cptofthehouse

Not fun, Ack, but you do need to do some research. You should run a PROFILE from a school you have in mind and see what they come up with in terms of need. THen run FAFSA and find out if you can get some govt money. Doubt you will with your family income as high as it is, other than a crack at the unsubsidized Stafford, but some PROFILE schools will take into acct private school tuition for siblings, and depending on your parent's ages, dependents, etc, you might qualify for something.

cptofthehouse

You should run the PROFILE first since you are looking at private schools and their need numbers are what will count for what they will give in terms of your need. The FAFSA is just for govt money, and because the college will require it. You can't do FAFSA until JAN 1 2009 for your money anyways, but you will likely want to do PROFILE early to get an estimate of need.

I suggest you subscribe to USNWR premier service and look at those schools that give generous financial aid comprised heavily in grants as well as at those schools that have some nice merit money. JUst because a school meets 100% of need does not mean it meets it with grant money. I've seen some unconscionable loan amounts.

GrandK

How Can I found out the EFC?
I did not fill Fafsa by myself?

swimcatsmom

Did you fill out a FAFSA? If so you should be able to go to the FAFSA website and enter your information and see your SAR (student aid report) which will include your EFC.

FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Kei-o-lei

Brown's hypotheticals for financial aid include a family with income of $160,00, 5 kids, one on college, and so on getting a small amount of need-based aid

So it depends how much over 100k your family is; evidently, up to $160k there is aid awarded.

It's like the lottery: you can't get aid unless you fill out the forms.

And if you have your form in and -heaven forbid - your family's financial situation changes for the worse, you are ready to amend your FAFSA.

Kei

P.S. And make sure you have some financial safety schools :-)

Jack2010

I'm really confused by the whole situation. My parents make about $150K together, but they and my grandparents) have saved as much as they could over the years! My college fund has $111K dollars. A home and two cars are our only significant assets though. My sister is a sophomore in high school

Are we going to get penalized for saving? The college board EFC says we should be paying $25,000 a year, but that doesn’t really ask for assets. Will the school say, "Well, you can afford $25,000 a year from your income, but you've saved enough so that you can take the remainder of what it costs from college savings?

Or will our estimated contribution be the same regardless of college fund, so that we can use the fund to pay for that $25,000 we could afford from our income?

I don't understand how they can ask how much you've saved for college. Two families who make the same, one saves every last penny for college and the other spends every last penny on NASCAR tickets and booze, does the family who ****ed all their money away just get grants to cover what the other family saved?

vballmom

Congratulations on having $111K in your college fund. This will allow you many options for college.

The College Board calculator should be asking for assets. Isn't there a place to plug in parent and student investments? If your college savings are in a 529, then you would enter them as a parent asset and 5.6% will be expected to be paid for college every year. If your college savings are in your name in a UGMA, then the calculator will include 20% per year as your expected contribution.

Getting grants isn't as easy as you might think. The family that didn't have the discipline or foresight to save will most likely face limited college choices along with a lifetime of paying off loans.

entomom

And even better if your grandparents have the account for you, then it won't count in your FA calculations at all.

Yes, your family's assets will reduce your FA, but I agree with vballmom that it's much better to have the savings then to rely on FA as, except for the most generous schools, you could be given large amounts of loans in your package.

I know it doesn't seem fair, and I'm sure that improvements could be made in how FA is calculated, but this is a very complex problem. For instance, what if in your example a third family also didn't save, but due to chronic medical problems, what would be "fair" in that case? I have two kids that are 4 years apart in age, so they won't overlap at college. As a result, we'll end up paying more overall to put them through college than if they would have overlapped a couple of years. But on the other hand, families with kids in school at the same time have a very difficult time coming up with so much money over a short period of time. So, what's fair in that situation?

I understand your frustration, I was a saver too, and as a result pay more than if I had less assets. But it's given my kids much more freedom in the school they choose to attend, and that has value too.

Best of luck!

mom2collegekids

FAFSA isn't going to care that your parents are putting you and your sis thru private high school - that is a lifestyle choice. Some would argue that that money should have been saved for college, but that's their choice. I'm not criticizing it; my own kids went to private high school.

What I hear your parents saying is that they're (rightfully) concerned that their income (and likely assets) are going to prevent you from getting much from schools that would likely accept you. Your dad also has been rather vague about how much OVER $100k they earn. Unless your parents are quite frugal, people who put their kids thru private high schools that cost $15k per year are probably making a lot more than 100k.

Have your parents told you how much they can contribute each year to your education? If that number is less than what their EFC is, then there is a problem. There EFC could be as high as $30-50k per year, depending on their income and assets.

What are your stats...some have suggested schools (like WashU) that are reaches for most people.

Yes, if your stats are incredible and you "might" get accepted to one of those very few reach schools that give "some" free money to people with rather affluent incomes, then you might get some help...not likely more than $25k.

However, most other schools are different. Those with 6 figure incomes usually have high EFCs, therefore the "shortfall" is covered thru student loans. So, if your college COA is $50k per year, and your family's EFC is $20k per year, the F/A will be mostly loan and possibly some uncovered costs if the school doesn't meet need.

BTW...even if F/A gave you $10k per year, how will you pay the other $30-40k per year ? Can your parents pay that much?

BTW.. You say that the colleges that you're looking at cost about $40k...Is that including EVERYTHING. Most privates are costing $45-53k per year now and likely more next year. Be sure that everything is being added in...tuition, course fees, school fees, dorm, meal plan, books, misc costs, etc.

If you're considering loans...stop...Even if you "only" (ha ha) borrowed $25k per year, you'd end up borrowing $100k. The repayments would be around $1200.00 a month for 10 years. If you "only" (ha ha, again) borrowed $50k, your payments would be around $600 per month. Either way, your life between the ages of 22-32 would be horribly restrained by such a debt. While many of your peers would be moving on with their lives, buying homes, etc, you'd be unhappily saddled with that debt - knowing that there probably were some less expensive options.

mom2collegekids

I missed OP's latest post with more income/asset data before posting the above.

With that income and that college fund, your EFC is going to be very high. I can't imagine who'll give you any aid (I assume you mean free aid, not loans), except maybe an ivy like Harvard.

You may need to look for some merit money.

What are your stats.

>>>
Will the school say, "Well, you can afford $25,000 a year from your income, but you've saved enough so that you can take the remainder of what it costs from college savings?
<<<<

Yes, that's likely to happen. Because once they add in the assets, your EFC will likely double.

entomom

I'm closing this thread.

This is the problem with tacking new questions on to the end of an old thread started by another member. Posters often read the OP and comment on that, even though the question is no longer relevant.

Jack, If you want to get more input, please start a new thread.

x-posted with m2ck.