In the end, your parents get to decide what they pay. But you don’t need to take on debt. That’s the point.
If what you like has debt involved, then find something cheaper - like Mary Washington - which is equally as notable as a school. But much smaller.
Good luck.
thank you!! I’ll definitely look into more cheaper schools
@yqkuu – briefly: each college/univ has a net price calculator (NPC). The student’s family enter their financial info into it, and the NPC gives you an estimate of what it would cost out-of-pocket to go there. A college might have a sticker price of $90k/year to go there (tuition, fees, dorms, etc.) but based on a family’s income & assets, it could say we’ll give you $XX financial aid so in the end your out-of-pocket cost would be $35k/yr. That final cost varies a lot depending on the financial info entered, so that’s why ideally your parents enter that info. For example, if you only enter $150k annual salary and leave out savings/checking and home value, you might get a very different number.
Very generally, a student’s options are, from the cheapest to the most expensive:
Importantly, if you have low to moderate income+assets & strong academic record, option 4 can often beat option 3 at some private colleges that give generous aid.
Just a broad overview. There are always exceptions. HTH.
AHH OKAY THANK YOU then would I add 60k to the 150k if for example I also have to add savings?
NPCs ask you specific questions about how much income the parents have, and how much assets (savings, etc); and separately ask how much income & assets for student.
So you’d enter $150k for parents’ income, $40k for parents’ assets, and $20k for the student’s assets
Asset held by student counts for more toward what they expect you to spend, like 10-20% I think. Assets held by parent counts for around 5%. So if you took the $20k you saved towards college and put it into a 529 college savings account owned by your parents but with you as the designated beneficiary you would reduce the expected contribution.
I see AVID listed in your course list.
Run the numbers through each of these
The number for “net price” would likely be quite different. That’d be because the financial aid policies are unique to each college.
“Meet need” means that if a college costs 90k and they calculate your parents can pay 18k off income&savings, then that’s what your parents have to pay. Some will offer you a loan (5.5k maximum) others will cover that amount with a grant (money you don’t have to lay back). Even with a loan that would be cheaper than 35k.
Most colleges don’t meet need. Yes they see your parents can only afford 18k but the college doesn’t have enough money so your net price is 50k. Some of these colleges however may offer you money (merit scholarships) if they find you interesting because you’re smarter than their average applicant, have special skills in music or languages or dance or science, etc. Sometimes the amount can be as high as full tuition, meaning you only pay for housing zone food (“room&board”) but these are rare.
Note that “meet need” colleges can all have their own definitions of “need”. If your parents can actually pay $18k, but the college calculates that they can pay $40k, then even if they “meet need”, the college will still be too expensive.
@yqkuu : that’s why you need to run the NPC on every college (each calculates differently) BEFORE you apply, except for public, instate universities where in your case you should apply to many EA if offered.
It’s really important that you understand budget has to drive the decision. If their desired expense includes loans, than your budget is likely too high, given there are cheaper alternatives.