Remarkably strong assets = no finacial aid?

Paying for College
21

<p>*Or maybe it’s because he has his heart set on sending me to Rice and figures the more schools I apply to, the less likely I will want to go there. Either way, I haven’t really fought his decree since I feel fairly satisfied with my list of schools. From the advice on here, though, maybe I will try to search for schools that would give me more merit aid. *</p>

<p>Well, your dad may be in for a shock if you get into Rice and Rice expects your parents to pay the full $50k+ per year. There’s a saying…be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. </p>

<p>In other words, you may love Rice, get accepted to Rice, and make your dad happy, but then your parents may say that they had no idea that they’d have to pay for all of it. At that point, it would be toooooo late to apply to other schools that would be more affordable. </p>

<p>Also, tell your dad that times have changed. In our day, we only applied to a couple of schools. But, now, because costs have risen so much, we have to apply to more schools in order to determine which are the most affordable.</p>

22

<p>You are joking, right? OMG if we had a million in assets I would gladly pay the full tuition. Sheesh!
—“For FAFSA only schools, the equity in your primary residence and your parents’ retirement plans (commonly 401(k) and IRA accounts) is not considered. The value of family owned businesses with less than 100 employees is also exempt from reporting. So, that leaves a smaller amount of assets and then parents have an asset protection allowance which is based on the age of the older parent. After that is applied, 5.6% of the value of the remaining unprotected assets is used to compute your EFC.”
I don’t believe this, because if it were true, our EFC would be much lower. Our assets are $0. If we sold everything and paid our mortgage, 2nd mortgage, medical bills, line of credit that supplemented my business losses for the past 6 years…
How do they figure the gross income into it? It sickens me to think we have to either 1) sell our house/belongings and move to a cheap house <em>OR</em> 2) get divorced and have the boys with me to get away from the $16,000 EFC that we can not afford without taking from our “under $100,000” 401K. One boy going to school this year, I’m taking night classes, find another job, and close my $250/week childcare business, as well as a 2nd boy going to school next year.</p>

23

<p>notan_oxymoron - A few things.</p>

<p>1) Tulane - The app is completely free, whether you send it online, on paper, or by telegraph or smoke signals. WIth your SAT scores you will be getting a personal app in the mail soon. Very easy, and if you do it quickly and mark it EA you will get an answer quickly (a few weeks, maybe even less). Along with you acceptance they will offer you $25,000 in merit money I feel quite sure with your stats, and an offer to the Honors Program. BTW, with your stats you are a CC superstar. 1510/2270 and valedictorian is pretty high level stuff. You should also apply for the Deans Honors Scholarship, which is full tuition for all 4 years, no matter how much it increases. This requires an additional application, which involves an exercise called the "box project’. It is very competitive (75 winners out of about 1300 applicants each of the last 2 years), but you would have a very good shot at it. If you are not planning on applying ED or EA to any of the other schools, you could even apply SCEA to Tulane. It doesn’t obligate you to attend if accepted like ED does, but it does tell Tulane you are very serious about the school, which can only help your chances at getting the scholarships.</p>

<p>2) Your Dad - This may fall into the useless advice column, but your Dad not only isn’t the one attending college now (you are), but he won’t even be paying the majority of costs probably. If you get a scholarship like I mentioned above, it is actually you that earned and paid for the majority of the cost. But in any case, you know your Dad and we don’t. I find it unfortuante that he is being quite this controlling, but certainly he is hardly unique in that regard. I am sure he thinks he is doing what is best for you, but it comes across as being more about him.</p>

<p>3) Texas - I am not so familiar with their scholarships, but don’t the have valedictorian scholarships and the like? Look into that.</p>

<p>4) Carleton -this confuses me a little. I thought you wanted to stay closer to Texas? I mean Carleton has a great reputation and all, but why exactly is that your dream school? But it is true they are unlikely to meet your financial need with the assests your family has, although I am no expert in this financial aid/FAFSA/CSS area for sure.</p>

<p>I wish you the best of luck, and if you have any questions about Tulane (about which I do know a lot) feel free to PM me.</p>

24

<p>

</p>

<p>If you are thinking about a PhD, then if a college wants you, they will typically pay you. A decent admissions offer to a PhD program should include tuition and fees plus an assistantship.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Penny-wise, dollar-foolish. If your stats are that high, then Texas and Texas A&M, for example, will often offer some merit aid, as well as many, many privates. But you don’t know what tens of thousands they will offer unless you submit your less than $100 application.</p>

