I was on several financial aid calculators (Ivy and non-ivy) and my mum has a 20k yearly income (sharetrader, bad market in Australia atm.) and I earn 80k yearly and have an assets of 500k (cofounded business). My mothers house is 800k value, bought for 100k in 2001. The expected contribution has ranged from 180k-300k. Do I have to contribute this? And why?!
By the way it’s not that I don’t want to contribute, it’s that I can’t! I don’t plan on being in the industry I am in when I get to college - I’m leaving the business and I’m therefore not going to have any income.
For the first year, you will have to pay your EFC. However, the calculators are in American dollars so convert from Australian to American currency and then redo it.
@northernMom61 It was strange because it said my Mums income is only 20k so my total financial aid package is $30k. BUT, my Mum will need to contribute 33k and I will to personally contribute 116k.
Others here understand aid far better than me, but I think they will always assess a higher percentage of student savings and assets compared to parents. Also even though your mom has a low salary, she has assets of high value.
I don’t mean that. On top of tuition I’m going to have to pay an EFC of 116k and my mum has to pay an EFC of 30k. This is one off, but on top of the yearly tuition which they gave me financial aid of 30k…I think it’s absurd.
No, you don’t pay all of that because it is over the Cost of Attendance. You will not pay over 100,000 a year to the college. You will pay to them the list price for tuition, fees, room and board, if living on campus. Then you will pay for your personal items, entertainment and travel out of pocket. You will not get financial aid, but you may get some merit aid which would lower your cost.
“I earn 80k yearly and have an assets of 500k (cofounded business)”
This is your problem. No college/university in the US is going to give you aid because you can afford to pay for your education here yourself without any help from your mother.
You can sell your business and use that money to pay for your education.
ETA. I read your other chances threads. You are an international student. Your current list includes schools that are ALL schools which will require information about all of your mom’s income and assets…and yours. You don’t mention your father here…but his income and assets will also be required at the list you currently have.
And on that thread, you clearly state you won’t need financial aid.
You might want to start by reading the threads in the link below. There are a number of schools where you would get merit aid for your stats. They are not all of the Ivies and Stanford, and MIT, but the awards are there…and some for international students.
Do you really think a U.S. college should give you need based aid with the amount of assets you have? Really?
Why can’t you contribute? I think it’s more that you do NOT want to…you want to keep your nest egg assets all for yourself.
Save some of your $500,000 in assets, and part of your $80,000 income until you go to college…to PAY for college. Even if you stop working now, you have more than plenty to fully fund college in the U.S. It will be about $300,000 total for all four years. You will still have $200,000 left. And that doesn’t account for interest and earnings until you actually GO to college.
Oh wait…are you saying you don’t want to spend those assets, and expect others to fund your education?
Regardless…look for schools where your stats would give you merit aid as well. Then you will be able to retain more of your $500,000 assets for yourself.
If someone’s EFC is above the school’s cost of attendance, then they only pay the cost of attendance.
In other words, you will not have to pay more than about $65,000 a year at any private college in the US. You are not required to make a large contribution to the school above the cost of attendance because you have a high EFC.
If your mom made $20k in a bad market, she must have a lot of investment assets in addition to the $800k house. Together with your own income and asset, you should not expect much if any financial aid.
You won’t qualify for aid. THAT means that you have to pay the posted tuition, room and board, etc, costs. You don’t pay more than that. Bill Gates may be able to afford to pay $1,000,000 per year for his kids to go to college, YET, colleges will only charge him the posted tuition rates.
And, yes, if your mom is making $20k per year from day-trading, then she has some assets other than her house.
Most people have misunderstood the poor kid’s question! He does not want or need financial aid for COA! He is asking if there is some sort of ability-to-pay surcharge IF you can afford MORE than list price. He is asking - do we have to pay what the EFC calculators say which is 180k-300k per year?
Gotta ask…why wouldn’t you consider a job closer to home so that you could consider continuing to work this very lucrative job?
Is there any chance this is a job you could continue remotely (web design, or day trading, for example, can be done via any computer anywhere in the world)?
Does this job have the ability to actually increase in compensation if you continue it? How does it relate to your studies potentially at the schools you have listed?