<p>OK I am actually the high school student using my Mom's account but i think i am fairly knowledgeable in my admissions stuff. </p>
<p>My problem is this: I am the oldest of six kids. All of us but the 23 month old infant are enrolled in Private schools. The tuition for me and my next younger brother are 15.8k per year and about 15K per year for the other three combined. </p>
<p>Considering this, I would have thought that I would receive quite a bit of financial aid (need based) especially considering that my parents are always talking about how we will soon be "living in a van down by the river." </p>
<p>What I didn't know, however, is that my dad had to withdraw or sell, whatever you do in this situation, part of his 401k in 2009. This apparently has a HUGE affect on my FAFSA EFC because it turned out to be 60,000$.</p>
<p>What I want to know is: how much does the number of children affect the EFC, why did the 401K influence it so much, and is there a way to appeal the FAFSA in this type of situation? </p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>Would it be better to just accept my college of choice, even if it means paying for it and taking out loans, and hoping that my EFC will drop significantly next year? And is that how it works -on a year to year basis, right? </p>
<p>Anything on this subject would be highly appreciated!</p>
<p>Colby - struggling to accept admission because of this.</p>
<p>Also: please don't suggest that we take the kids out of private school. My parents are very Catholic and so are unwilling to let their children go to public school. It is something i have discussed with them many times but it isn't an option in their minds.</p>
<p>The money your dad withdrew from his 401K was viewed as a taxable income for the 2009 year and was added to any earned income your parents may have had. In addition, if any of that money is sitting in a bank account right now, it is also counted as an asset.</p>
<p>Your dad must have withdrew a lot of money for your EFC is that high with a family that size. Either that or your parents have a higher income than you thought.</p>
<p>Students can’t borrow large amounts of money without co-signers. It doesn’t look like your parents will co-sign large loans.</p>
<p>Which schools did you apply to? Are any of them Catholic colleges?</p>
<p>Do any of them require CSS profile? If so, some might take into consideration the tuition that your parents pay for Catholic schools. </p>
<p>Do you know what your dad used the money for? Perhaps the schools will give a special consideration if the money was used for medical bills or to start a business or something.</p>
<p>From what you are saying, it looks like your parents pay for about $7000 to $8000 a year for your tuition to private school. That should be plenty to go to a community college and a good start towards the tuition of a state university. My daughter’s EFC is 30000 and my son’s is 35000. If we just had one child in school, we would have an EFC that is the same as you. That gives me a very good picture of how much money your parents make because it is similar to ours. We will not get any financial aid and we don’t deserve it. We make plenty of money and we are not in any danger of losing our jobs. We have the freedom to choose where we spend our money. It is also a personal choice by your parents to put a child (or several children like your family) into private school just like it is someone else’s choice to own a fancy car or have a lot of debt. I believe you are going to be fine. Quit worrying about your EFC. There are people that have parents that make half as much as your parents and don’t receive anything either. Start focusing and make a plan on what you can do for yourself like a part time job. You need to also sit down with your parents and have a realistic talk on what they think they can afford. It sounds like you have some great parents who value a good education. I believe they are going to be just as supportive when you go to college.</p>
<p>That gives me a very good picture of how much money your parents make because it [your EFC] is similar to ours.</p>
<p>I think you misread her post. The reason why her EFC is high this year is because her dad withdrew money out of his 401k. The parents do not **make **enough money to have that EFC. That EFC is a one year only thing. </p>
<p>Also, we don’t know what that money was used for…usually withdrawals from 401k are for rather serious reasons…it may have been pulled out to pay medical bills or something. The money may not even be available for her college education, because it may be gone or dedicated for a home repair or something.</p>
