<p>You’re right, Duke Egr, I should have said Duke fits me better than UNC.</p>
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<p>Yeah, you wish. Ask your friends, if you feel comfortable discussing finances, and you’ll see that VERY few Duke students in that income bracket are getting $30K+ per year in aid. It’s because “income” does NOT equal parent’s combined salaries. The term “income” in financial aid includes many other things separate from parents’ salaries. So in the example on the website, Sarah’s parents probably make less than 100K together, but with their assets (e.g., income-producing property; cars) their total annual income comes to 115K.</p>
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<p>Be nice! You don’t know my family’s exact financial situation. Even I don’t! What I do know is that there are lots of things besides parental income that determine a family’s ability to pay for college. Siblings and the cost of their living and education, assets separate from income like houses and cars, amount of money actually saved in the bank, etc. I agree with you that it would be nice if my family drove a Maserati and earned a quarter million every year. Not quite. We might be worth 200K total but the cars my parents drive to work every morning will not pay for my college education. I’m not really complaining, though. Duke is a private school, and while it’s nice that many people are offered financial aid, I don’t think I’m entitled to it. I made the choice to come here and I’m paying for it. You’re lucky that the same choice was much easier on your family financially compared to mine.</p>