DD17, 35 ACT, 36 STEM composite, 5.1 GPA, loads of EC’s, double varsity athlete, team captain, 150+ hours of community service, NHS, extremely unique hobby, has one sister going to college in 3 years. School counselor doesn’t want her applying to more than one Ivy, Both parents are self employed consultants with businesses that have no employees. Income over $150k but well under $200k. DD17 is taking Math 1/2 and Bio subject tests in June. No real equity in home (still having issues with real estate values not rebounding after 2008).
I have been running NPC’s on dozens of schools and basically we can’t afford any of them really. Maybe Princeton (LOL) but we are realistic and realize the chances of her getting in are slim even with her good stats. State schools here are not easy to get in and they are very expensive.
Anyone else in a situation similar to this this and did you get any merit aid, how many schools did you apply to, what was the outcome for your family?
Tried posting this once before and it got flagged, not sure why. I wrote this post a little differently this time.
The net price calculators are not likely to be accurate with two self employed parents.
5.1 GPA on what scale?? And is this weighted or unweighted?
Your student would receive very decent merit aid at University of Alabama.
Would she be interested in Pitt? Apply as soon as the applications come out.
Can you contribute anything towards her college costs?
Did she take the PSAT? Any chance she is in the running for NM status? Did she take the ACT?
Any geographic restrictions?
5.1 GPA on a 4.0, so the 5.1 is weighted. Her unweighted GPA is 3.99 (I think). Since 9th grade all honors classes, plus to date 4 AP’s, 4 more AP’s 12 grade. We can contribute about 10k/year and she can contribute about 10k/year (she has a 529). To me that is a lot of money and this is our “first” child to go through this process so we are clueless really.
She took the PSAT but her scores were lower than they should be due to sports. She did not try on her PSATs (1290 in 11th grade). Her SAT was 1450, but she doesn’t want to submit that score to schools.
College has become so much more expensive than when my husband and I went to undergrad and grad school. The sticker shock is overwhelming and I am trying to get a handle on what the “real situation” is with finaid and merit scholarships.
Any advice on how to get a more accurate NPC with (2) self employed parents?
Here is your issue in terms of your self employed status.
If your child applies to Profile Schools…your business values WILL be counted. You will probably need to submit your entire tax return with all schedules to the colleges.
Self employed folks are allowed deductions by the IRS which are not allowed for financial aid purposes at some colleges. Those deductions will be added back in as income. Each school has its own policy regarding this. Typically things like a car, cell phone, home office, utilities if in your home, meals, travel, clothing, etc…are expenses added back in.
So…I’m not sure there IS a good way to get a good read on your net costs. If your total AGI is say…$150,000…then your family contribution at many schools in terms of need based aid calculations will be in the $40,000-$50,000 a year range…as an estimate. It’s certianly not going to be as low as $20,000 a year unless you have a few kids in college at the same time.
Your net costs at very generous schools like Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Yale would be more generous. But as you note, those are not a slam dunk for admissions.
Her ACT score is excellent. Her GPA is fine as well.
@mom2collegekids what kind of guaranteed merit aid would this student get at Alabama?
You aren’t going to get much need based aid with only one in college. If you can afford up to $20K then that will pay for room, board and other costs in many places. So you need to focus on full tuition scholarships. There are many automatic or nearly automatic scholarships at that level at schools in various states, including a number of public flagships. There are a few full tuition scholarships at decently ranked privates but those will be much more competitive. And full rides are also highly competitive.
FWIW my D18 with similar stats to yours got a full tuition scholarship at the University of Utah and subsequently competed for and won one of their full ride scholarships. The key is not to just focus on big name schools where their major scholarships (e.g. Jefferson at UVA) are insanely competitive.
@thumper1 You mentioned “Profile Schools” what does that mean?
@dopefuture
Some schools require an additional financial aid application form called the CSS Profile. The Profile looks into quite a bit more financial detail than the FAFSA does. Princeton doesn’t use the Profile, but it does have its own Princeton form in addition to the Profile that asks similar information.
You can go on each college website to see what forms and other required submissions are needed for need based aid consideration.
All the ivies are Profile schools except Princeton which uses their own form. Virtually all the best schools use css profile except Chicago, UCLA, Berkeley and mentioned Princeton.
Adding to thumper’s post…also things like depreciation are also added back in.
25k per year
What major and career goal?
There are places in the Midwest she could go for $20,000 if you’re open to that area.