<p>It’s unfortunate that the withdrawal happened when it did. If it had occurred in 2008 (and the money went towards something) then it wouldn’t be an issue.</p>
<p>it looks like your parents pay for about $7000 to $8000 a year for your tuition to private school. That should be plenty to go to a community college and a good start towards the tuition of a state university.</p>
<p>Just because the parents have been paying that much for her high school, does not mean that they can afford to continue paying that much (or anything) for college. Many families in these situations need to stop paying for one child, so that they have the money to pay for the younger ones who are going/will be going to high school.</p>
<p>She may have to go to a CC for a year while she waits for her EFC to return to normal. Or, if her stats are high enough, maybe one of her schools will give her lots of merit. I hope she did apply to a financial safety.</p>
<p>I read the part in the post that his parents withdrew money from their 401K. They would have to pull out a heck of a lot of money to get their EFC up to 60,000. I do agree that it probably had some influence on the current high EFC.</p>
<p>However, my other point was that it is a personal choice to put kids in private schools. His family is spending over 30,000 a year on private school when they can go to public schools for free. If they made the sacrifice for private school then they can make the sacrifice for college if they so choose. Yes, they may have had one bad year where they took out money from their 401k but I am pretty sure they are doing just fine on all other years.</p>
<p>First of all, I don’t agree with some of the previous posters. Nobody should tell you that their situation is the same as yours. It isn’t.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to have your parents contact the financial aid office at the college so that they can explain their CURRENT financial situation. The EFC is based on last year’s income, and yes, the 401K distribution is considered income. I understand the depleting of a 401K, so I would assume that your parents have a pretty hefty tax bill coming up with the penalties for early withdrawal. </p>
<p>Be prepared for a lot of paperwork, explaining every dime that is coming in and every dime that is going out. If you can show that the money is just not there, they may be able to help you, even if loans are the only option. The financial aid office should be your first step, and I would do this quickly.</p>
<p>I think all the posters on this thread have made some good points.</p>
<p>Please forgive me for being blunt. 6angels, what you are asking for is need-based assistance and after attempting to navigate the financial aid system for about a year I have come to realize that need-based assistance is pretty much only given to families who truly need it, in the traditional sense that I understand need to be.</p>
<p>Your parents made a choice to pay for private schools for you and your siblings in your growing up years. It sounds like it was a well considered choice but it also sounds to me like it will come at the expense of you going to a college like Colby. I hope they knew that going in.</p>
<p>You can contact the financial aid offices of the schools you want to go to but I don’t think it will do any good, your EFC is what it is. Yes, it is year to year, but it would be very dangerous to pay for one year at Colby and then assume that they will give you a great deal of financial aid next year because your EFC is lower. I understand the 401K made a difference but if your parents make a decent income how much lower will it really be?</p>
<p>Yes, it is year to year, but it would be very dangerous to pay for one year at Colby and then assume that they will give you a great deal of financial aid next year because your EFC is lower. I understand the 401K made a difference but if your parents make a decent income how much lower will it really be?</p>
<p>Very good point. A school isn’t motivated to be too generous the second year after they already have you on campus. The second year’s FA package may just be big loans.</p>
<p>Hi guys,
First of all, Colby is my name. 2, I’m a guy. (this for future reference)
3. my dad says that the amount was enough to pay for all the kids tuition as well as mine. so about 30k (15.8+14 updated figures, note: me and my brother pay 15k EACH and the other three pay 15k COMBINED).
4. my dad says that he normally makes about 150K more or less and a bonus. I never said that we were destitute or that me doesnt make much. I just meant that this past year our financial situation hasn’t been that grade.
