<p>thought it might be a good idea to explore how many families are going out on a serious limb to afford BS experience for first child/second child, etc. Have heard many people "in the middle" who have received some aid but it will still be a burden on the family to pay full tuition. Comments are welcome from people who have changed their mind due to lack of FA, those who have other kids who may want to attend BS later on, how to pay for college after BS, etc. What is the best way to figure out the best choice when your kid has an amazing opportunity in front of them?</p>
<p>I'm still on the waitlist, but I'm not so sure about my families finances</p>
<p>I think that waitlist applicants get less money, so that's not good</p>
<p>but my sister recently decided that she wants to go to public school because our school isn't working for her, so that's an extra 10k. I don't think my parents would want to spend twice as much though</p>
<p>I was pleased that our daughter was offered FA at the 3 schools she applied to, but even with that it will be quite a stretch. For us, we have a wide spacing between our kids, so we aren't going to benefit FA-wise from bunching them together in college or High School. </p>
<p>For the FA office, they look for fairness among the families they are offering aid to, but as a parent, I wonder about fairness among my kids. Maybe the reason the oldest is getting this chance for BS is because of summer camps, lessons, attention, etc. The FA office isn't going to be able to say, because you paid for child 1 to go to camp, we will make sure to leave you with enough money for child 2. </p>
<p>The FA office also can't know that my house is falling apart and we would really like to fix some things before catastrophe strikes. Every available dollar is prioritized for education of child 1. So we will live with broken bathroom fixtures, holes in ceilings, broken dryer... With the kid spacing we have, I guess we'll get to fix those things in about 16 years!</p>
<p>Even though we recieved fa, we will still be a little tight. I have more than one child and it is always a balance to make sure that all the funds don't go to him leaving the rest of the kids out in the cold. We're also not getting any younger and would like to have some fun with the family while we're young enough to enjoy it.</p>
<p>We have an asymmetrical situation with my older son going to BS in the fall while the younger one (only 20 months younger) much less mature and unlikely to be ready for BS and will probably stay
in public school. However, he will have much more time and attention at home and we can nurture his interests and find his niche. So I think you can give more time and attention to the children at home and this does not leave them out in the cold.</p>
<p>We received no aid offer and paying for 3 years of BS is keeping me up at night, with 8 years of college payments looming (S is 11th grade, D going to BS is 9th).</p>
<p>Perhaps your hard working prep school child will be rewarded with a cheaper ride to college? I have read actually that FA officers at schools like the kids from scrappy public schools which we are working to get our daughter out of. And they expect more from the prep school kids.</p>
<p>is anyone familiar with the fa award process? I am going crazy waiting for fa decision which is supposed to be here by April1,</p>
<p>I have no experience with private schools, but the school my ex applied our son to is $34k a year, he got a 99% on the ssat and both homes have @70K income a year each with 5 people in it,
my son keeps telling me to think positive, but it it a far strech for me to believe a school will hand us $30k which is what it would take with all his siblings</p>
<p>Many of us are familiar with the FA process, however, every family's situation is different and financial aid awards vary from school to school. I know kids who applied to 5 schools and their FA award ranged from 100% FA to 0%. </p>
<p>Is this a day school your son is applying to?</p>
<p>$34K seems high for a day school! </p>
<p>I posted some info on your other thread.</p>
<p>My son's day school tuition will be 33K this year---34 K is not out of line for our area</p>
<p>I don't think 140K a year income over two households is going to be considered too much for fa...not at all. Several of the well-known bs in the east offer free rides to children of a family making less than 80K.</p>