<p>I really don't know anything about financial aid, and I'm trying to figure this out by myself (parents aren't willing to help!). </p>
<p>Well some of my schools are NOT need-blind, so I'd rather not apply if I didn't need to, you know? However, no matter what, paying $200k for four years of schooling is ridiculous to me. Here are our family's stats, and I hope I can get some advice on what to do!</p>
<p>three children with two parents (no child in college)
bring in about $130k total in a year
we have 4 properties - ranging from $300k to $500k
no significant savings</p>
<p>I realize that I will probably not get very much aid at all. However, some schools like Northwestern showed an average of $20k a year in aid for students with over $125k a year. So apparently I'm not really out of teh bracket right? The schools I'm applying to include some ivies, Duke, WashU, Emory, UWashington</p>
<p>So...here are what my options look like right now:</p>
<p>if YES for financial aid, then 1) less chance of getting in and 2) i might not even get very much aid even if i do qualify</p>
<p>if NO for financial aid, then I'm going to be paying $200k no matter what huh?</p>
<p>This is all really confusing to me, and with the deadline coming up and parents not willing to help (they dont know anything about this either), I'm a bit worried. Thanks for any input!</p>
<p>Found this on a college web site. I would say definately complete f-forms if applying to these colleges, just more work, and won't hurt your chances. </p>
<p>"Need-blind" means that students are admitted without regard to the family's ability to pay for college. The twenty-eight need-blind schools meeting full need and using a consensus approach to defining need are:</p>
<p>Amherst College Middlebury College
Boston College Northwestern University<br>
Brown University Pomona College
Claremont McKenna College Rice University
Columbia University Swarthmore College
Cornell University University of Chicago
Dartmouth College University of Notre Dame
Davidson College University of Pennsylvania
Duke University Vanderbilt University
Emory University Wake Forest University
Georgetown University Wellesley College
Grinnell College Wesleyan University
Haverford College Williams College
Mass. Institute of Technology Yale University</p>
<p>You should definitely apply for Financial Aid. You need to get a PIN from FAFSA and fill out the forms. If your parents aren't willing to help with the form they will have to give you their tax returns and information so that you can fill it out.
More importantly, you need to sit down with them NOW and talk about what they are willing to pay. With the properties you listed you may not qualify for FA. If you don't qualify, are they willing to contribute? How much? If they are not will they cosign for loans? Do you really want to graduate with that kind of debt (I would not advise it under any circumstances).
Can you quickly fill out an application or two to a school which might give you merit (non need based) aid?<br>
Unfortunately, these conversations should have taken place with your parents about a year ago. You need to talk with them now.</p>