Yes, that’s a possibility too. 
Hopefully @ravk06 can shed light on this.
I love the sleuthing and brainstorming! Hopefully it will help @ravk06 and his parents to do some preliminary research in preparation for their meeting with FA.
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@ravk06 : any update?
Ok, guys. So, I spoke with the Oberlin financial aid office. They said they didn’t receive FAFSA forms until yesterday. The aid I received in the award letter was everything all in. 33k in merit-based scholarship with 2k in need-based federal loans, so basically, no institutional need-based aid. They said they would revise the letter with updated federal assistance within a few weeks. I’m just baffled by 0-dollar need-based aid. They said to review my CSS and let them know of any corrections. So I have a theory: Maybe they think we don’t pay taxes at all, so all income is available. It doesn’t say on the 1040 or CSS that we pay Canadian taxes, or they saw my parents’ pensions and thought they could use it for my tuition. I don’t know. As for the income, it was all reported on the FAFSA form. So clearly, they knew our yearly income and still deemed us eligible for Pell. I’m not sure if other income or expenses are going on that I’m unaware of. All I know is either we genuinely cannot contribute any more money, or my parents are hiding that they could contribute more money to my education and aren’t being truthful when they say, “That’s all we have.” If our income were high, it would be truly remarkable my entire college savings over my whole lifetime is 30k.
CSS Profile should include all income and all taxes from all jurisdictions though, no?
Does the Oberlin package include a Pell grant? It doesn’t sound like it? Or have they not added that in yet because they just received your FAFSA? They have to grant you Pell if that’s what FAFSA shows.
Regardless, you and your parents should verify all the info in the CSS Profile. It sounds like Holy Cross is seeing things similarly to Oberlin.
Yes, I’m pretty sure the CSS did not include Canadian taxes; I will verify. The CSS mostly asked about income and taxes from the 1040. The only things not on the 1040 were all the expenses, mortgages, etc. On the 1040, it made it seem like all our income was 100% available since we don’t make enough money to pay both Canadian and U.S. taxes, but the only indication was 0 dollars in U.S. federal taxes paid. Another reason supporting this is that when we did the CSS, we didn’t pull out any Canadian tax or income sheets even once.
I think this is key - if they only received info from FAFSA yesterday they need about 15 to 20 days to process it into their general system.
And it does seem there’s something in your CSS Profile.
Did you include Canadian taxes anywhere? Medical expenses?
Do your parents own 2 houses?
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You have to include tax returns from all jurisdictions on the CSS, perhaps your parents did that?
When you had them, did you not go over the how they got to the ##??
I think if you make $150K, at most (not all schools) - to expect close to a full ride - isn’t realistic.
I don’t understand the nuances of pell eligible vs. not.
But I do think when you have these folks - you need to get a formal explanation - line by line - of why you got or didn’t get.
But it seems to me - the family earnings - which are far above the norm - are likely the issue and nothing else.
If a school has CSS, I’m not sure the FAFSA will impact aid other than access to loans and per others, maybe pell grant.
So go back to your options for next year that are affordable - it sounds like UMN was $45K.
Do you have funding for that - otherwise, like it or not, you’ve got to start back at square one - and you are better to do so now vs. waiting.
You’re not interested in a southern school at $20K (if that’s even affordable - because someone has to pay).
So you can check the Wyoming, Idahos of the world - don’t know if they are still taking apps and what they’d cost.
Or you can go to school in Canada which you said is affordable - and while you want to be in the US, you can simply delay that four years.
As I noted earlier, you always need a plan - and it’s time - it’s beyond time - IMHO - so that you are ready once you have official word.
@ravk06 : where does the 150k number come from?
Btw even if your family made 150k you would see a lot of FA from HC&Oberlin though obviously not a full ride.
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I think there was a lot - but perhaps merit and need don’t stack - so they went the merit route??
But not sure with that salary, short of the tippy top, crazy wealthy schools, that a full tuition or more was possible.
$150K is a lot of income…many with far less fall in the “donut hole” I believe.
No: donut hole families, for meet need colleges, are families in the 250-300k range (they can’t afford 85k outright but don’t qualify for FA).
However evem if 150k definitely doesn’t qualify for full tuition -at HC it for sure doesn’t- it should however qualify for FA. So I think there’s something wrong on the CSS.
And of course no federal aid has been peocessed yet.
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It seems there is something in the CSS that is driving the results from Oberlin and HC. But, we don’t necessarily know if it’s wrong, or if it contains financials that OP isn’t aware of/privy too.
OP, do you have access to the CSS Profile details? I do think you should go thru that line by line with your parents, and then with Oberlin and HC.
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Very true.
Well, I don’t have access to the CSS right now. I can access the FAFSA now, but that’s it. I have to wait for my parents to get home; I’m home alone until Sunday. On the FAFSA, under income, it said 130k. So, I think that’s the reported income. The FAFSA didn’t ask for Canadian taxes, so that’s not helpful. To clarify, I never expected a full ride, but I at least expected 5-10k in need-based aid bare minimum. 0 dollars doesn’t seem fair. We have two mortgages, pay high taxes, and have other expenses. How is it we get 0 dollar need-based? Also, merit-based and need-based do stack at those two schools.
Also, to clarify, it wasn’t me who said I didn’t want to go to the South. My parents said they wouldn’t pay a cent if I went there.
I still applied to FSU, U Miami, and UT. Knowing they wouldn’t be happy about it.
But could it be that they provided merit and as it wouldn’t stack (not sure of their policies at these two), that’s why they wouldn’t give need if the merit was at least as much?
I remember the Holy Cross scholarship - if I have it right - it was merit but primarily given to kids with need…
Can you think of a reason why 130k income gets to 26k AGI?
(A typical FA package for a family with 130knincome would be 30-40k institutional aid.)
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I’m not sure. I read typical deductions for your AGI are can be
- Educator expenses
- Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions
- Military moving expenses
- Traditional IRA contributions
- One-half of self-employment tax
- Self-employed health insurance deduction
- Self-employed retirement account contributions
- Student loan interest payments
My parents aren’t self-employed, so I know it’s not those, and the same with military.
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