<p>how exciting! congrats romeboards.</p>
<p>Good news, Romeboard! I hope you have a really good time (hard work and all) at Tufts in the coming years.</p>
<p>Wonderful outcome - I’m glad they were willing to work with you. Enjoy your achievement and your time at Tufts.</p>
<p>Congrats! You showed that anything is possible. Never give up. Best of luck in your future endeavors.</p>
<p>I have not made it through the thread, but would like to respond ot one comment, the OP said that the elite schools are only for the rich.</p>
<p>I think the financial aid system us what it is and many many people who come to this board have to swallow the realisation that they are for the Rich (or long time high earners) and the poor. The formulas are not something we can probably change, for each section we can come up with some one who it affects in a way which seems unfair.</p>
<p>In the same vein I can see that with today’s no loan & limit on HE and % of income programs we could now afford some schools which my kids had to decline 4-8 years ago.</p>
<p>Many people here are not sympathetic to those going through the first throes of frustration because they do not fit the aid formula and loans would be unwise. If I had taken HW loans for my kids 4 years each of education at private schools (or student loans) I would have been very unhappy now to have them graduating with that debt, it was not a wise choice. They very choices for which people are now being condemned in the news are the ones the finaid system provides.</p>
<p>I am glad the schools have come up with new formulas, saddened that they did not help us, but our family dealt with the reality that was.</p>
<p>Some schools are only a good choice for those who get full aid or those who can pay cash, no matter how great they are, loans are not a wise choice. </p>
<p>Some families either now or over the past 10-20 years have put a priority on education, some have not chosen to do so, or have been hit by other issues which did not allow them to save. Kids should not put pressure on their parents to pay for something the parents think is an unwise choice</p>
<p>romeboards, congratulations. The lesson is, don’t always take the first answer. Best wishes at Tufts.</p>
<p>I’m glad for you Romeboards. Enjoy Tufts, enjoy your senior year!</p>
<p>Way to go!</p>
<p>As a parent living in the Northeast I’d like to point out regional differences in middle class wealth. In the Boston area a $150,000 would not allow a lavish lifestyle. Modest homes often cost between $300,000-400,000. If you want your child in a decent school district-educational spending is by town not state-housing will cost more. Taxes in a town with reasonable schools often are $12-$14 per $1000. Add to that heating costs which have not moved downward like gas and debt for a previous childs college education, $30,000-$50,000 a year is not so reachable. No maids or gardeners, it’s more like pizza once a week, heat set to 60 degrees and an occasional movie. My question for colleges is are you spending 5% of your endowment each year to justify your non-profit status? Are you accountable year to year for increase in tuition? Most schools must answer no to those questions. Basically, there is money for minority students who excel-which I certainly support and not so much for anyone considered middle class. It’s a widespread problem that some of the IVY’s are addressing-most probably because Congress was discussing a bill that would force colleges with nonprofit status to spend 5% of their endowments on financial aid.</p>
<p>I read this thread and then I got to a part where it said something like, “Everyone cries when they see their EFC.” And then someone else said they would not want to be in the shoes of a person who has that 0 EFC. That is really just about as presumptions as someone who makes $150K a year.</p>
<p>I have a 0 EFC. I live in my own home with 4 people in the household and we bring in $25K a year. My mortgage is $288 a month. (And only for another 12 years) I pay my credit cards every month and I have a car that is paid for. I use coupons and that stretches our food budget and we are definitely not hungry. (I am actually one of those “crazy” coupon ladies that go in the grocery store and with coupons save 50% or more on my shopping trips.) Life is far from hard for us and we live in an area that does not have a high cost of living. </p>
<p>Do I feel bad that I have gone to college and have had a full grant ride and that I am going to college in the Fall and it will probably be the same way? No. I work my butt off when I am in school. </p>
<p>Since I am going to a State school (Kent State) this time instead of a community college I may actually have to take out a small Stanford loan. You would think that I would maybe be angry that even with a 0 EFC I still may have to pay some out of pocket, but I’m not.</p>
<p>I hope the OP finds what will work best for he and his parents and still get the education he wants.</p>
<p>–No, they weren’t wrong and we weren’t stupid. The problem is that they said don’t let finances dictate where you apply. Many of us heard, “Don’t let finances dictate where you apply because if you get in they’ll make it affordable.” Two very different statements–</p>
<p>Great point. May I also add my concern regarding guidance counselors and teachers who insist kids should be able to attend their first choice college no matter what? Two kids, same frustrating advice. Makes it easier to be the GC, much harder to be the mom–an EFC of 227 mom. </p>
<p>Glad it worked out for the OP.</p>
<p>Inspiringmind, I am the one who said I wouldn’t want the 0 EFC. I understand that it is possible to live just fine & still have a 0 EFC. But I stand by my comment - it is not presumptuous. The point is, if one has a higher EFC, one probably has more income & assets to allow for an easier, more comfortable lifestyle than one who has a 0 EFC. Heck, I would prefer to have a $50k EFC compared to the one I have. A girl can dream. :)</p>
<p>Yes, $150K looks large, especially if you live in a region where incomes run lower than they do on the two coasts. But keep in mind: if your family income is $150K, then your after-tax take-home pay is probably roughly $90K after federal, state, and social security. So schools are asking people to spend $50K a year out of the $90K they take home. Leaving $40K for housing, food, and whomever else may be living in the house (other children, etc).</p>
<p>The bubble is going to burst and it is likely that the colleges will find out the hard way that they can’t attract students with the old set of assumptions that have worked for the past 10 or 15 years … it’s just that this year’s students are caught in the cusp between the NEW economy bumping up against the OLD financial aid paradigms.</p>
<p>I believe the Obama administration is working on reviving the legislation to force colleges who are miserly with their aid, to spend 5 or 10% of their endowment on financial aid. Colleges would be smart to start spending it so they can point to it and say “See, we’re already doing our part”, rather than having Congress force them to start spending it based on some formula that gets designed by a wonk in D.C. As lelia (#109) said, the Ivies got the message already. Maybe the second-tier schools will get it next.</p>