<p>Momofthreeteens, if you can pay your EFC at a school that meets 100% of need, you'll be fine. The big issue here really boils down to not being able to afford your EFC at 100% needs met schools, or schools that gap.</p>
<p>My parents lose ~1/3 of their gross income to taxes, and our EFC is more than 1/3 of their gross. Paying full freight would leave my parents with about 1/4 of their gross income to pay everything else with.</p>
<p>Ditto, birdofprey. Sounds exactly like our situation.</p>
<p>Lhasa
[quote]
Theoretically, we should also be able to sell our house then because we will both be over 55
[/quote]
Just curious.. Why would it matter if you are over 55 to sell your house? I don't understand the connection.....</p>
<p>You're getting it.</p>
<p>Option 1: Keep cash or equivalents. Take Stafford or Plus Loans. White option.
Option 2: Use cash or equivalents. No Loans. Black Option.</p>
<p>Gray Option #3: Keep Cash or equivalents. Take Stafford or Plus loans. Wait until GWB, Greenspan, Housing Market, or Whatever makes a change, to make you alter your original decision. ie You can always use the cash later to pay off the loans or You can use the cash to pay SOME of loan.</p>
<p>Many ppl are not flexible enough to stomach this and consequently they are perhaps too dogmatic in their approach to theories of money.</p>
<p>Welcome to the middleclass. For most of CCers you don't even need to pay 10% to jeapardize a promising opportunity.</p>
<p>You need either to be wealthy or poor to get below the 30% taxation rate. Being poor is not exactly exciting. I reiterate this week's NOW with David Broncocio, on PBS-TV.</p>
<p>You will be in the new "ownership society."</p>
<p>I just ran the numbers. Our FAFSA estimated EFC is 43% of our gross income. Our PROFILE EFC is probably higher than that because we have a rather expensive house to factor into the equation. I know that I'm very well-off, and I know that the college matters less than the student, and I know it's silly to have a single dream school fixed in your mind... </p>
<p>But I still don't feel that those universities are living up to their promise to "meet all need".</p>
<p>
[quote]
Just curious.. Why would it matter if you are over 55 to sell your house? I don't understand the connection.....
[/quote]
One time hide your gain from the sale of your residence. No tax on the appreciated value. A wonderful tax play that I myself am looking forward to in about 6 years.</p>
<p>Is there a cap on the work study amount that can be part of a financial package? I would hope there would be a ceiling so that a college was not setting up a situation where the student was spending more time working than attending class. Any experience with how this amount changed over the four years? THANKS></p>
<p>
[quote]
But I still don't feel that those universities are living up to their promise to "meet all need".
[/quote]
</p>
<p>They don't have to. There is too much demand and not enough supply. The Boomer's Echo and World development has greatly increased demand for limited supply of seats at tier 1, 2, publicly funded schools. </p>
<p>thumper
[quote]
But I suspect that future generations will have a more difficult time than even we are having meeting these costs.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>IMO: The next generation (after Boomer Echo, or ~10 years), may actually find it relatively easiler and cheaper to attend quality education because of the increasing improvement and competition amongst schools and the because of the change of demographics. The period between the 80's-90's there was a surplus of college seats because the Boomers had transitioned thru the system.</p>
<p>Although part of the crunch in admissions isthe increase in population of college aged kids, the more directed reason is the increase in the number of kids flocking to the same schools. I don't know if that is going to decrease. I think schools are the most selective tiers, HPY, for instance, are going to continue to get the lion's share of apps whereas the smaller, private schools that are not as well known are going to have trouble. As the costs for private colleges increase, the state schools become better deals even if a smaller private college may be a better fit. But my take on this is that there will always be a large number of people wanting to go the top schools and that this figure may well increase even as the total number of college aged kids decrease.</p>
<p>I am curious to see what the fate of some schools like Wash U of SL is going to be. I noticed a significant drop in apps from our school this year because the word is out that it is too unpredictable in its admissions criteria to fit any category in kids' lists as a match. The kids applying there really did want to go there. However when many kids start dropping a school from their lists, it wil affect the yield which is an issue with Wash U even now.</p>
<p>Appreciate this thread, even though I still don't completely understand all the nuances. </p>
<p>For those of us who aren't poor, and thankful for that, but aren't wealthy enough, it really does seem to behoove us to try to educate ourselves and our children as to the realities of it all... But I'm still struggling to understand the realities..</p>
<p>Someone earlier asked for a list of schools that were more generous with merit aid... I didn't really think that anyone would start that list...</p>
<p>For those who are really neophytes but know they're not eligible for financial aid - hope that they might be in that small percentage who has a student who various colleges will be smitten with and offer merit money to - is the smartest approach to research the various colleges' tuition and financial aid/merit aid pages?</p>
<p>Is it true that the Southern colleges tend to be less expensive than the Northeast or the Mid Atlantic? Would a fair generalization be that the Mid West might be another good bet? (I'm a New Yorker and don't want my daughter to go to school on the "left" coast due to it being too far away, etc.)</p>
<p>Do I sound as completely clueless as I feel? </p>
<p>Any pointers appreciated!</p>
<p>The over 55 tax break on the sale of a primary residence went away years ago. Now everyone gets the break if they have lived in the house for atleast 2 of the past 5 years - 500K gain exclusion for a married couple, 250K for a single person.</p>
<p>Blumini - yes, colleges in the south and in "flyover" country tend to be cheaper - you'll pay the most in the Northeast and California, and generally more in urban areas than suburban and rural. You also need to factor in cost of housing, and that also tracks local housing costs. </p>