DD17 is interested in public/global health. We are looking at some schools in the Midwest, Ohio and IA.
You ask each college financial aid office individually and hope it gives you a good answer in terms of what deductions you need to add back when using the NPC with self-employment or small business income. But you will not find out if the answers are good until/unless the student gets admitted with an actual financial aid offer.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21089443/#Comment_21089443 is a list of full tuition or higher merit scholarships for stats. Verify on college web sites since some may change. There are a few other slightly less than full tuition for stats merit scholarships at Arizona and (for 33 instead of 36 ACT) Alabama.
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/ is an older list of competitive full tuition or higher merit scholarships. Due to the age of the list, all should be checked on college web sites due to changes. In general, competitive merit scholarships should be considered reaches, even if the college would be a safety for admission only.
Auburn and Missisippi State are also great choices for merit scholarships, similar to Alabama. Also she’s likely to get a full tuition scholarship at both TCU and Baylor. In fact, with Baylor, that scholarship covers part of her room and board.
Look at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She could qualify for full tuition there.
I’d be focused on guaranteed merit for the ACT score, state schools or OOS that guarantee merit. I’d encourage the student to apply and seek out packages but have those guaranteed financial “safeties” in your pocket just in case things don’t work out as you hoped.
One thing many parents this year commented on was how much they underestimated HOW competitive, competitive money was to actually get. How much they underestimated the amount of need that would be awarded and how their 35/36 ACT kids were not as uncommon as they thought.
I have a 34 ACT kid, we went with guaranteed merit from Univ. Alabama Huntsville thanks @momtocollegekids who pointed me in that direction last year after we failed to have that guaranteed financial safety and the whole college search imploded around us.
I would include a few state schools with auto merit of at least full tuition; as room, board, fees, books, transportation and personal expenses will eat up that $20,000 just about anywhere. You can supplement that with a few applications to schools with full tuition competitive merit scholarships (U of Miami-Fla for example).
All of this is going to make my head explode, I have read so many conflicting articles (Forbes) etc. I need someone else to help me figure this out.
Pitt worked out well for us. Our oldest will be a junior there next year. We live on the west coast.
He applied there when their application opened up, so really early in the application cycle. He received his decision pretty quickly along with a full tuition offer not long after. That brought the costs down below $20k/year which was well within budget. He had a 35 ACT and a 2350 SAT (old scale), NMSF, lots of research in high school and lots of sports/leadership. He also was quite advanced in math (hasn’t had to take a math class yet for his engineering degree at Pitt- he may have to take a statistics class.)
It’s nice to have a good offer early in the cycle, as it takes some heat off. Our state flagship couldn’t come close to Pitt’s offer. Northeastern University came in slightly higher than Pitt, but then my kid was offered the Chancellors scholarship at Pitt which is a full ride.
We make a bit more than your stated income and we knew we’d get zero financial aid. We also had another son one year younger and at our salary we weren’t going to get anything even with 2 kids in college. Both boys chased merit and ended up OOS and our costs are pretty minimal.
We will be giving them their 529 plans eventually unless they use the balances for grad school. Which in engineering they shouldn’t have to- so, there’s that.
I’m a big fan of Pitt.
It would be a slam dunk for full tuition at several schools if her PSAT scores were at the caliber of her ACT, since NMF is still a guarantee factor for several schools, but you have to deal with what you have. It would be great if she can apply to some of the “safety” schools that give our large merit packages this summer. I know that many practice rolling admissions. Baylor, for instance, would likely admit her and invite her to their fall invitation to excellence. @missbwith2boys just gave the same advice that worked for her with Pitt. You would then know by November whether you have some good schools with competitive honors programs that are definitely willing to be affordable. Hopefully, that will take the stress off and she can apply to other schools and go through the financial aid program just to see what is possible, not as her only hope.
You say that you need someone to help you figure it all out…it sounds like you have a very smart daughter…put her on it! You may feel shame that you suddenly are realizing that you are up Upper Middle Class and simply can’t afford some college choices, but now is the time to accept that, educate her about it, and let her be a part of finding an exciting an affordable solution.
For my part, my daughter just finished her freshman year at a university where she chose to go because of the total package, of which cost was a huge portion. Truth: It was hard for her last year to face her peers who knew she could be admitted almost anywhere, and name the school she was choosing. But 1 year into the college experience and that is all behind her. She is challenged by her teachers, loves her friends, and studying in London over the summer without worrying about working all summer to pay for her education. She feels great about her choice and her maturity in making it. win-win!