25

<p>mom2collegekids -
If I got into Rice, my parents would probably be happy paying full tuition. They have this obsession with the school. I think it’s because it’s pretty prestigious in Texas, and they want to be able to say, “Oh, yeah. My daughter goes to Rice.” Nevertheless, you’re right in saying almost $50,000 per year is a lot for any school. That much, I understand. However, unlike Carleton, Rice does have merit aid. I may or many not get much, but I’m not as set on the school as my parents are. I’d be disappointed, but not heartbroken, if I couldn’t attend Rice.</p>

<p>MehGeek-
I’m sorry to hear about your trouble with financial aid. I don’t think the process can ever be perfected (or anywhere near), but I do hope that your family survives college without breaking the bank. As I said, my parents do not necessarily have a problem paying full tuition (especially if it’s for Rice). I’d just rather have some of the college money set aside for grad school.</p>

<p>fallenchemist-
Thank you so much for that information! I was actually hoping for a personal app, but I didn’t want to get my hopes too high. Even without the personal app though, a free application is hardly something I can pass up. I was playing around with the idea of applying EA or SCEA , and EA does sound like a pretty good deal. As for the Deans Honors Scholarship, I probably will apply. However, as you say, it’s very competitive. Not to sound like a total Debbie Downer, but I don’t think I’d get it :stuck_out_tongue:
I’d also like to thank you for your advice, because when I think about it, being able to pay for college myself does make me all tingly inside. My parents have always been controlling - there are some that would argue that just made me more manipulative. Ha, kidding! But after living with my parents for so many years, I’ve learned they can be persuaded to be more flexible.
Lastly, Carleton just kind of clicked for me. I’ll admit that I’ve never visited, and maybe if I do visit the idea of it as a dream school may fade. However, from all that I’ve learned through researching the school, it’s a great fit. I like that it’s a small college and I like that it’s very strong academically, but I love that it’s known for its “quirky” student body and relaxed (relaxed doesn’t seem like the right word, but I can’t think of a better one right now) atmosphere. I love its traditions, such as Primal Scream and Silent Dance Party. I actually enjoy spam from Carleton because it either makes me smile or laugh. I think Carleton is not only a college that will prepare me for whatever the future may hold, but also a college I can truly be happy at for four years. Blah, I’ve gone all sentimental now. Location has never really been a big issue for me. I apply to schools near home because my mom gets this teary eyed look whenever I talk about moving away for college. I know it’s kind of silly to factor that in so heavily, but there isn’t much of a distinction between say, Tulane and Grinnell for me. Both are good schools, and I’d be happy at either one. Carleton is the only school that appeals to me so profoundly that I’d move all the way to Minnesota to go to it. I’m saddened at the prospect that Carleton is unlikely for me, but I can be happy at any of my other schools, I think.</p>

<p>spurster-
Thanks for that information about graduate school. I didn’t know that, and it definitely gives me more food for thought. Okay, well, I guess I would have had to admit this sooner or later - but I’m not entirely sure where I want to go after college. I like the idea of grad school (business, medical, and law school included) because I’m just an academic kind of person and I actually enjoy school. I can really see myself going beyond undergraduate college. But even if I decide not to pursue the grad school option, I’d rather have some kind of money ready in case I did. That said, I’m not sure if I want to get a PhD. But knowing that money for it won’t be completely inaccessible gives me something to consider.</p>

<p>[Oh, and I’ve been talking as if all of my colleges would readily admit me and all I have to worry about is getting aid. I know that I still have to go through admissions, and I don’t have a guaranteed acceptance in my hands (especially in regards to Rice and Carleton). So no, I’m not so arrogant as to assume I can get into any of my schools.]</p>

26

<p>notan_oxymoron - well I have to say you sound like a very mature person and you have clearly thought this through. As far as Carleton, you answered my question. Some schools just click with some people, and there is nothing wrong with that. I just hope if you do end up there your parents are willing to spring for all that warm clothing you will need that you probably don’t have in Texas! Seriously though, I hope you get to visit if you get in and they come up with some $$.</p>

<p>Personally, I think you will get into Rice, but I cannot comment about the merit aid. However, I know Rice is cheaper than Tulane and a lot of the other private schools, at least as far as sticker price. Rice is a great(!!) school, I am not surprised they are somewhat fixated on it for reputation and prestige. Parents can be that way sometimes.</p>

<p>You have as good a shot as anyone for the DHS. My D got it and her stats were not much different than yours (1530/2330 and probably about 5th in her class of 200 or so. They didn’t rank. Very high achieving public school). Stay positive about these things.</p>

<p>Best of luck, and feel free to PM if you have any questions that are really specific.</p>