<p>No - 200 k is way above where anything applies.</p>
<p>I have posted some calculators in post 22. It is easy to figure out at what point the 10%no longer applies. It definitely does not reach 200k. OP seems to have tried them in the past and knows there is no FA.</p>
<p>I don’t know how the calculations work, but is it 10% at certain point and all of the sudden it is full pay? For example and hypothetically, at 160k you pay about 16k and then at 161k, you pay 55k?</p>
<p>According to the US Census, $200k income is top 5% in the country. A rather large stretch to categorize that top 5% as “middle”. :)</p>
<p>Our situation is similar (though kid is ORM). D had full ride offer at state flagship. She had some merit money at a school under her stats. She had several one year non-renewable merit scholarships at HS graduation which she uses for books and in case she gets a non/low paying summer job. D chose to attend a private U at $54,000 a year. It is worth it to our family because of its strength in her intended major (a unique track with an international reputation). Even with our income, it is hard! However, we are very grateful to be able to give her this opportunity. </p>
<p>There are several great opportunities for merit help (esp. National Merit stuff) at less expensive schools in honors programs. I would look at those dedicated threads.</p>
<p>ttparent - I understood it the same way although it may be more like 15% at some point and then it disappears altogether. </p>
<p>It used to be worse back in 2007. 80k and everything disappeared.</p>
<p>ttparent, that could be an interesting rainy-day project: run different scenarios and see if there is a sudden cut-off or a gradual change.</p>
<p>But the bottom line rremains the same: you need to know how much you are willing to pay, and you need to share that information with your child. Big money surprises late in the process yield nothing but grief.</p>
<p>Here are some numbers from Harvard calculator.</p>
<p>The income (you have to include any exclusions being made on w-2 for retirement accounts)</p>
<p>They count about 5% as payable for anything over 100k and then it goes up further after 200k.</p>
<p>At 150k income and 100k in cash and investments - scholarship - 36k</p>
<p>At 160k income 31.5k</p>
<p>At 170k income 26.9k</p>
<p>At 180k income 19.2k</p>
<p>At 190k income 13.7k</p>
<p>At 200k income 9.8k</p>
<p>at 210k income 5.6k</p>
<p>at 220k income 1.3k</p>
<p>However, your assets outside of primary home and retirement start changing this picture quite a bit. If you have an income of 180k with cash/investments of 400k, your scholarship drops to 5k.</p>
<p>Anyone with cash/stock assets but a big mortgage should payoff the mortgage.</p>
<p>The College Navigator website from the National Center for Education Statistics publishes the average net price of colleges by income range. This may be less useful for the OP, as the top income range bracket begins at $110,001, so for a school like Harvard, the average net price of $29,380 in that bracket is likely skewed by those in the lower end who are still qualifying for Harvard’s generous FA. </p>
<p>A cursory examination of random schools on that website made me see why so many low-income kids, particularly those with Bs and Cs on their transcripts, believe college isn’t a real option for them. Only a few are fortunate enough to be accepted to Harvard. Many of the other elite privates have an average net price between ~$5,000-8,000 for students in the under $30k income bracket, and I assume this represents loans and work study. But still, admittance to those schools is competitive. The numbers get really disturbing when checking the schools to which the average to above-average student has a realistic chance for admission. A directional public in my state has an average net price of $11k for students in the 0-$30k bracket. Parents at that income probably can provide little or no help, which implies heavy debt for the student, and I can scarcely believe a degree from that university would be “worth it” by any measure. Some of the mid-tier privates were even more expensive, and I saw one in another state that was $22k for the lowest bracket. If schools such as that attract many lower-income students, it would explain the student debt crisis.</p>
<p>Public universities are certainly a great bargain for the affluent. For the ones I checked, those in the $110,000+ bracket paid little more than those in the $48k-75k bracket, and sometimes no more than those in the $75k-110 bracket.</p>
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<p>By the measurement of income, expenses and where one lives.</p>
<p>Where I live, that is considered lower middle class.</p>
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<p>That is for the entire nation. It is a pretty big country.</p>
<p>Across the street from where I live, the median income is $ 194,000:</p>
<p>[Great</a> Falls, Virginia (VA 22066) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/city/Great-Falls-Virginia.html]Great”>http://www.city-data.com/city/Great-Falls-Virginia.html)</p>
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<p>Exactly. That’s the only point people are trying to make. No one is saying people should feel sorry for them.</p>
<p>I would say OP is upper middle class/lower upper class but not rich. Rich is when you actually can afford sticker price at any school your kids can get into. Here in the Bay Area, if you want a house in a neighborhood with good public schools or, alternatively, buy a cheaper house (500k instead of 800k) and send your kids to private school, $200K/year gross (taxes are a killer here) is no more than getting by, esp. if you are trying to save for retirement and college.
