<p>Our scenario is this: Husband's salary was cut in August from $150K to $90K. We immediately placed our house on the market but haven't received a nibble, and frankly going into the holiday season aren't likely to have any offers before Spring if at all.</p>
<p>Son's favorites are Rice and Wash U. I would be surprised if he doesn't get admitted to both because of his high stats. </p>
<p>Thus, I will go through the process of applying for financial aid for the first time. I've read up here on CC and elsewhere about this, but my question is: when we fill out the FAFSA and CSS forms in January, I know that I have to use our tax info from 2010, which will make our income look higher than $90k. Other than attaching a note explaining husband's salary cut, is there anything I can do? </p>
<p>Your EFC for your son’s first year will be based on your 2010 income. Colleges don’t expect you to pay out of current income, they assume savings and that you’ll borrow.</p>
<p>Some wealthy colleges may work with you so you can try asking for professional judgement (basically appeal aid package) after he’s accepted, but it’s not something to count on.</p>
<p>Agree, especially at that lower annual income level which is still considerably higher than average. Any discount you get will most likely come from merit or scholarship.</p>
<p>But…we have major negative cash flow. And will until our house sells. I guess I’m asking, is there a place on the FAFSA that one explains special circumstances? Our special circumstance is that husband’s salary was cut by 40% and until we sell our house, our savings is our mortgage payment, etc.</p>
<p>You need to have your son apply quickly to some financial safety schools that will give him ASSURED BIG substantial merit for his stats in case you don’t get the aid that you need.</p>
<p>Do you work? If not, are planning on going to work to help make up some of this cut in pay? Is your H going to take on a part-time night/weekend job to bring in more money?</p>
<p>The problem is this…It sounds like you can’t pay ANY of your son’s college costs. Yet, even with an income of $90k per year, these schools are going to expect you to pay a decent amount. </p>
<p>How are you going to pay your financial contribution if you’re barely making it now? Schools don’t take debt into account unless it’s from a medical situation.</p>
<p>There is no place on the FAFSA to explain your situation. What you do is apply to the schools and then you ask the SCHOOL(S) how they deal with special circumstances/professional judgment situations. They will tell you what to do.</p>
<p>I realize your income is reduced, but $90K is still a decent income. I agree that your student should be applying to some schools that are affordable for your family. I hate to say it, but if the rest of the family is sacrificing (selling your house is a HUGE sacrifice), then perhaps a reconsideration of the college list is something that should happen too.</p>
<p>Are you saying that you can’t pay your mortgage payment on your husband’s reduced salary?</p>
<p>The unfortunate thing is that FAFSA does not look at debt. But FAFSA is only about govt. aid, and since you won’t get a Pell, it will just qualify your son for a Stafford loan and work study. </p>
<p>The CSS looks at a fuller picture, but ypu won’t know what Profile schools will give you until after he gets in. Even at $90K with modest assets, most will expect $25K plus, so if that’s not doable now you need to choose schools accordingly.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: yes, he has two “free ride” schools on his list. We have some money for college costs, just not enough for schools like Rice and WashU with $50K-ish price tags. </p>
<p>@thumper1: thanks, I think that answers my original question. I’m not whining about 90k, but this is all just terrible timing.</p>
<p>@2college: maybe $25K is doable. I will probably go through the app process and see.</p>
<p>This is all very depressing. Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>Take a deep breath and take it one step at a time.</p>
<p>Do make sure he likes the affordable schools. I think most kids think they’ll never end up at a safety and don’t take the time to choose them well.</p>
<p>To be honest, the $25K I threw out would just be on salary. If there are college savings and significant assets, it will be more. It’s unfortunately depressing for most. We keep hearing there are wonderful, huge scholarships for our very bright children. And there are some, but not where the kids want to go. Good luck!</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: yes, he has two “free ride” schools on his list. We have some money for college costs, just not enough for schools like Rice and WashU with $50K-ish price tags.</p>
<p>@thumper1: thanks, I think that answers my original question. I’m not whining about 90k, but this is all just terrible timing.</p>
<p>@2college: maybe $25K is doable. I will probably go through the app process and see.</p>
<p>This is all very depressing. Thanks everyone. *</p>
<p>Has he applied to the “free ride” schools on his list? Some of these schools have Dec 1st deadlines for scholarships.</p>
<p>Agree your best move is to have options come May so make sure your student understands what is happening in your family, it’s a difficult conversation, been there done it after a year’s unemployment and a college senior and college freshman, but we didnt’ have the house fortunately as an obstacle but had friends in an identical situation who had an albatross of a house and there’s no looking back and would have/could have… Somehow you’ll get through it all, but financial options for college are going to be extremely important. I don’t want to sound pious, but it’s a hugely valuable lesson for the kids, $90K is a very good salary compared to zero and you could be in a far worse situation, and hopefully your student (and mine now that we’re in recovery mode) will have important life takeaways…at least I hope so.</p>
<p>Thanks momof3boys. I agree with everything you said. We also have a second child already in college. Yes, the house is an albatross but as I said, we immediately listed it. And $90K is better than zero, but there is a job security issue as well. As each weekend rolls around, I literally breathe a sigh of relief and think: thank god he didn’t lose his job this week. </p>
<p>Again, I’m not whining since we know plenty in H’s industry who are unemployed. I’m just new to the financial aid side of this and trying to understand how/if colleges view special circumstances.</p>