5. I applied and have been accepted at Tulane, A&M, Austin and OSU (oklahoma), and Catholic University. So far i have merit scholarships for about 1/2 tuition to Austin and Catholic and In-state tuition to OSU.</p>
<p>So what it seems you are saying is that I can call the financial aid offices and ask for help though it isn’t likely they will be able to do much and it isn’t likely that I will be able to get more need-based financial aid even. At the same time, it wouldnt do me much good to just go to the college of my choice and hope for better results next year. </p>
<p>Would, then, it be a good idea to whichever college would be cheapest, get all the core classes out of the way and get really good grades and then transfer (or re-apply) into my college of choice (which i dont know which one that is yet). </p>
<p>Something that makes it a bit different is that i applied to Architecture schools. While A&M accepted me, their architecture school was filled too quickly so i only got into general studies. This means that, though A&M would be cheapest for me, I cannot do architecture there.</p>
<p>I believe i have heard that at most coloeges you can hold off on accepting an admission until a year later? So i could get a full time job (already have had a part time job for 2 years) and save up for a year and then still accept an offer from my colleges (or was this something i heard from someone’s specific situation)? Does anyone know anything about that? </p>
<p>It sounds like you have a good handle on this. I don’t know that you necessarily need to take the cheapest option but I do think you should accept one of the merit scholarships or the in-state tuition at OSU. You don’t have to make any decisions about transferring right now. It would be an option but you might really like where you initially attend.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’ll receive much need-based assistance at any point because your dad’s income is too high. You might get some because of the size of your family but I don’t think it will be much.</p>
<p>The deferred admission idea is also not a bad one, then you can work for a year and save money for tuition. You would need to contact each school individually to find out more about how it works at that particular school.</p>
<p>Remember…if you work for a year and earn a decent income…that INCOME will be used as part of your financial aid applications and may actually decrease your financial aid. And if you put some of that money in the bank in your name for college purposes…it will also count as an asset, 20% of which will be expected to be used for college costs thus increasing your EFC more.</p>
<p>Can your family afford any of the options that you have been offered thus far? If so, I think I would suggest one of those, and trying to get a job during school…up to 10 hours a week will not interfere with your studies.</p>
<p>I agree that schools are less likely to be generous the second year than they are the first, so that would not be a good plan to hope that they would be.</p>
<p>Would, then, it be a good idea to whichever college would be cheapest, get all the core classes out of the way and get really good grades and then transfer (or re-apply) into my college of choice (which i dont know which one that is yet).</p>
<p>If you transfer and reapply, then those scholarship offers will go away. Those are for incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>Catholic U is probably the only one that will take into consideration the Catholic school tuition. The other schools will consider it a personal choice.</p>
<p>Is one of your cheaper options to go to UT-Austin for 2 years and then apply to TAMU architecture?</p>
<p>How much will your parents contribute each year to your education?</p>
<p>By Austin, do you mean Austin College, or UT? Are you in Texas? If you can go to UT for half of instate tuition, you are unlikely to do better elsewhere. Work with your parents to figure out how to meet the gap between what they can pay and what that will cost. (and if you are in texas, the suggestion of one or two years at a CC or a UT branch where you could live at home is worth looking into.)</p>
<p>Your parents currently pay $15,000/year for your high school tuition. Over the next four years - when they no longer have to pay that for you - it will add up to $60,000. Live at home and attend a local community college for two years and bank the $15,000 each year. Then transfer to a university that costs $30,000/year or less and graduate with no debt.</p>
<p>*Your parents currently pay $15,000/year for your high school tuition. Over the next four years - when they no longer have to pay that for you - it will add up to $60,000. Live at home and attend a local community college for two years and bank the $15,000 each year. Then transfer to a university that costs $30,000/year or less and graduate with no debt. *</p>
<p>It doesn’t really work that way with large families. When one child graduates from private school, there isn’t money sitting around waiting to get spent/saved. That money is used for the younger kids or other family expenses. </p>
<p>And, in this case, the parents **withdrew **from a 401k to pay for his and his brother’s high school tuition this year. His parents won’t have an extra $15k next year when he doesn’t go to high school next year. Also, there are younger ones coming into high school. </p>
<p>I come from a large family and went to Catholic schools. My kids have gone to Catholic schools with large families. When one child graduates from high school, even if tuition costs decrease a bit for a year or so, that’s when the family takes care of other expenses…like a new roof, replacing an old car, or orthodontics.</p>
<p>^ To respond to the above - not the OP: Financial aid is meant for families who do not have the CHOICE of whether they can spend $45,000 per year on private high school and elementary school tuition. Those of us who cannot afford $45,000 per year in private elementary and high school tuition ALSO need new roofs, to replace old cars, and orthodontics.</p>
<p>This family is choosing to spend $45,000 per year on private elementary and high school tuition, and they are free to do so. I, as a* taxpayer *however, would be very upset if they qualified for federal financial aid.</p>