OP, you never did answer, from her PSAT is your D “merely” a likely Hispanic Scholar or is her score high enough to be National Merit? It makes a BIG difference.</p>
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<p>Exactly. And colleges set their financial aid policies for the entire nation, not “across the street from where [you] live.”</p>
<p>Look at it from their perspective. If colleges awarded need-based aid to those in the top 5% of the nation’s income, i.e., 95% of the population, they would be awarding need-based aid to nearly every one of their matriculating students. Thus, there would be little net tuition money coming in.</p>
<p>Thanks texaspg. So to summarize, it looks like with no crazy amount of assets, below 150k, the family contribution is about 10%. Above 150k to 220k, it quickly goes from about 10% to 90+%.</p>
<p>ttparent - That seems to be how Harvard operates.</p>
<p>If you have two kids in college at the same time though, the numbers will change drastically since they deduct a chunk of your income in support of the first kid.</p>
<p>^^^ LOL</p>
<p>Sad, but so true. Maybe it is time to move to a “realer” part of the world.</p>
<p>Whoops, my LOL refers to a post higher up the thread.</p>
<p>Our family did move. Moved from Northern CA to rural NC.</p>
<p>5 kiddos and I, moved ourselves. And it made a huge difference in the ability to afford undergrad and now grad schools. HUGE difference. Kiddos were all in high school or just starting and after looking at the finances of college, we packed up and moved.</p>
<p>Public high school, low cost of living and great schools with low in-state tuition…was my financial safety for all of my kiddos. </p>
<p>Now just imagine “grapes of wrath” and that was us!! </p>
<p>So yes, me (single mom) picked up all our junk and moved. Best “in-house” scholie ever awarded!!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Figured I would throw in my two cents in this conversation. Two children one graduated last year after 5 years of college, BS in Engineering Physics, at a small college. Tuition less than $7K per year, and unfortunately room and board in excess of $18K per year. Not a very recognizable college, although due to his international experience in the third world, managed to obtain oil industry engineering job, with $$ , perks, and travel. Note: for you future engineering majors, especially civil, structural, there are no jobs period. Look at energy, until the present administration screws that up.
D going to college in the fall, major engineering and math. Has choice of 98% of colleges, and off course looking at the other 2%. Just finished FAFSA, no $$ nada nothing, well they are offering 5.5K Stafford. Waiting for the results of CSS, all 18 pages, and the results. Note parents, both retired, pension and SS, and penalized for what we saved, luckily we rent, havent owned since 2005.
Just received first scholarship (merit) at $16K, whoopee when school is $54K. Public institution is looking better everyday. No we are not looking for entitlements, we are not a minority, we would just like to pay tuition at perhaps 20% of our AGI, and not as the EFC indicates 32%. I question whether to bother with the big name schools, if my son can get a great education, travel all over the world with his internship, and manage to get a better paying job than most of the people in this country.<br>
How does this society justify the need for diversification, entitlements, expected grants, and reverse discrimination, all for the sake of past injustices.</p>