<p>And yes, son has already been admitted to his safeties.</p>
<p>If your second child will still be in college next year…you should apply for financial aid for BOTH of these students. You may actually net some aid if you have two in college at the same time…probably not enough to cover full costs…but something.</p>
<p>Good luck to you. These are tough times but these things do have a way of working out.</p>
<p>What kind of school does your older child go to? Does it give great financial aid? If so, that’s good news. However, if it doesn’t then having two in college may not help much. </p>
<p>Will the second child be in college next year?</p>
<p>If you’re going to ask for professional judgement, make sure to file appeals for both kids. Schools are very different in the way they respond and you may find that one won’t grant it or give a penny more but the other will! </p>
<p>Btw, I bought my first home many years ago with a cash offer, quick closing, and closed on it the day before Christmas. I’ve bought and sold many since then, and was lucky enough to do so two years ago in January when literally nothing was selling. We managed to get close to full asking price, but the price was set with market conditions in mind to begin with and we did pass on a few offers. My advice would be to take care of any little maintenance items now (squeaky doors, fresh paint, powerwash the garage floor, etc)…the little details make a big difference and usually are inexpensive (albeit time-consuming) fixes. If possible, have a friend or relative with fresh eyes go through the house and make a list with you so you’ll have an outsider’s perspective on things. Then, make sure you keep it sparkling clean (I know, not easy with teenagers, but if the yard/gardens aren’t at their best this time of year you really have to make sure the house is) and staged nicely for the holidays so people can envision the wonderful memories they’ll make living there. I kept the dining room table set for a formal dinner, put fairy lights in the plants, fresh swags and wreath on the door…simple, non-denominational, but festive…and got some repeat showings because of that. You just never know…good luck!</p>
<p>D is a sophomore, so yes we’re looking at two years of having two kids in college. Fortunately D is at our excellent state flagship. I seriously doubt we would qualify for any aid there since, compared to privates, state tuition is so reasonable. And S is already admitted there but probably will not receive merit aid since they do nothing for national merits. He would be fine there, but he has always wanted a private school such as Rice. He’s worked so hard (he’s current salutatorian) that I want to be able to support his efforts by helping him get into the school that he wants. But I’m realistic, and I just think we will just have to go through the first time process of applying for financial aid and see what happens. </p>
<p>sk8ermom, our house shows beautifully due to its location and views. Of course, I always try to keep it “show-ready” which isn’t easy with a teenager and a husband who works from home. Fortunately it’s had several showings but everything just kind of stopped last weekend probably because of Thanksgivings coming up. We were hopeful we had a buyer early in October, but the people decided to wait until Spring to move.</p>
<p>I have two friends with kids at Rice and just want to make sure that you know that Rice doesn’t have enough housing to assure students housing for all four years. Freshman all get housing but some colleges need students to live off campus for a year. The problem in my friend’s case was that she had not planned on buying the student a car. If enough students go abroad, housing may be available. Be sure to find out more about this before deciding on Rice. Both kids I know are very happy there.</p>
<p>Fortunately D is at our excellent state flagship. I seriously doubt we would qualify for any aid there since, compared to privates, state tuition is so reasonable. And S is already admitted there but probably will not receive merit aid since they do nothing for national merits. He would be fine there, .</p>
<p>You’re right that you probably won’t get any grants at your D’s state flagship (what state are you in?), but perhaps if you file FAFSA early, she might get some work-study that might help and a sub student loan.</p>
<p>but he has always wanted a private school such as Rice</p>
<p>I don’t know where your son has applied for big merit (maybe he needs to apply to a few more), but some flagships have awesome honors programs and awesome honors housing which can give you that smaller school feel.</p>
<p>I know how you feel about him “working so hard,” but don’t let that guilt you into an unaffordable choice. MANY kids worked very hard in high school. Both my kids worked very hard (and are still are working very hard in college), one was Val, the other was Sal, they had top stats, NMF at an excellent private high school. They have totally enjoyed being at a big flagship with huge merit and are challenged in very hard courses. The younger son plans on becoming a doctor (he’s a Chemical Engineering major) and the older one will be going to grad school next year (he’s an Applied Math major). </p>
<p>We can easily help them with their future plans since their undergrad has cost us so little. We also can easily help with the “extras” in college. The pre-med son is going to Nicaragua over spring break with Doctors without Borders. It’s costing us about $2500…no big deal since his education is costing us little. We told the older one that we’ll help him buy his first home since his grad school will likely be paid for as well.</p>
<p>Well I’ll comment that you are in a good position, because you can look for colleges knowing that your budget is tight, rather than say in our position when our oldest began at a private college, two weeks before 9/11 which resulted in dramatic belt tightening with downsizing.</p>
<p>We know lots of kids who were admitted to schools like Rice, NYU, WUSTL, but chose to attend schools that weren’t quite as prestigious but could give them a good enough education without the heavy debt.</p>
<p>I also expect that even with income reduced to $90K, work study will possibly not be available- unless the EFC is quite a bit below the COA of the public school.
Our income is quite a bit less than $90K, and it was only this year that D even was eligible for a subsidized Stafford- however, we only have one in college as our oldest is in graduate school( and so no longer our dependent)</p>