<p>Emeraldkity, I don’t know what housing costs are where you live, but a $24K mortgage ain’t gonna getcha much around here. If you are making $150K in this area, you will be remiss putting your family into housing at that cost. It would mean a not safe area, or very squeezed accomodations ( if you can even get them since it would mean a 1 or 2 bedroom apt or co-op with # of inhabitant restriction if you want to be in something “nice”. And by “nice”, I do not mean luxerious. If you have kids in school, you will probably make a safe area with families with your values, and a good school district a priority. Yes, you are much, much better off than the person who makes $24K a year, but here, with a family, you would be on public assistance, and would be living in a challenging environment, the kind most of us do not want for our kids. I guess if your kid does manage to make it through such a situation and gets into a college that guarantees full need, you would get the financial aid, but such families usually have other issues on their mind.<br>
Don’t get me wrong–I know families who do live in more challeging environments and still get their kids into good colleges, and some do it on a shoestring, but I cannot fault a family who is at that income level and buys a home for his family, and provides a lifestyle commensurate to that level, and finds it difficult to pay the tuition. THis is a category that many, many of us are in. We do not get financial aid usually, and very little if we do. If our kids do not get merit money or go to inexpensive schools, we borrow if they are to go to certain colleges. By “we”, it is usually both the parents and the kids. Families in this category have to learn the reality of college costs and make decisions in this area as to what to sacrifice for college. Should they sell that half million dollar house and move into an apartment --maybe a good time to do that if there are not other kids or grandparent care issues involved? If there are other kids who are happily going to school, and life is good in the neighborhood, it may not be a wise lifestyle decision to sacrifice this equilibrium so that the college bound child has his choice of schools without financial limitations. Retirement may be an issue–failed investments, past problems may have made savings non existant. There may be health or other issues looming where it is not a wise choice to spend large amounts of income and borrow or take from savings or retirement plans or home equity to pay for an expensive education. These are difficult things for all of us in this situation, as we so much want to give our kids the best college match regardless of price. Yes, we are aware that we are in a high income category, and are fortunate to be weighing these choices, but it also is tough when we have made education and school match for our kids such a top priority, that we may find that other priorities are more pressing. It is hard when it seems like so many of your kids peers are either eligible for all kinds of aid or have the money, and seem to be able to pick their schools without regard for cost. Even when you know the true picture is not quite that way. I can say for myself that I am not looking for pity about our situation, but hopefully those on this site understand that it is not easy for families in this income bracket. That is why many of us are on CC; looking for the best avenues to weigh the cost vs value of colleges, and balancing the app list with financial safeties as well as reaches so that we can somehow maneuver, not just the admissions, but the finances in all of this.</p>