<p>I don’t think you’re going to like my opinion…but here it is.</p>
<p>You have $100,000 in the bank for college costs. There are schools you certainly could attend that are in the $25K range per year. Look at your state public universities. That is what you can afford with your college savings. You have no idea how lucky you are to have such a college savings. </p>
<p>Your dad lost his job and THEN bought a home to be a business? You do realize that most folks who LOSE their jobs do not have the resources to turn around and purchase property for ANY reason.</p>
<p>I can’t believe a family that owns three properties with the values you note…would consider themselves needy of need based financial aid…and with a college savings of $100K to boot.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I believe you need to look at colleges that are affordable to your family…and be grateful that if you choose the right school, you might not have any loans when you’re done. So many students wish for that and have no way of achieving it. Consider yourself lucky.</p>
<p>Wow, you are treating me like a selfish pig! I am not complaining or calling myself needy. I just happen to know a series of cardiologists whose children have financial aid at Penn and other wealthy people who have aid and I’m wondering if I would qualify. And my dad did not spontaneously decide to purchase a house for fun after he lost his job. He had saved for 5 years since his company had been purchased and he knew the parent company would soon let him go. This was a well-thought out, well-planned endeavor. In case you didn’t see my above post, I noted that I am aware that the University of Delaware Honors Program is great and will probably be free for me which would then leave me 100k for grad school which would be fantastic. However, I’m looking for a college that fits me better than a large state U. I am well aware that I will receive a good education at UD but if there was a way the finaid system could work for me in order to allow me to more feasibly attend a top private, then I would love some info on that. </p>
<p>And I have a question for you. I know a realtor who makes about 20k annually but invests hugely in real estate. His job is essentially a real estate investor. He owns 9 small town homes that he rents for income to bring his salary to about 40k annually. Would that family not qualify for financial aid even though they most certainly are not well off, but choose to invest all savings in houses rather than the stock market?</p>
<p>In addition Thumper, I’d love to find more colleges that are under 25k for out of state since my state has exactly 2 state colleges. I’m sure they are there but I can’t find many other than BYU, Cooper Union, and Olin.</p>
<p>The realtor with 9 small town homes would probably not qualify for financial aid. The need formulas don’t care whether your assets are cash, stocks, real estate. They are assets and are considered available to contribute toward college. </p>
<p>FAFSA for instance takes 5.6% of assets toward the EFC. $1,000,000 of stocks would have an impact of around 56,000 on the EFC. $1,000,000 of cash would have around 56,000. $1,000,000 in real estate would have around 56,000 impact. FAFSA does not care what form the asset takes - if it is a reportable asset it is all treated the same.</p>
<p>Need based formulas take into account income and assets. Generally income has a larger impact. However when people are asset rich then assets will have a big impact.</p>
<p>It does not seem to me that $100k needs to be the limit … 4 summer jobs … 4 years of working 10 hours a week during school … and minimal student loans (say $10k total) … and I’d think you’re up to $130+ … which opens up a lot more options.</p>
<p>And I am very willing to work. This spring (junior year) I’m going to be working 20 hours per week to save money. I’ll be working 40 hours a week in the summers and then 20 hours a week again in the fall. So 1460 per spring + 3500 per summer + 1 fall of 1460 comes to a grand total of $5,000 before school starts which is somewhat substantial, plus I have about 3k in savings already. I don’t want people to think I’m being selfish, I’m just trying to do my best with the means of have. I want to work every angle in order to get where I want to go.</p>
<p>Try U of Minnesota where the costs for OOS are not all that much more than for instate. U of South Carolina-Columbia…might be a tad more than $25 k for OOS but with an unsubsidized Stafford loan would be financially reachable. Try the SUNY schools. Some of the smaller UNC campuses (Charlotte, Greensboro, for example) would fit your price range.</p>
<p>York College in Pennsylvania is a small private school that is modestly priced.</p>
<p>You are to be commended for investigating your options now rather than next year. Most juniors haven’t begun to think about the money issue yet, and many seniors haven’t either. </p>
<p>how about someone who inherited a piece of property that has been in the family for generations. Should this exclude a family from financial aid?. I realize some would say just sell the property to pay for college, but it’s not always that simple…and maybe the intention is to pass down the property. It’s not always black and white.</p>
