^ 150k, the lower amount is after taxes. And despite OP calling it an uber generous school, they still left her with 57k. That’s hardly over the 33% or so we might expect on 150k income, no?
OP doesn’t provide enough details.
Well…on a $150,000 income, the mom’s EFC could easily have been $50,000 (1/4 of her gross income).
Not sure why this kid is so worked up about his dad. The reality is that unless he is attending HYSP, he would be paying about that $50,000 amount.
And his thread title…does he have to report the $75000. Answer is yes…next year!
<<<
have wired over $75,000 to my mom.
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
that sounds like a gift to the MOM.
Thank you everyone who responded. I truly appreciate any advice you guys can give me. I will try to answer some posts.
Firstly, my school uses CSS.
@PrimeMeridian thanks for your comment (#7). Yes, I understand where you’re coming from. Everyone has expenses. Life is not fair to everyone. And, objectively speaking, I was born better off than many people. I fully acknowledge this and am grateful for it. But your argument that I am entitled and am not forced to go to an expensive school is invalid. I am not entitled (and I won’t go into detail here about how my father’s physical and emotional abuse has wrecked my family)-- I am merely pointing out the fact that, because I worked my behind off all my life, I have earned admission to an amazing university. And with that admission, shouldn’t I earn the generous aid associated with my school? Of course I am not forced to go to it. I’m not forced to do anything. But what I do feel is unfair–and please think about where I’m coming from before replying–is that if we were treated like any other $150,000 family accepted to this school, I would get likely three or four times more aid. And no, I’m not drowning because of our $150,000 income. I know it’s a really good income. Rather, I’m drowning because I have to pay $57,000 a year on a $150,000 income. I’m one of few kids whose life would be drastically better if my dad got hit by a train tomorrow. That’s what I’m sad about. If being sad over that fact me entitled, well, I am sorry you think this way.
@blossom thank you for your insight (#9). My mom does not have a financial advisor, but I suppose we can look into finding one. My grandparents are not US citizens, and the money is already in my mom’s account. And we have already applied for financial aid this school year, so it has not been reported.
@thumper1 thanks for your comment (#13) . Yes, we got need-based grants. This is likely because I wrote out several detailed paragraphs in the CSS section for extra information detailing my relationship with my dad. And I am certain they factored that in, at least a little bit. The $75,000 is sitting in my mom’s bank account right now. As for #19, please see below. My dad’s income was clearly factored in. After all, I sent him the NCP profile link, and he filled it out after a few months.
@BelknapPoint thanks for your comment (#15 and #18). Yes he is the NCP, and we didn’t need him for the FAFSA. But I needed him for the CSS non-custodial profile (wow this brings back terrible memories of months trying to get a hold of him…kind of hard when your only communication is through AIM). We were not given a NCP waiver. I didn’t apply for a waiver for this school because I applied for a waiver with my ED school (got deferred then rejected) and they rejected my waiver, telling me that I had contact, and that in itself really hurt my application for a waiver. So I didn’t bother applying for a waiver again. BUT, everything I would have detailed in a waiver application, I detailed in the CSS extra information section that got sent to my school.
@lookingforward thanks for your comment (#20). I didn’t apply for a waiver, and didn’t get one. That’s why my aid is so ridiculously low if we look at it in terms of only my mom’s income. But it’s ridiculously high if we factor in my dad’s income. So the fact that it’s somewhere in between means my school must have taken into account my paragraphs explaining my situation on the CSS.
@thumper1 again regarding your comment (#21). Actually, $57,000 a year on a $150,000 is ridiculous. Few good schools would ask for that much. And my sister graduated college a few months ago, so my mom’s savings in college funds are gone. Zero. Seriously, $57,000 on $150,000 is downright impossible and not reasonable. My mom and I have agonized over it for countless nights over it already. The college I will be attending this year is comparable to Stanford, and often ranked above it. And Stanford doesn’t charge tuition to families earning less than $125,000 a year. Like I said above: considering how hard I’ve worked to earn admission to my college, shouldn’t I get the generous aid associated with my school?
Sorry if I didn’t directly address any comments–I read them all many times and am very appreciative of any advice I can get. And again, please don’t call me an entitled lying cheater or anything like that. I totally understand that wanting to hide my grandparents’ gift is wrong, but please think about where I’m coming from. $57,000 a year on $150,000 doesn’t work out. I don’t necessarily want to commit fraud–I am just asking for any help I can get to reduce the inevitable hit on my financial aid next year. It’s better than just sitting here wishing a heart attack upon my dad.
. Since you make this point repeatedly, I’ll respond by pointing out that you chose this impossible to afford school anyway. Honestly, a lot of students work really hard, have amazing stats, and turn down schools that they can’t afford. My family couldn’t afford the top LAC that accepted me so I went to my state flagship.
@CheddarcheeseMN thanks for your comment (#24).
Yes, I get that I chose this expensive school. Let me address this once and for all.
