My parents make a combined income of $112,000 in NYC, and have about $800,000 in assets (this is a house for my grandparents). My EFC ended up being 90504, and I feel that is pretty high. Thoughts? Is this normal? I want to go to Ivys but don’t want a huge financial burden on my parents or myself.
Is that house for your grandparents fully paid for? If so, that is $800,000 in assets that had to be listed on the FAFSA.
That alone would add $45000 or so to your EFC.
Do the have other assets…savings, etc?
Income of $112,000…is that their gross or net income? What is their income before taxes?
Do they contribute to a tax deferred retirement plan? If so, the money they contributed in 2017 would also be added back in as income.
So…what’s the total?
If it is not a primary residence for you, that $800k house is ‘assessed’ at 5.6%, or adds $44,800 to your EFC. If you EFC on just income is $20k, and if you have any income or assets as the student, it can start adding up to $90k.
$90k still seems high, so you might want to check all your entries and make sure you didn’t move a decimal point, didn’t have an IRA/401k roll over, etc.
In NYS you can go to a SUNY school for free with that income. Thank a tax payer.
This is inaccurate. In NYS, that income makes students eligible for a ~$7k/year tuition grant. SUNYs cost $22,000, so if this student gets the Excelsior Grant their net cost will be $15k/year.
Definitely applying to SUNYs, but if I’m offered a seat at an Ivy, it would be hard to turn down.
Do your parents own a business?
Do they also own their own home?
No business, but they own both houses.
It sounds a bit high - should be 45k or so based on what you presented. Are there other assets? Are your arentz divorced each living in a different house they own? Did you use equity or resale value? Do you rent a room or a part of your grandparents’ house?
Ivies use the CSS profile.
Have you run the NPC on all colleges you’re considering?
What budget have your parents given you? (I imagine 20k, perhaps 25?)
If you get into an ivy and they expect you to pay 70k, you won’t be able to go. How would your family live?
This is inaccurate. In NYS, that income makes students eligible for a ~$7k/year tuition grant. SUNYs cost $22,000, so if this student gets the Excelsior Grant their net cost will be $15k/year.
The threshold for free tuition in NYS is being raised to 125K. You only have to come up with your room and board. Sweet deal.
Rent part of grandparents house, and it’s resale value
Ok, AFAIK:
-you need to enter equity, not resale value
-rent counts as income so you need to add it if it’s not part of your earlier number 112k
- CSS profile loos at it differently from FAFSA
- you need to run NPCs asap (like, right now)
- what budget range have your parents given you?
Right, but remember, current fair market value (“resale value”) will determine how much equity there is.
Current fair market value - Debt secured by the property = Equity
@e8f49sf Run the net price calculator at Cornell and Columbia before you do ED.
With the extra house asset, you could be full pay.
Can your family afford this on $112,000 a year?
It would be foolish to pass up free tuition at SUNY, they are great schools.
@Empireapple, there are fees, room, board, transportation and books still to pay, that’s hardly free, but I would take a tuition grant if PA offered it for that income limit.
@mommdc: can you imagine how life would change for PA residents with teenagers if they got a tuition grant that covered full tuition at PASSHE or the equivalent amount at PSU/Pitt/Temple?
@e8f49sf : run the net price calculators on Cornell, Columbia, and any other school you’ve considered. bring the results to your parents and see what they say, what’s affordable. I don’t think they can afford more than 20-25k based on that income.
@MYOS1634 I know it would greatly help us!
To be fair, we do get a state grant of about $3,000.
At my son’s PASSHE school tuition goes by credit, for 15 credits it is about $10,000 a year, then fees are around $4,000 a year, and room and board over $12,000.
He also got some merit from the school.
I suspect that the home is paid off, hence the $800k in assets comment.
@e8f49sf is there a mortgage on the property that grands are living in?
mimmdc…its pretty much free. If one isn’t willing to work and take out loans for the remainder that’s too bad for them. My own son earned 10K last year while being a full time student. If one wants to make it work, they can.
@Empireapple, $15,000 isn’t “pretty much free.” And the students you’re telling to “thank a taxpayer” are more than likely the children of taxpayers. I get that you don’t like the Excelsior Grant, but that doesn’t have anything to do with OP’s question.
If I’m not mistaken, the students who get Excelsior also have to stay in NYS for a number of years upon graduation. So if they work in and pay taxes to NYS, they will be contributing to the economy of NYS.
“almost free” are different things to different people, @austinmshauri and others were just clarifying what the residual cost would be to a NYS student at a SUNY so they don’t think they can go there for “free”.