warning - Don’t read this if you don’t want to hear a lot of whining.
I’m so annoyed at college fin aid. It hits the middle class the hardest and there’s nothing to do about it. Poor people don’t have to pay much at many schools, and rich people can afford to pay outrageous tuition costs, but colleges expect middle class people to contribute an unfair amount. I have no interest in graduating with a ton of debt but I also don’t really want to go to a state school. IT’S NOT FAIR!!! I’m going to apply to some private schools anyway and see what they offer…
Life is not fair. It is so unfortunate that you were not born poor. Life would be easier for you now.
@TomSrOfBoston I said not to read it if you don’t want to hear a lot of whining. I’m happy with life, just annoyed at this process. You don’t have to be nasty about it.
If you bring an issue to a forum, it should be actionable. You can’t change schools’ financial aid policies. Expensive private colleges, like many other things, are to some extent privileges for the wealthy or those with astronomical stats.
What’s wrong with the state colleges?
@frontpage okay, I’ll refrain from complaining. There’s nothing wrong with state colleges, and if I end up at one I’ll be okay with it, but I want to go to a college that has a very college-like feel. I love gorgeous campuses and small classes.
I hear your concern. There are things in life that are not fair. To be honest, the poor don’t have it that well either. Unless they get into a full need met school (and many of them are not need blind), they’re not getting these enormous scholarships you’re talking about.
@frontpage That’s true…I was referencing my own situation, because most places I want to go to are very generous with low income students. To be clear, I am not saying poor people have it good in the college process, I’m just pointing out the disproportionate amount that middle class people are expected to pay.
The kids with near perfect grades/scores can find merit aid regardless of income (so, let’s not talk about them). For the rest, I agree being mid-class is hard, but poor is no better. Most low income grants cover tuition only, leaving room and board to the student (college room and board is $$$). This is why so many lower income kids are at commuter schools.
From your posting history you are aiming for the Ivies. Most will make it affordable but your parents may have to make sacrifices for you.
I don’t think colleges expect that middle class families use the majority of their yearly income to pay for college. But I do think they expect that families would have started to save funds for colleges years and years ago, so that they would be funding college, through savings, income and whatever financial aid comes there way.
A worse situation:
Being an average low-income student in a state such as NJ, with expensive public schools. $11,000 might as well be $50,000 for many poor families.
@newjerseygirl98 sorry 
that sucks
Whining is normal for a HS kid. Enjoy it if it makes you feel better.
My income puts me in the (somewhat upper) middle class. I would need to pay $50,000 a year for my S’s education. But I am grateful to my S’s university because it generously provides my S almost $20,000 grant. Also the sticker price of $70,000 (tuition, room and board) is at least $30,000 less than what the university spends on my S each year.
I feel sorry for my S’s university; It is not fair to the university for it loses so much money.
@prof2dad thanks for the whining approval. I was starting to feel like a spoiled brat :-S
@greenteen17 Welcome to reality. Fill out the NPC’s at some private schools and see if they are affordable. Fill out the NPC’s at schools that meet full need and see if those are affordable. Find some schools where you may get merit aid. There are many people in your situation who can’t attend their top choices due to finances. Be glad for what you have.
FYI there are state schools with small classes, " gorgeous" campuses ( this is subjective) and a “college-like” feel ( not quite sure what that means). I say this as somebody with two kids at state schools.
I had a parent who refused to contribute anything to my college education. That wasn’t fair either. But I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have received a full-tuition merit scholarship to a private college close enough for me to commute. Did I get the full live on campus 4 years experience? Nope, especially since I had to work off-campus quite a few hours a week to pay for transportation costs, books, and fees. What I did get was a great education that has put me in a position where I can afford to send my kids to live on campus (at private schools where they earned merit $$).
Poor people don’t exactly have it made - while there are scholarships out there, sometimes the cost of things like board and fees can still make college unattainable. And often less socio-economically advantaged kids have had educations that did not prepare them to handle college classes. It’s not like being poor is some kind of golden ticket.
The reality I presented to my kids was, we can afford to send you to live on-campus at a state school without debt (using savings and current income). If you want something else, you need to earn merit money, which means not going to the best possible school you can get into - but going to the best possible school where you are in the top 10-15 or so percent of incoming students so you are eligible for merit aid.
Life is full of difficult choices, and you have to be realistic about priorities.
Merit awards are out there, and much of the research is done already, through the kindness of folks here at CC who have shared their knowledge. Check some of the “stickied” threads on merit awards.
The first step in the college search is to identify affordable colleges. There are many wonderful schools, which value the contributions of high achieving students and give substantial merit awards to enroll them. They won’t necessarily be names that will get oohs and aaahs from classmates, but they will offer a wonderful education and experience. Knox College, in Illinois, remains one school I was deeply impressed with, in terms of the faculty, the focus on students, and strategic growth. There are many other similar schools.
Your definition of “unfair” is the crux of this.
Just want to say that you have every right to vent. It seems to be a hard truth that private colleges are set up for the rich, and in some cases can be very generous to those that are poor. The state schools are filled with the middle class. The good thing though is that you aren’t poor in terms of the rest of your life situation. Good luck.
OP, there are millions of people that agree with you.