<p>An acquaintance is currently on a college tour of the kind of schools that cost $50,000 per year. The schools are all saying "don't let the cost keep you from applying. We have need based grants." But I'm pretty sure that the family income is in excess of $200,000 per year. </p>
<p>I don't know these people well enough to personally burst their bubble, but it just made me curious. If you make in excess of $150,000 (and don't have extenuating circumstances like octuplets all starting school at once), don't you have about zero chance of need-based aid?</p>
<p>Most likely not. However, most all families regardless of finances can qualify for Stafford loans which is a form of aid, PLUS, and merit awards. There is also “financial aid” at times that is not heavily dependent on finances but on special circumstances such as those who have undergone a hardship of sorts.</p>
<p>This is exactly what we heard when we were looking at schools. The reality for a family with the income that you’re talking about it that there will be no need based assistance. This family’s bubble will be burst at some point but if you don’t want to be the bearer of bad news then I don’t think you should feel obligated.</p>
<p>Yeah, no special hardships of which I’m aware. Looking at the type of schools that give close to zero merit aid (one said that 3% of students get merit aid.) Normal, upper middle class family. I’m afraid they’re falling for all the lines the schools are giving on the tours. </p>
<p>Like I said, I don’t know this family well. I just remember the heart wrenching “admit-deny” posts last spring as kids realized that their parents could not afford to send them to their selective reach even though they’d been admitted.</p>
<p>I’m close to a relative of theirs. I think I’ll get the relative to clue them in to College Confidential; maybe they can get a dose of reality before they get too far into the process.</p>
<p>The one at bottom right is for a family of 5 with income of $160,000; they qualify for $2k in scholarship, $2.5k in work-study, and $5k in UNiversity loans, with the rest - $42,000 - the Expected Family Contribution.</p>
<p>That’s helpful…because if the family doesn’t want to take out loans and the child isn’t going to work, the family contribution is up to $49,900.</p>
<p>I think Kei-o-lei’s suggestion is a very good one. You could just casually say something like, “Have you taken a look at FAFSA yet to see how much need-based aid your family might qualify for?” That’s decidedly non-judgmental. And if they haven’t heard about FAFSA yet, you would be doing them a big favor by introducing them to it. At least it’s a starting point…</p>
<p>Because it’s not my own preference, I tend to forget that some families are willing to take out sizable loans so that their child can go to his dream school.</p>
<p>A fairly good friend with a child who recently graduated from a very expensive, highly selective school commented that her child’s college fund had been enough to pay for the first two years. I stopped short of asking how she paid for the other two because it’s really not my business. But she didn’t mention scholarships, so maybe loans?</p>
<p>Don’t forget, though, that Kei is quoting Brown’s policy. The examples on Brown’s site indicate how Brown will react. But on other schools it is not at all reasonable to expect that there could be any aid at all. These policies are by no means consistent from school to school. The Ivies and other top schools with large endowments (relatively speaking) are able to give more than some other schools. The D of a good friend is getting nothing (not even a subsidized Stafford) and the family income is around $200k. It seems rather unlikely that this high of an income will result in much FA. I guess the best bet would be to ask questions of the FA office directly.</p>
<p>If the family is looking for financial help, they need to be concentrating on schools where their student is in good shape for merit based awards. Because need based awards will be almost impossible at that income level with only one in college.</p>
<p>I think this is an upper middle class family whose eldest child is a rising senior with great grades and test scores. I think they are new to the process and believe the (highly selective) schools when they say they’ll help them make it happen. In other words, if they need financial help, they don’t know it yet.</p>
<p>Who knows, this particular family may have an inheritance or something of which I’m unaware, that will bankroll the whole thing. The assurance of “need based grants” by the schools made me think that it would be more honest for the schools to be a bit more direct about who gets the need based grants. Nothing is hard and fast because as I said, a family might be sending octuplets away to school, but if a bunch of people with $200,000 incomes walk away thinking they’ll get a grant, the schools aren’t being upfront.</p>
<p>Almost all the “top” schools provide a need based aid “calculator”. </p>
<p>There should be no illusions. Do the math. Then go to your state flagship and spend summers in Europe.LOL </p>
<p>Of course you can take out huge loans and spend your summers flipping burgers or cleaning potties for a degree you don’t have the social connections to cash in on anyway.</p>
<p>missypie – you may have hit the nail on the head here. The thing is since this is such a good student she may be able to get a merit scholarship from a really good school. All the more reason for the family to be clued in sooner rather than later, so they can apply to those schools that give merit scholarships.</p>
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<p>I really felt this way for awhile. But I came around to realizing that the schools are operating a business, complete with the PR that goes along with it. This wasn’t the only area where I felt the schools weren’t as forthcoming as they could have been, but to tell those stories would take us too far off the topic.</p>
<p>In the end I had only myself to blame for not doing my own homework to see how the financial aid system really worked. I don’t have any regrets, it was a learning process for our whole family and we got a good result, but our good result was more a matter of good luck than good planning. If you could find a way to clue this family in you might really be doing them a favor. Also, tell them about this site, I wish I had known about it sooner.</p>
<p>Of course, TV shows/movies, etc. don’t help. How many times has some TV character been presented as being so smart that she got a free ride to an Ivy? Even in my new favorite CD, the Broadway soundtrack to Next to Normal, Natalie (a high school girl) is practicing for her piano audition so she can get admitted to Yale early decision with a free ride. How awesome would a young pianist have to be to get that offer?</p>