My S25 put my email address on his psat or pre-act form and I am getting spammed!
You can log onto College Board and/or ACT and change it.
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My sophomore son is about to leave for 6 months in Sydney, Australia! We canât afford to visit but will enjoy hearing from him. His BU financial aid is all transferring. This is one of 3 study abroad programs offered within the College of Engineering. Heâll have to cook for himself which is the only part Iâm a bit nervous about!
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CurryâŠ. This is your last day to applyâŠ. Several days later, you can still apply. And an eek later, did you apply yet? 
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At 85k a year, many middle class students qualify for tons of financial aid and they are not âpoorâ.
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Boom, that oneâs done. 
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Agreed about $85K. However, there are many on CC who think middle-class is also $185K, or even higher.
There is little effort to discern between lower-middle-class and upper-middle-class and even lower-upper-class. And depending on whose speaking in these forums, âmiddle classâ apparently will range from $50K-$300k. And some will even suggest income can be higher for âmiddle classâ in the area where they specifically live. There is no standard in the CC forums.
It really helps when people mention a specific number (or at least a range like $75-100k) to help everyone else be on the same page.
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I think part is based on cost of living- $185K in Boston equals = $109K in Cleveland, etc.
I also think thereâs the schools that are extremely generous - the Ivies and similar.
And there are others that are unable to be. Iâve shared the story at W&L - it showed at my income the average grant was $38K or $40K and 88% of people received. I was one of the other 12%. When I asked why, I was told it was based on assets - and that average assets are 2x income - which for me would be under $400K - not a lot of assets.
When my daughter considered applying to Cornell, the aid officer told me if you have $1 million in assets, you would not get any aid - regardless of income. The aid officer told me education is an investment and we expect families to invest in their kids. So for those on here who get frustrated schools expect them to tap home equity or a businessâŠthatâs why.
Most schools are not going to be as generous as Cornell or W&L.
So yes for some - you can make $200K + and still get aid.
But as are most things we look at on the CC, I think thatâs more the exception than the rule. We tend to talk about the elite schools but most schools donât fall in those elite buckets and are unable to provide significant need aid (at least above the significant merit aid many already give as they need to ârepriceâ themselves to reflect the reality of the marketplace).
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75-100k a year income would be poverty line for a family in my area. It would be hard to even live here on that income. Your point is correct. Our family income would sound like a lot of money in most places, but not in the hcol area where we live.
Some of them are just pathetic. My favorite is âDid you get my email?â Um, yes. He got all 47 of them! 
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So do all the college emails just magically stop coming after this week? My daughter has tried to unsubscribe from Rutgers emails like 27 times but they wonât stop. I hope they get the picture after this week that itâs not happening.
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The value of our house alone would put us over the top at most schools. 
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Letâs be real. There are families living in the Boston area earning $50K and families in the Cleveland area on less. No matter how itâs explained $185K is a heckuvalotofmoney!
To be blunt, I donât think those earning $185K/yr (living ANYWHERE) and who try to explain how little $185K is, have any idea what the real middle class is like. 
I mean that with all the mirth I can express. Because HONESTLY to families living on $80K, it sounds like a joke to say âbut those poor families in city X having to scrap by on a measly $185K.â
I know some schools provide aid to families earning that much and thatâs great. Letâs just try not to ask us to suspend our disbelief and pretend that living on $185K+/yr is a hardship akin to poverty. 
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U of Chicago is known to cast that wide net to get more applications from even unqualified students. Chicago can then reject a higher percentage of applicants and to appear more and more âcompetitive.â
My 23 was discouraged from applying to Chicago for this reason. The school doesnât share our values.
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When I read that, what it tells me is not that $185k isnât a lot of money, but rather that $109k in Cleveland equals $185k in BostonâŠmeaning $109k in Cleveland is a lot of money there.
Not being able to buy everything one wants doesnât mean that the income being made isnât high.
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So if a couple makes $185,000 a year, figure in federal, state, local taxes ⊠they can afford a mortgage of about 3k a month⊠which is about a 400k house⊠Can you buy a 400k house where you live? My super normal 20 year old tract house is worth 1.3 million. This is the problem my kids are facing⊠even if they were ârichâ by your standards of 185k a year, they could barely afford a crappy condo.
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As an adult, I have never lived in a house as new as 20 years old, tract or not. Or even 35 years old. Or had a family income of as high as $85,000 before taxes. And that includes two years as a family of three in Westchester county in rented housing (within the last 15 years) when we were living on $50,000 a year with over half going to rent and utilities. We frequently have no health insurance depending on what state we live in and options there.
And yet because we save no matter what, and because that can rarely be in a 401k since employment is often self employment, we have a lot in a checking account and we have a complicated bio dad situation, so we are not eligible for financial need grants despite our family income.
But the median household income in almost every metro area is lower than $85,000. And even places like San Francisco are at $120,000. Most Americans canât live in a neighborhood with 1.3 million dollar tract houses. A lot of us have to move every few years to find work at all. Itâs a luxury to get to choose a place like that. Itâs a luxury to stay near family and get to live where you grew up. Many of us donât get that nor do we get to chose to live in the places we would like. Getting those choices is part of recognizing that the incomes required are ârichâ or at least âupper middle class.â
I am reacting to this because even after taxes, I canât see how a couple has only $36000 left for housing. Even at a tax rate of 50%, they would have $92,500 to spend.
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I was simply responding to your comment that there are some on CC that think $185k is middle class. I didnât say I agreed or disagreed. I was simply noting that there is a distortion in a specific # based on location of residence.
I live in suburban Nashville and not in the Bay Area or Boston or NYC or Honolulu so I donât know how far $185k would go.
In my county, the median home price in November was $800,096. Of course many (1/2) paid less and those who sold and are rebuying likely have significant equity. But for someone buying now, is $185k middle class or not ? Donât know. Middle ClassâŠ.or upper or lowerâŠis another artificial term defined by anyone and everyone in their own way, no different than the what is an LAC discussion taking place on another thread.
Of course people donât need to buy the median home or even in a specific county (they can live elsewhere in a less costly place).
Anyway was just expanding upon your comment but not criticizing. Just addingâŠI thought context.
I too see those who state this and in my personal belief, one made choices to have the life they have (if thatâs a new or big expensive home or car, etc) and truth is no one (imho) is entitled to a safety net short of the guaranteed programs states run via community colleges or select four year institutions such as NC is now doing with their Promise program or NY TAP, etc.
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The reality is, our adult kids probably canât settle anywhere near us. The further you move out from the city center though, the farther you are from the industries that pay a healthy income, so we canât really move away from here until weâre ready to retire. Weâre probably in the top 5% for income, yet we have no vacation homes, RVs, boats, jet skis⊠we have a big family and a bunch of kids we put through college without debt. We have some retirement savings. Thatâs it. Are we rich? I donât think so. We both grew up poor, so we know what poor looks like, but if this is rich, we got duped, lol. Whereâs the mansion and yacht??? Maybe some childless couple are enjoying themâŠ
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Well, you can move far away.
I live in PA. I work in NYC. Until the pandemic, I commuted over two hours each way to work.
Not because I wanted to, believe me. But because if we wanted to buy a house, this is as far as we had to go before our income qualified us.
We have 4 kids. The older two, with babies and real jobs, donât think theyâll ever be able to buy a house. I think the plan for millenials/GenZ is âwait until the parents die.â
But our decision was a choice. We wanted a house. We couldâve bought a condo and been closer to work. We all make choices. I donât whine about my commute. er, much.
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