You say that many students “turn down schools that they can’t afford.” But understand that I was not an average applicant who applied to average schools knowing fully beforehand that the aid is average. If that were me, believe me I would shut my mouth this instant and not complain. The only reason I am unhappy is that this school SHOULDN’T be a school I can’t afford. No kid accepted to this school should be unable to pay for it, and considering the aid is widely renowned, it must be true. They literally tell you: if you get in, you can go. And I have worked so, so, so hard to take advantage of that.
I am just in a uniquely bad situation that has nothing to do with my choice of an “expensive” school (in quotes because its aid makes it possible for everybody). So now that I have this addressed this issue, I am hoping to shift the conversation away from criticizing my college choice and towards what I can possibly do to prevent my school from completely taking away my financial aid next year once they see my mom got a gift of $75,000. If I get no aid, I am afraid I will be unable to attend. I cannot imagine paying $69,000 next year…
You don’t seem to understand that finaid policies belong to the college, are set by them, rest on various details. The requirement is that all students in various categories be treated the same. And it seems they applied this to you, as the kid whose parents earn 300k+ and sibling is out of college. Did you run the college NPC beforehand? You knew at ED that the NCP waiver was iffy.
For many of us, the bottom line is: it IS a school you describe not being able to afford. (Unless your grandparents pay.)
Next school year, if your mother has 75k in assets on hand, not in protected retirement plans, it will be assessed at roughly 6%. That’s common knowledge, found on numerous related web sites. And note the average ‘financial planer’ doesn’t know how college finaid works, how to protect.
And is this need based aid/grants/free money or does it include the student loan and work study?
If your mom can’t afford to pay $57k/year for college on her $150k/year salary, and your dad won’t help even though he earns $200k/year, maybe you should attend a more affordable college. You don’t want to find out in a year or two that your mom can’t swing it because by then you’ll be a transfer. There’s not really much aid for transfers.
I’m sorry your dad is the way he is. Most colleges won’t take his refusal to pay into account though. If they did, everybody would say they won’t pay. Is it sad that your dad won’t help out and your mom has to support you on just her $150k income? Sure. But lots of kids have worked hard and under more difficult circumstances. No, working hard doesn’t entitle you to extra aid over what others in your income bracket get. Your parents combined income is $350k. Why should the college cover your dad’s contribution for him?
Did you work over the summer? If you’re short $12k/year you could raise ~$3k by working in the summer. If you worked a few hours/week throughout the year you could probably raise a decent chunk of the rest of it too.
Find a way to protect those 75k legally, maybe putting them inside your mom’s retirement plan, and try to find some help in the financial aid office of your school perhaps appealing for more financial aid. If it does not work, prepare yourself for 4 years of financial hardships.
I hope everything turns out good for you.
@lookingforward thanks for your comment (#26). It is need-based aid, so basically free money. Also what you say about running the NPC is pretty similar to comment #27, which I talk about below. It’s not that I’m not satisfied with their aid, it’s that I’m not satisfied with how they deal with outside help when they KNOW the situation I am in.
@austinmshauri thanks for your comment (#27). But what you are talking about has nothing to do with what I’m talking about. I am not asking the college for any more aid, and never planned on doing so. Never once have I asked for “extra aid over what others in [my] income bracket get.” Never once did I say “the college should cover [my] dad’s contribution for him.”
Because my dad won’t cover his own contribution, my grandparents have generously offered to cover his contribution for him. And that would be perfect, if I wasn’t going to be punished so heavily for it. It sucks that, if I had a legitimate dad who helped with college costs, it would be considered completely normal and not “outside help” and therefore would not decrease my aid. But I don’t have a dad, and my grandparents trying to pay what he will not will just further drive up my EFC. It’s a double whammy no matter how I look at it.
Is it possible for your mom to return the money to your grandparents and then have them pay your tuition directly to the school?
Your first issue is your father, which the college can’t fix- not in real life. You “don’t have a dad,” not in the rosy sense, but you do have a second parent with high earnings.
How they deal with outside help is that, in this case, your mother now has 75k sitting around.
6%.
Soph year, they will likely assess her $4500 of that 75k. She could pay roughly 19k per year out of this gift and reduce her out of pocket to roughly 37k. Unless there are other factors in her income and asset picture not mentioned-or this is a college that does include home equity. (You’re making us guess the college.)
How did she pay for your sister? The point about the NPC (Net Price Calculator) is it should have given you an idea you would face this cost problem. Before you applied. There are many thousands of “not average” applicants and they have to face the costs, too. Many kids who have family issues- and not rich grandparents.
You still have not answered the question:
How does the school know how much your dad makes, since you claim your dad’s income is factored into your FA calculation. How did you get him to fill out the CSS profile if he’s not involved at all in your life?
@austinmshauri thanks for your comment (#28). Yes I am working over the summer. I got a really nice $19 an hour programming internship, and I’m committed to finding another job and working as much as humanly possible when school starts.
@mrduque thank you for your kind words (#29).
@mamaedefamilia thank you for your suggestion (#31). I suppose she could send it back and have my grandparents pay directly, but I’m not sure that would help. That would have to be reported as expenses paid on my behalf (the student), and, if what I’ve read so far is true it will likely drive up my EFC even more since it would be in my name and not my parents.
