better than acrimonious!)</p>
<p>So I have a question. For those of us whose family annual income is $200,000, should I even bother to fill out FAFSA and CCS and financial aid? Would it be a complete waste of time because I'm probably not going to get anything? BTW, I am applying EA to Yale. Or is Yale so very rich that I might get some money from them even though I probably won't get anything from a not as wealthy college?</p>
<p>It's always good to fill out forms and file. This is especially important if your financial circumstances change. FA is harder to come by in later years if you haven't filed originally. Being denied still creates a folder for you in the FA office.</p>
<p>Assuming that you do not have siblings in college - or some other extraordinary factor (like a huge family or extraordinary medical bills) -- then you are not going to qualify for financial aid if your family income is $200K. If you are seeking merit aid at other colleges, many will ask for those forms in any case.</p>