My parents’ annual income is about $350,000. But it might as well be $60,000 with all of these costs 
No way any college is going to want to give any sort of aid the second they see 350k on my application!!
We spend a ton of money on:
We live in one of the most expensive cities in the country. The most run down, moldy, awful houses cost 2 million MINIMUM.
We pay for a second house in Los Angeles for a family member in grad school who has 0 income.
My car insurance+two parents+one sibling+1 grandparent’s car insurance
Taxes take a HUGE chunk thanks to our large income
Basically paying for everything for the family member in LA, not only house and car but also food, clothes, gas, doctor’s visits, surgery last summer(THOUSANDS)
My doctors appointments plus my hospitalization two years ago, each appointment costs $10(co-pay) so that’s $30/month, but I used to go much more often. Altogether THOUSANDS again.
My EC’s like tutor, fitness classes
We may make $350,000 but you will NOT see us munching on foie gras and sashimi grade fish and sporting all lululemon and prada all the time like we would if we lived in some random city in a different part of the country.
How can I prove this? How am I supposed to say that NO we can’t pay tens of thousands per year for me to go to school without some aid?
This is a spoof thread, right?
All those expenses you mention are lifestyle choices.
I find it hard to believe that with an income that large, you’re having trouble with college fees.
However, if it’s really a problem, you might want to try for schools that have offered merit aid?
Choices.
Think about doing the FAFSA forecaster and see how your ETC turns out in light of your family income, assets, and expenses. This will give you a ball park idea of how the government defines your need. Also run net price calculators for the specific schools you are interested in. You are not alone. There are lots of families with high incomes who can’t afford the most expensive schools. Also, meet with your parents to find out how much they are willing to pay and work from there. You might be eligible for merit scholarships depending on your stats, or you could live at home and attend community college for the first two years.
Erm no it’s not a spoof thread, and very few of them are choices? Excuse me for not being able to control my family and telling them not to drive or eat or live in a different city just because I want to go to college… And health problems aren’t a choice either, thanks. I don’t have a choice about going to doctor’s appointments. Also if I didn’t go I probably would have killed myself a year ago so yeah. The biggest expenses AREN’T choices.Where we live, what my family members do, my school, and my health aren’t choices.
Wow okay thank you to NorthernMom61 for being the only helpful one.
The thing is they aren’t your choices but they are your parents choices. I don’t think the medical bills are that large of a chunk but some sacrifices could be made my your parents in other areas so they could comfortably fund expensive private college for you if that’s what they wanted.
@sojinmilk
Sorry if I came across as rude, I’m just not very used to situations like yours.
Hmm…is that family member in LA totally dependent on you guys? Does the school he/she goes to not have grad student housing? Or is he/she willing to move into an apartment, with rent instead of paying for a whole new house?
From what I can tell, that family member and his/her situation is the one biggest financial drain on your family. Y’all might want to address that, see how much can potentially be saved in finances?
@sojinmilk Start by talking with your parents about how much they are willing to pay. We do not make 350K but we do make enough where we don’t qualify for aid and we are not willing to fund a 65K per year education without enough merit scholarships to bring it down to a certain amount that we have discussed with our daughter. Some parents are willing to fund the whole shebang but you won’t know where to start without talking to you parents first. Many students make the mistake of not entering this process without this baseline knowledge.
I don’t make anywhere near $350k, and we made choices to pay for college. For one, my kids (2 of them) didn’t have cars or car insurance (they had licenses, but didn’t drive my car). There are people who live in San Francisco and NYC who don’t make $350k and don’t live in $2M homes and don’t live in ghettos, so there are ways for you do to it too. If your parents don’t want to pay $65k for you to go to college, go to a cheaper one or go to one that offers merit. You can show many colleges that your expenses are all necessary and the answer will still be ‘so what?’ Unless your medical bills are $200k per year, they aren’t going to make adjustments.
If your parents are willing to pay for a house in LA for a grad student relative, why aren’t they willing to pay for you? Can you go live in this house too and go to UCLA or USC or any one of the other nice schools in LA?
There is nothing you can do to convince any college you are needy enough for financial aid on a salary of $350k, so don’t even try. Get merit aid, pick a different school, plan on borrowing the money if you feel you need to. You just aren’t poor, even if you can’t afford lululemon.
CHOICE, lots of other families in the city somehow manage to live in houses that cost far less
CHOICE, not your legal responsibility. And why a whole house? Why doesn’t family member get a roommate?
CHOICE to have 5 cars. Share cars and take the train or bus. Also, cycling and walking is good for you. We lived in Europe for quite a stretch with no car, only bicycles. I cycled to work every day, rain or shine-- even in occasional snow.
At that income level, you can still reasonably expect a net income of ~2/3 (more than 200k take home).
CHOICE, not your legal responsibility. Why can’t this family member get a part time job? I worked when I was a grad student.
That was two year ago, not relevant last year or presently. $30/month is $360/year. Totally chump change for $350k income.
CHOICE
You vote with your feet and apply only to schools your parents can comfortably “afford”. As a high income parent myself with expensive lifestyle costs, I shed no tears for you. Our expensive lifestyle is our choice; we don’t have the chutzpah to expect other people to subsidize an expensive 1st home, second home, 5 cars, fitness classes, extended family members. We put our foot down and told DS he could not consider schools which don’t offer significant merit scholarships.
COA for public universities, in state, is ~$30k/yr. If your parents are unwilling to pay the whole amount, you are able to borrow $5500/yr, plus contribute your own summertime job earnings ($3000/yr is not unreasonable). $22k/year should be manageable for your parents’ $350k income.
You’ll survive.