@lookingforward thank you for your advice (#32). Sorry for not revealing the college name, but right now I don’t want to be identified in any way. They did not ask for any details on our place of residence, only about other properties, which we don’t have. She paid for my sister through special college savings funds (not sure their actual names) which she’s been putting money into ever since we were born. My sister went to our state flagship that is a FAFSA-only school and got no merit aid. Basically about $26,000 a year or so for her. It depleted just about all my mom’s savings, though my sister had no debt upon graduation. My question is, after that initial $4500 assessment you mentioned, are there any more deductions, say, in following years? And are we pressured to spend all $75,000 this year so she doesn’t have over $50,000 sitting around to be counted as available assets next year? Thank you so much for your help.
@PrimeMeridian I don’t know why you keep asking me that (#33). Are you trying to prove that I’m some sort of liar? If you must know, we might send one or two messages over AIM a year. That’s how I sent him the NCP profile. Before that, we used Skype messaging, but he blocked me and deleted me on that later because that was sharing too much information with me apparently. I still don’t know why you’d ask me that unless you plan on saying that, if I truly had no relationship with my dad, then I must’ve failed at completing the NCP waiver application. Well guess what? I could have lied and said I had no contact with him in the last few years, AKA one of the main questions on the waiver. I could have lied and committed the fraud you’ve accused me of in (#7), but I didn’t because I’m not a liar. I told them I can talk with him through AIM and that I knew his Skype username, which got my application rejected. I know how much money he makes because he’s a surgeon who works on leg injuries, and was making that much when my parents got married. He likely makes even more now, but certainly not less. Why does all of this matter?
It matters because you are under the mistaken impression that you are being screwed because of your dad’s income. What people here have been trying to tell you is that you haven’t.
If your Dad sent in the NCP waiver, then his income doesn’t count. Brcsuse if your dad’s income was included in your FA calculation, then you’d be getting ZERO need-based FA, with a family income of 300k.
Your dad may be a total, abysmal failure as a parent and provider, but the school already recognizes that he isn’t a provider and has calculated your FA award based on only your mother’s income, because there’s no way a 300k family would get any need-based FA.
Your college affordabilty issue is a problem of your own egotistical making. Big whoop you worked hard. So did my kids. We qualify for zero need-based FA, but we told our kids, “this is the budget. Apply to schools that give big merit aid or go to State U.”
If your mother thas depleted all her savings to send your sister to an overpriced school, then it’s your mother’s prerogative to prioritize prestige over her retirement.
There is only one school that ranked higher than Stanford and I can understand that you could not say no when you got in. Unfortunately this is the curse of the middle class and we all in the same boat. Hopefully it will work somehow for you.
Your mother chose to raid your college fund to pay for your sister?
I think you are darn lucky that you got any finaid grant at all from the school.
Your situation is NOT unique in any way. Many students “work hard” and cannot afford to attend expensive private universities for any number of reasons. In addition, there are also many students with non-custodial (or even custodial parents for that matter) who refuse to pay for their kids to attend colleges. Your situation is not unique in any way.
You should know this already because you had your request for a NCP waiver denied. So clearly others like you also get theirs denied…and their NCP income and assets ARE counted.
The difference is…you chose to matriculate to an unaffordable college. Period. That is the thing that you need to consider. And you have known the financial aid situation since you got accepted in April.
You cannot afford this college. Your mom can’t afford this college. The sad part is that if you got accepted to this uber wonderful college, you probably have the stats to have gotten very significant merit aid for all,of your hard work…at other schools.
The thing you are absolutely correct about…your mom cannot afford to pay for this. Right now, you have $75,000 in the bank which will pay for ONE year. Then what?
So let’s say that you go this year, and use that $75,000…you will be faced with the same financial issues next year. And you will likely be no better off next year.
Lots of kids work hard…lots. Your reward for working hard was your good grades, and hopefully the knowledge you gained. Getting need based financial aid is not a reward for hard work.
You have a couple of choices:
- Defer your enrollment if it's not too late. See if you can work out the finances.
- You wrote detailed info on your Profile, so I'm not sure an appeal will get you anywhere. But you can contact the financial aid office and ask. Just be prepared for them to say NO...and get a plan B lined up.
- Take a gap year. Now...and apply next admissions round to colleges that do NOT require the NCP for consideration of need based aid. In addition, apply to schools where your fabulous stats will garner you significant merit aid.
I’m going to repeat. At this time…a $57,000 a year bill is unaffordable for your mom…and you know that. She knows that. This college might be the best of the best, but it is not one you can afford to attend.
Oh…and at Profile schools…there is the possibility that they will expect you to contribute more than 6% of that $75,000. That 6% is a FAFSA figure.
I have not read all the posts in this thread, so I may have missed it. But will your wealthy grandparents pay the full cost? I believe you said they would cover your father’s share. That is more than $75k over 4 years. Will they contribute more for the next 3 years?