<p>Reconsider your aversion to the left coast based on distance -- my experience was that the farther away my son's college was, the better the aid package. It's that geographic diversity thing - all things being equal, a west coast college will be more willing to use its aid dollars to attract your east coast daughter than my California girl. Oregon & Washington have a lot of very nice colleges to look into. Also, coast-to-coast airfare is often cheaper than flights to many mid-country destinations -- it all has to do with frequency of flights and hub airports. Plus for a rural midwestern college, travel can be many, many hours of driving, or a series of plane flights plus a very long bus ride. I'm sure, for example, that it was faster and cheaper for my son to travel back & forth to NY, than it would have been for him to get to a place like Kenyon & Grinnell, though on the map the midwestern states are much closer. It's really not the time in the air that's the problem, it's the getting to & from the airport and time spent waiting to clear security. </p>
<p>Do research the colleges for available scholarships - most list their merit scholarships on line, and may specify general criteria for awards -- but you should be aware that in most cases, you don't "apply" for a scholarship unless the college invites you to. It is more valuable to do your own research because of different criteria -- for example, my son was heavily solicited by a midwestern college that had special scholarships reserved for students coming from California. Colleges may look to factors like SAT scores, grades, leadership, community service, or specific majors and areas of interest in designating scholarships. Sometimes particular scholarships are funded by bequests with some quirky requirements. So basically, you can't count on your daughter getting anything, but a look online will give you a sense of what she might be eligible for.</p>
<p>The best chance of merit money comes when the student is at the top of the applicant pool for that particular college, so you definitely can't expect good merit money at reach colleges -- although needs based aid may be fine there. The exception might be where the student has a specific talent -- especially at a school where the competition is not too fierce for that talent. For example, GWU offers a great dance scholarship, even though the college does not have one of the strongest dance departments around (I'm a dance mom). </p>
<p>It also is a help if the student does NOT fit the profile of "typical" student at the school, but is likely to bring something the school wants. I'm pretty sure that my son's strong math and science ability, coupled with his maleness, were a factor in why he got such a strong aid award from an artsy east coast LAC with a 3/1 ratio of women to men. He was a strong student who gave them something they didn't have much of and wanted. This is where "fit" is sometimes counterintuitive -- if the fit between student and college is too close, then she won't stand out in any way from the other applicants, so is less likely to attract attention for merit awards. In any case, it's good to take note if the college seems to be trying to shore up its resources in one of its weaker disciplines -- back to the old example of an orchestra in need of an oboeist.</p>
<p>calmom, thank you so much for such a helpful reply - and such a fast one! All food for thought and definitely a platter I'm going to pass over to my daughter and husband to take a bite off of. ;) </p>
<p>Really appreciate your input. :)</p>
<p>(Though I'm still anti that long plane ride stuff. ;) )</p>
<p>Birdofprey, I now buy into the Mini arguement. Your parents chose a "rather expensive house" rather than a more modest one which would have allowed them to put aside cash for college. Why should schools subsidize you and not the kids whose parents chose the smaller home? </p>
<p>When I think about it, it's outrageous that in my State, CA, where home equity numbers are huge, we don't consider it for aid at State schools. We're letting our schools go to seed and take 5 plus years to graduate from while allowing the wealthy to keep home equity intact. Insane!</p>
<p>You don't have "need" if you have significant home equity. It's simply a matter of priorities.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Someone earlier asked for a list of schools that were more generous with merit aid... I didn't really think that anyone would start that list...
[/quote]
There have been several "lists" like this, but scattered around on various threads, in the middle of posts, etc. Maybe it's time to start such a thread, so it will be handier?</p>
<p>Zagat -- A comment on one of your remarks: "Your parents chose a "rather expensive house" rather than a more modest one which would have allowed them to put aside cash for college. Why should schools subsidize you and not the kids whose parents chose the smaller home? "</p>
<p>If you save money for college, you have an asset that just pumps up your EFC for both FAFSA and Profile. At least with a house, you might get a better EFC with FAFSA.</p>
<p>I think the problem is that you either need enough saved specifically for college that you don't need financial aid. Right now, that amount would be close to $175K for four years. Alternatively, you have to have nothing to qualify for substantial aid. The problem is that no matter how you spend your bucks, if you're in the middle, your screwed.</p>
<p>Repeating this for those who missed the tax change!</p>
<p>
[quote]
The over 55 tax break on the sale of a primary residence went away years ago. Now everyone gets the break if they have lived in the house for atleast 2 of the past 5 years - 500K gain exclusion for a married couple, 250K for a single person.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Parents, important! You can take this exclusion as often as you wish - it is the underlying reason behind the housing boom, not the low interest rates. </p>
<p>Some of you didn't seem to know this, but you owe it to yourself to factor it into your lifetime financial plan. Many financial planners say that if your circumstances allow, you should buy a new home (or townhome, or even condo in a solid, appreciating area), get the rapid appreciation to the tax-excluded limit, sell it, get another one, etc. If the economy doesn't collapse, it may be the surest method to build a very attractive nest egg. So if you are an empty nester, definitely consider it.</p>
<p>yulsie, wouldn't that income (whether taxable or not) be found by the college financial aid folks if you did it in a base year or any year they were attending college? For those of us in our base year , it would be smart to check with whoever is an expert on "Profile" and Fafsa before assuming this is a valid strategy as I believe that at least for Profile, the gain might cause problems in the column for untaxed income. I'm probably wrong, but I would sure check the effect. That's one reason I'm going to wait until D is fully out of school or at least UG-six years, that and the fact our real estate hasn't done as much as far as growing in value as California or city real estate.</p>