<p>If some private schools cost 50-60 thousand dollars a year for 4 years and possibly another 2 for an MBA, then where does it come from? The average student debt is like 20 thousand but 4 years of this could be 210 thousand. I am confused. I understand family contributions/savings/aid etc but where does the difference 190 thousand come from?</p>
<p>It depends on the school. For most schools, the money comes from the families. In some cases it comes from a combination of fed aid, school aid, loans, and maybe some family money. </p>
<p>Most schools need most of the money to come from elsewhere - families, gov’t, loans, etc.</p>
<p>The average debt number is student debt which does not include parent debt. Families are expected to have savings, use income and borrow at most colleges. Also grad school is not included in the average–thats just undergrad. A good MBA program now costs $200K with many students borrowing most of it.</p>
<p>$50K/yr plus schools are for the wealthy and very smart, most can not attend them.</p>
<p>^ not true, my family is certainly not wealthy. MY parents are separated, and my mother makes under 18k per year. </p>
<p>I’m going to Mount Holyoke (a 52k++ per year school).</p>
<p>Average student debt is not a very reliable statistic…it’s a self-reported measure of the federal student loans (Stafford and Perkins) for the members of last year’s graduating class at a particular school who also started there as freshmen (ie. no transfers). It doesn’t include any private student loans or parent loans and, because federal loans are limited, the average student debt is limited. Averages are also misleading because they include kids that don’t need loans, or took very small loans (wealthy parents/high scholarships).</p>
<p>If you’re just starting to look at schools, get an estimated EFC and calculate what your financial need would be (cost of attendance minus EFC). Then apply the average percent of need met to your need number and subtract that from the COA. That would give you a better idea of how much aid a particular school might offer…not perfect, but better!</p>
<p>jamapelle, you are attending one of the the very few schools that meets need for all. These schools are all selective, most very selective. Those that can’t pay at these schools need to be selected and are, on a relative basis, very smart.</p>
<p>yes I am aware of that, but to say that “$50K/yr plus schools are for the wealthy and very smart, most can not attend them” sounds like an absolute statement to me. So I had to point out that it was possible for students from a certain income bracket, to attend such said ‘expensive’ schools.</p>
<p>gives others hope, ya know? ;)</p>
<p>Possible? Yes. Probable? Whole other story.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with attempting to get into one of these schools, but the practical college hopeful will cover all bases and have a realistic backup plan.</p>
<p>* “$50K/yr plus schools are for the wealthy and very smart, most can not attend them”*</p>
<p>On average, this is true. Most $50k/yr schools need a lot of their students to be full-payers or near-full-payers.</p>
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<p>You’re are under special circumstances – the rich and the poor could afford an expensive private college more readily than the middle. If your parents were making $100K/year, you’d be in much tougher spot than where you are.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>True…</p>
<p>and, here on CC we get a distorted view of aid sometimes because many of the kids here are phenomenal (like jamapelle probably is 
), so top schools accept them and bestow them with fab aid. (her dad must not much earn much either or maybe MH doesn’t ask for NCP info)</p>
<p>However, for the rest of “normal world of college students” 
schools largely expect parents to pay for their kids’ college expenses (from savings, loans, and current income.).</p>
<p>Schools aren’t charities. They generally use their money for certain students to help THEM look good. So, for the majority that are in the “mid 50s” range of their scores, those kids often don’t get the aid they need (unless it’s a school that meets need with little or no loans). </p>
<p>In the past few days, kids with super stats have been getting last minute calls from colleges who are throwing more money at them. The enrollment managers have obviously been busy with their computer models figuring out that if they give John Doe and his super stats more money and he accepts, the school benefits by more than it will cost them.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, that bit about “the very rich and the very poor” finding expensive colleges more readily affordable isn’t true. Maybe the very rich, but only a tiny minority of actual poor college applicants who apply and get into the tiny amount of schools that promise to meet full need without loans can honestly say that they are as fortunate as very wealthy applicants. The reality of the matter is that very poor applicants usually do not get significantly more aid than middle-class applicants except at those few schools. </p>