<p>I’ve seen this debate before…and how about the savers who plan for college from birth and might not get any aid whereas another family making the same income who spent outside their means will qualify for aid…fair? Parents who lived extravagantly and didn’t prepare don’t have to fork out as much?..</p>
<p>raiderade, you have 25k base a year to start with. Couple that with the 5k you will have made working and you have 30k. Couple that with 5k in Stafford loans. So, even excluding any costs that your parents will contribute >35k in quite a lot, but you might have to go to a school where you can get merit scholarships if 35k doesn’t cover everything. Sorry, but that is just the way it is. You may not be able to follow your sister to top privates or Ivies, but please remember that a lot of people are making the decision between college and not, rather than between colleges that cost +/- 35k a year.</p>
<p>Well, they then need to decide what their priorities are. There are plenty of excellent state schools and schools that offer amazing merit aid (Emory Scholars is a full ride+, Duke AB is as well). Also, if they were planning on getting financial aid in the first place, why didn’t the student get a job to try and help out? Students need to be aware of their situations if their parents aren’t willing to take care of everything for them (which they shouldn’t have to, I mean, most students are 17 and 18 and want to be treated as an adult, well, then they should start taking some responsibility as well). If you’re lucky enough to come from a wealthy family, then well, good for you. If you’re stuck b/w financial aid and being able to pay full tutiton, well, you better work your butt off for a merit scholarship and/or get a job. And for the wasteful family, unless they spent all their money on things that are not reported on fafsa (like furniture), the items that they did put their money into (homes, cars, stocks, bank accounts, etc) would be reported into their FAFSA. The systems not always fair, but life isn’t either. Either deal with it or give up (not directed at you, just in general).</p>
<p>Saying that they need to decide where their priorities are…you cannot control inheriting a piece of land, you cannot control losing your job, you cannot control the fact that you cannot sell a house in this economy. It’s not a matter of priority, it’s a matter of practicality.</p>
<p>Regarding looking at state schools and schools with merit aid. My state has exactly 2 state schools, one that is horrendous and one that is average. I will attend the average one if I have to. Most certainly I will be applying to the few top schools that do offer merit aid, but those are so few and far between and ultra competitive. I am an excellent student with solid grades, SATs, and ECs, but I am no Intel Finalist. The odds of me getting one of those awards are about .05%.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine you have much experience with students working. If I work max hours that child labor laws allow, I can make about $5,000 over the next year and a half. I’m going to do it, but that certainly is nothing substantial in terms of the 200k it takes to pay for a top private.</p>
<p>raiderade - why don’t you have one of your parents fill out the financial portion under their own PIN number. That way they won’t have to share their personal info with you. They should however, share the final FAFSA number with you. Good luck</p>
<p>raiderade, I’m not sure what you want people to tell you. Your family has $100K saved up just for your college (many don’t even have that for retirement, much less college) and millions in property. Need-based aid goes to the neediest people. Your choices are a cheaper school, a place where you get merit or loans/work to help you pay for the more expensive schools. </p>
<p>All that said, I’m not sure you should panic. You are, what?-- five years out before you need to pay your final year of tuition? Your father could be pulling in quite a bit of $ by then or one of those properties could sell. Or perhaps it’s possible to rent out the house that doesn’t sell and that could be used for your college fund. Would your parents be able to put some of what they are currently paying towards your sister’s college towards yours when she graduates? Do you have grandparents who could help out in a couple of years if you needed it? If you don’t qualify for aid, could you defer your admission by a year and get a full-time job? You could possible save $15-$20K over the 14 months from high school graduation to that first deferred semester.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the great info. I have been searching all over CC but hadn’t found those, they are quite helpful. </p>
<p>I did learn of some good news though. My dad is officially classified as a dislocated worker so since our income is equal to 30k we don’t have to consider some of our assets in the FA process.</p>
<p>raiderade…the dislocated worker status will help you for schools that are FAFSA only. For schools that use the Profile, I believe you will still need to report your assets.</p>