Oh please. When you say ridiculous things like this, your whole post loses any credibility. Your parents have ample resources to send you to college. If they’re actually telling you this tale of woe about their finances, it’s because they don’t want to spend the money on you (as opposed to that grad student), and perhaps you should figure out why that’s the case.
Maybe it’s because the grad student doesn’t whine about lack of foie gras.
By your own admission you acknowledge that on your parent’s income your family could enjoy “foie gras and sashimi grade fish and sporting all lululemon and prada all the time”, if not for the present lifestyle CHOICES you all have elected.
The grad school student can easily get student loans. Parents are expected to help with undergrad. They’re not expected to help with grad school, much less buy the grad student a house.
I doubt that there is any city in the US where everyone lives in $2M+ homes. If so, where would the teachers and store cashiers live? Where would the McDonald’s workers live?
Your family is also choosing to support a grandparent. That is a choice. An admirable choice, but still a choice.
Schools expect parents to provide for undergrads, and they’re not going to give need-based aid just so your family can provide for a grad student and grandparent…otherwise the school is going to feel that it is providing for those people.
Curious!!! Why will your parents provide for the grad student and not YOU? Why will the parents provide for that other students grad school costs (and likely also provided for that student’s undergrad costs first), but not you???
It makes NO SENSE that your parents will provide for 6+ years of education for that other relative, but none for you.
Where did that relative go to undergrad and how much did your parents pay for that?
how much are your parents paying for grad school costs?
Ask your parents how much they’ll pay each year for your college. That answer is important.
What are your test scores and GPA? what is your major and career goal?
You will need to find schools that will give huge assured merit for your stats?
What is your home state?
I really thought this was a joke at first, poking fun at spoiled entitle kids, because that’s what this attitude is–complete cluelessness. But seems not. So I will mention some things that may help you.
a) Many many people find the cost of a college a hardship and major expenditure. The difference is that people with 350k incomes usually save to send their kids to college. Maybe they won’t pay for the expensive private college, some people don’t want to or see the value in it, but they usually save something for their kid. So ask your parents what your college budget is for each year, so you will know where you stand.
b) you will not get any need based aid. period. not from any school, the income is far too high. You might as well get that through your head immediately.
c) you can qualify for merit aid and that is what you should be targeting if you need help with tuition. You elsewhere said you have some good academic credentials (ACT 35, 3.9 UW) and that can help you get merit aid if you target your college list right. Look at the lists the forum maintains, they are pinned to the top of the forums. There are lists for automatic merit aid and competitive merit awards, but many many colleges will give merit aid for student who would be at the top of the class. Find and apply to the colleges that have that sort of money to give. The automatic ones can be safety schools for you. There are threads already for this year where people who do not qualify for financial aid are reporting awards for high stats students.
Apply to schools with merit aid.
Frankly, @sojinmilk, you created a couple threads here tonight and, even as a new poster, your manner has alienated responders. For someone with a self-reported 35 ACT, your communication style and tone in them belie the intelligence you must possess. There are a lot of people here on CC with a lot of wisdom and experience who are willing to give you advice but being civil and leaving out the hyperbole will get you a lot further on this website.
For both your questions here regarding finances and your other thread on making yourself less boring to colleges, I do suggest you speak with your college counselor as well.
OP,
I strongly advise you to change your avatar photo. It’s not prudent to be so visibly broadcasting your parents’ income, financial obligations, and your childish entitlement rant.
I’m really hoping the OP is joking.
Supposedly she has a 3.9 GPA and a 35 ACT. That being the case, there are schools where she could get merit aid. Of course they won’t be Yale, Brown, UCLA or Berkeley…but there ARE schools where she could get merit aid.
First question…ask your parents what they will pay annually for you to attend college. You can add $5500 Direct to that amount. That is your freshman year budget. Find a school that will give you sufficient merit aid to attend school within your budget.
Start by reading here:
With this income, you will not get need based aid…anywhere.
Oh please. I’m pretty familiar with real estate in expensive areas. I’d love to know the place where the cheapest house is $2 million. Plus…your family could have made a choice to live in a less costly area…or commute from the outskirts of where you live. I don’t think you are accurate here…at all.
That is a choice. And if that house is in your parent’s name, it will be an additional asset. You are whining about the excessive cost of housing…but your family seems to have the resources to pay for two?
How long have you owned your primary residence? Some schools will consider the equity in that home as part of their need based calculation.
Everyone who owns a car must have insurance. You are not unique. Paying for the grandparent is a family choice.
Yes…because your income is VERY high…and your house VERY expensive. Your family could move to a less expensive house, and your parents could get lower paying jobs. This would lower your taxes. But it would also affect your lifestyle.
Please understand…the costs for this family member in LA are not going to matter one bit to the financial aid folks. That is your family choice…colleges will rightfully say that those funds could have been used to fund your college costs.
Sorry, but $30 a month for doctors office copays translate to $360 a year…not thousands. Even double would be less than $1000. Your medical costs out of pocket don’t even come close to the amount allowed as a medical deduction by the IRS. The colleges are not likely to adjust your aid based on this.
And surgery you had two years ago? Sorry that isn’t going to matter either.
You do realize that you are fortunate to be able to afford to pay for ECs outside of school. Many students cannot do so.
For need based aid. Not going to happen. You have income that is too high…and you haven’t even mentioned any assets…well except that second home. Your parent assets count too.
I strongly suggest you discuss college finances with your parents. You will need to be very realistic in you college application choices based on this discussion. For example, none of the schools in the Ivy League give merit aid…so if your parents aren’t prepared to spend almost $60,000 a year, apply elsewhere.
there are plenty of strong schools where you could get a great education.
If you are in CA, you have a lot of good instate public choices.