<p>And before you say it; no, if your financial aid plan relies on the hope that you get into an extremely selective school, then it’s not really a plan and more of an aspiration or a goal.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, that bit about “the very rich and the very poor” finding expensive colleges more readily affordable isn’t true.</p>
<p>*you are attending one of the the very few schools that meets need for all. *</p>
<p>That top quote is about getting accepted to expensive schools that meet need.</p>
<p>Obviously that isn’t true for the many pricey privates that can’t meet need.</p>
<p>And before you say it; no, if your financial aid plan relies on the hope that you get into an extremely selective school, then it’s not really a plan and more of an aspiration or a goal.</p>
<p>Very true…like winning the lottery. For every poor child who gets accepted to a school with ivy-like aid, there are thousands who got very little aid.</p>
<p>@m2ck - MH did require the NCP info, and my dad has been unemployed for quite some time. Though we did list an ‘expected contribution’ from him, I doubt this would work out, but I’m willing to cover that expense. </p>
<p>I’m not an expert at institutional methodology when it comes to determining aid for ANY type of student (obviously). The whole point of disagreeing with the assumption that “$50K/yr plus schools are for the wealthy and very smart” was to make it clear that yes, it is possible. </p>
<p>“Possible? Yes. Probable? Whole other story.”</p>
<p>I agree with this also. I just didn’t want some poor (no pun intended, okay maybe) kid reading this thread thinking that all hope’s lost. I’m pretty sure the parents here know exactly what they’re talking about when it comes to the reality of financial aid. Just to make it clear, I had all the odds stacked up against me - I am an international, applying as a TRANSFER, needing ALOT OF AID. And no, I’m not a whizkid from China or India with As/A<em>/A</em>* emblazoning my certificate - I’m simply sprinkling some positivity here…:)</p>
<p>So maybe it is like winning the lottery, or perhaps MH saw something in me. “Statistically”, I don’t think I was admitted to make them ‘look good’ (though I’m sure this is true for most of the acceptees ;)) </p>
<p>"The reality of the matter is that very poor applicants usually do not get significantly more aid than middle-class applicants except at those few schools. "</p>
<p>This is also true. I’d like to add that sometimes, it is a matter of subjectivity. Most middle-class students are very lucky to have parents who are more informed about college apps and costs. At times, while the low EFC of a lower-income family seems attractive to some, it can pose as an equal financial strain as to a mid-class family that is forking out the $30k EFC.</p>
<p>Here’s your bottom line. MH is at the bottom end of selectvity in terms of schools that meet need. They are not being swamped with international applicants like many of the others.</p>
<p>So I’d say it wasn’t winning the lottery. If you had their average stats and represent a different country, you were a good deal for them.</p>
<p>The point I’m making is everyone needs to understand their personal odds. And the odds of a kid is who not well off or does not have very high stats attending a high ticket college is by definition very small.</p>
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<p>Ah, that makes more sense. It would have been awesome if that quote had actually specified that, but I guess it must have been implied.</p>
<p>“And the odds of a kid is who not well off or does not have very high stats attending a high ticket college is by definition very small.”</p>
<p>Had you stated that in the first place, it would’ve been left uncontested. </p>
<p>Since you brought it up Redroses, MHC does have large volumes of international applicants, particularly China. I needed to emphasize on the ‘I’m not some whizkid’ comment to deflect any kind of stereotypes that ensues headlining circumstances such as being ‘international/transfer/lower-income’. </p>
<p>Perhaps you were right about MH’s selectivity, relative to other schools that meet need. However I do hope that you weren’t implying that my passport warranted an admission from MH. Also, I’m not from an underrepresented country - au contraire, it’s home to one of the top feeder schools to ivy-leagues (which is quite unfortunate for me).</p>
<p>I wonder if you’d think the same way about Swarthmore, UChicago and/or NYU (of which three, only Swarthmore was possible attend, for obvious reasons).</p>
<p>Sorry if I seem like nit-picking every single thing you say - nor am I arguing with you, as I’m sure your intentions were good. It’s just that if CC is going to be the primary source of information on college application for most kids, maybe we should provide the most accurate advice instead of making sweeping generalizations that could potentially deter their hopes of admission.</p>
<p>Your last point is exactly the one I’m trying to make. There should be no myths on CC. There is a troubling belief by many in the US that aid is available to all. This is fed by the colleges who encourage everyone to apply to boost their rankings. The say words that come very close to “don’t worry about the aid, we’ll work with you” in many cases. So kids apply and are shocked inApril.</p>
<p>There are exceptions to every rule but we need to remember they are indeed exceptons.</p>