<p>I know that my parents can by no means afford for me to go to a college that costs $50,000 a year to attend, but I don't know if they're considered "low income" either. They make somewhere around $68-75,000 a year (I don't know specifics which is why I can't do one of those online calculator things). Is this considered low income, and would this qualify me for quite a bit of aid at a school like Northwestern/Penn?</p>
<p>This is a good place to start: [Project</a> on Student Debt: What’s the Bottom Line?](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php]Project”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php). Of course the chart considers “average” income with “average” assets, so your individual package may vary.</p>
<p>Yes, if accepted at Penn or NU and your parents have typical assets for their income, you would get significant aid.</p>
<p>You’d get aid from elites but you’re not low income.</p>
<p>What do you base that on Redroses? Did you visually drop off a zero? OP you would be smart to sit down with your parents and run one of the financial aid calculators. If their work income is what you describe you are not low income in the classical sense of the word where you would qualify for Pell grants and such. Their income is above the national average income. The absolute first starting point is to run the calculators with your parents so that you all have an idea of the minimum you will be expected to pay. This minimum is called an EFC. Then you need to have a frank discussion with your parents about what they can afford.</p>
<p>My parents’ income was in that range when I applied to college (6.5 years ago) and our EFC was just over $18,000. But that was as calculated by FAFSA; I didn’t complete the CSS PROFILE. My family had virtually no assets beyond owning our own home, so I’d imagine the PROFILE EFC would be somewhat in the same range.</p>
<p>No, you’re not low-income by any stretch of the imagination. Your family’s income is several thousand dollars higher than the median household income in the U.S. However, many elite schools (if you can get in) are offering great packages for students who come from families that make less than $80,000 a year.</p>
<p>In that income range, you really need to apply and see what comes back. It could vary widely by school, but you could get very good aid from certain schools. Northwestern and UPenn may be schools from which you’d get significant aid. It’s just hard to tell until you apply. My kid goes to a school with generous aid policies. Our AGI is around 67K, all from income, and we have no assets except our house. He gets excellent need-based aid at that income level.</p>
<p>Schools all have different policies and procedures for allocating aid. You should definitely apply, though, and see what you get back. It is certainly not outside the realm of possibility that you would get the aid you need to attend those schools. Of course, getting in is the hard part!</p>
<p>How much CAN your parents pay? What do you mean by “quite a bit” of aid?</p>
<p>For one example: I am a single parent of two earning about 40,000 or less (depends on bonuses) a year. Through the FAFSA, my D only qualified for loans–no aid that she doesn’t have to repay. She did get a nice merit scholarship based on test scores, but she would have received that no matter what I earned. So I would say you are not low income, and from my experience, it seems you have to be on welfare to get any grants.</p>
<p>Musicmom1215, if the OP can get accepted to Northwestern or UPenn, though, the aid at her family’s income level would come from the schools themselves, not the federal government. Those schools have very strong need-based aid, so while the OP would not receive a Pell grant from the government she/he may receive significant aid from Northwestern or UPenn.</p>
<p>There are a small number of colleges --typically ones that are very hard to get accepted to – that do provide good aid to middle-income students like the OP.</p>
<p>Well, the only schools I’m applying to out of state are Nortwestern, Notre Dame, UPenn, and Columbia – so since they’re all relatively well known private schools I’m assuming they have the means to offer extensive aid. I would apply to some other (public) schools as well, but I’ve been told that public schools are less inclined to give generous financial aid to out of state students.</p>
<p>What I mean by “quite a bit” of aid is a minimum of around $35,000… I know that’s a lot of money, but unless I can receive that much I’ll have to attend a public school in my home state, which I’d rather not do – I REALLY want to leave the south.</p>
<p>It can be a little confusing when you say “out of state”. That typically is something that only pertains to public universities since they have lower rates for their own state residents, and charge more to out-of-state students (whose parents do not pay taxes in that state.) This is a benefit to the residents of a state, that based on their participation in the state’s tax revenues, they have the benefit of lower cost to the in-state schools.</p>
<p>Northwestern, Notre Dame, UPenn and Columbia are all private universities. Tuition is not related to the student’s state of residence. It’s the same for everyone, so you don’t normally attach the phrase “out of state” to a private, even if you happen to reside in a different state than the geographical location of the school.</p>
<p>Good luck with you applications. I hope it works out for you!</p>