It makes sense that they won’t get any free government help, but would they not even qualify for federal loans, since that’s not actually free money? I know this is a very general question, but I’m looking for a general answer if anyone’s got one!
Sure you can get federal loans.
Without demonstrated need though, they will be unsubsidized loans, i.e. interest starts accruing when you take out the loan. You need to file fafsa to get the loans. You can get $5500, $6500, $7500 and $7500 during the 4 years.
The wealthy also qualify for merit scholarships if they have the grades and test scores to deserve them.
??? What is the purpose of this thread??? You’re not wealthy. You’re not even uppper-middle class.
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My parents make around 74k (adjusted gross income). We have paid off our house and it has appreciated in value (120k now, we bought for 88k under a special government price for low-income families), and we have 30k in the bank. I’m an only child, and my FASFA EFC is 9990. I
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Looks like you’ve applied to schools that require CSS profile. are you doing that as well?
Unless your parents have assets that you haven’t mentioned you should get a good bit of need-based aid from USC or similar if accepted.
I find it refreshing that the OP might consider him/herself wealthy. Compared to most in the U.S., that is wealthy … even though lots of people here don’t think so. It most definitely is upper middle class … again, compared to “most,” not compared to the folks in your own town or your friends. Heck, compared to my friends, I’m poor - which I most certainly am not - but it’s all in how you look at things.
I agree, kelsmom. I think it’s refreshing whether the OP is thinking that’s not wealthy or if the purpose of the question is to learn something not to applicable to one’s own personal situation.
“Wealthy” is not synonymous w high salary. Wealthy to me means that u have enough assets to live off the passive income, so u don’t need a daytime job.
A simple cutoff for “wealthy” as it relates to college admissions is a family income of more than $200k/year with one student in college. Above this in most cases there will not be much in the way of financial aid. If you have a brother or sister in college it would significantly increase financial aid at a given family income level and this cutoff.
@GMTplus7 Do you really think wealthy people quit work as soon as they have “enough” to live off of?
What? First of all, your wealth of $200k or more has nothing to do with admissions at the vast majority of schools where the admissions folks have NO IDEA what your family income is.
Second…the very vast majority of colleges do NOT provide need based aid to students with incomes even in the $100,000 range above a $5500 Direct Loan…because the vast majority of colleges don’t meet full financial need…at all…for all students.
Third…having a sibling in college MIGHT increase financial aid, not would increase it…but again…really only at colleges that guarantee to meet full need for all. The rest don’t meet full need. So…the second year, if your sibling starts college, you will only see a guaranteed increase in need based aid if you attend a college that meets full need for all. Otherwise, you might not get a penny more in need based aid.
I have to write an article on financial aid, and I wanted to put in something about how all incomes should be encouraged to apply. But I didn’t know if that would be a waste of time or not for the wealthy.
Lots of wealthy people work. But there is a big difference between needing to work and wanting to work.
Kids from “wealthy families” can get full or partial scholarships to colleges. There are a lot of local opportunities, awards from colleges, merit, etc. I’m not really sure why you made this thread I’m kind of confused lol. Regardless of financial situation, if a “wealthy” student applies for a full-ride lets say to Harvard, and they’re the better applicant than someone who might need financial aid for that scholarship, then I understand and agree that the wealthy one should get. You wouldIn the case of financial aid though, if a family can pay for their kid to go to a college like that, then those who need financial aid should and would obviously get it before the wealthy family. That’s just my opinion.
All families are eligible for the Direct Loan. In addition, parents can take the Parent Plus Loan. I believe both require the completion of the FAFSA.
Southernbelle…no one applies for a full ride to Harvard. They apply for financial aid, and the school uses the information on the forms to determine the amount of institutional aid they will award the family. The school doesn’t give merit scholarships…only need based aid. And Harvard is need blind for admissions, I believe. So no one in admissions would even know the amount of aid any applicant might need. And since Harvard awards aid based ONLY financial aid, the more needy students will receive more aid if accepted.
@thumper1 I know that. I was just making up an example for a school that could do that. If you get what I mean, I used it as an example. I know they don’t give full rides like that. Some colleges however do based on testing, GPA, etc.
See Post #16- @Imnewhere1 is writing an article about financial aid (for the school newspaper or a homework assignment?) and wanted research help from the parents of College Confidential.
He or she should note that on College Confidential (in the High School Forum), there is a warning against asking for homework help, if that’s what this is.
@Imnewhere1 should have made his or her purpose clear in the initial post.
“Wealthy” is a relative term. There is not enough financial aid to go around to all who need it in order to pay the costs of the desired colleges chosen. Schools have their ways of determining need, and distribute financial aid according to their formulas and the funds available. Most schools use the FAFSA as the determinant for need, but none of them guarantee to meet all need fully by the results. Most schools gap even by their own formulas. And most formulas do not result in what most families will agree is need.
There are schools and there are circumstances where families making six figures in income can still get aid, even at the $200K a year mark. But the amount of aid that becomes available once a family is in the $150K a year figure in income with one kid in college starts going down sharply even at schools that cost around $60K a year.
Unsubsidized loans are available to students (Direct Loans) and parents who qualify regardless of income and assets.
I know some “Trust Fund” folks. Most do work, at least sporadically. Some need to work to live the way they want to live despite having what most people would regard as “wealth” (a relative term). Some work very hard, and do not depend upon their inherited wealth or their assets much at all since they make a sufficient income. Some also depend upon their asset accumulated through prior work or inheritance or awards to supplement their income, but have varying degrees of dependence and supplementation.
Also, having an accumulation of assets does not ensure living high. We have family members who lived very sparingly in their lives, worked, despite an inheritance that up front sounded very impressive, but when amortized over a life time with children, expenses, hard times, etc, did not come up to be something to catapult them into “wealthy” category by most people’s definitions. Perhaps, it meant living on $80K a year instead of $50-60K of earned income. It often meant, not being able to pay for large ticket items without jeopardizing future income and old age money. They were absolutely better off than others who had earnings like theirs without the nest egg as a buffer, but it did not make them able to live in the 6 figure a year income style.
Again, yes, we do need to define “wealthy”. But when we do, those who fall into that category can be spending their money, working or not working, dipping into their assets or not in just about every combination. It’s not as though those who fall into that group behave in unison.