<p>My son, a rising senior, has suddenly decided he wants to apply to Brown in the fall. I do not know if he can get in, but he has pretty good stats, has at least a chance. However, I do not see how we can afford this. He has heard that Brown gives the least financial aid of any Ivy. We are not poor, but own some family land that was inherited by my husband that provides us no income but must be listed as assets on the FAFSA. Because the land looks like it is worth a lot, our EFC is extremely high. We cannot sell our portion of the land to help pay for college, but the people over at FAFSA think we can, so they make our contribution extremely high. We cannot sell the land as it has to stay in my husband’s family, and none of his other siblings can afford to buy him out of his share. We already have a son entering his sophomore year in college and basically we received no financial aid from the college he is attending except an offer of a student loan.
So, my question is this, does Brown offer any financial aid? I have told him if he does apply and get admitted, I am not sure he will be able to go, since there is no way we can afford the high tuition at Brown. And I am fairly certain Brown will offer us no aid, based on what we experienced the last year with my other son.
Anyone out there have any ideas?</p>
<p>Brown uses their own formula for financial aid, which may give you a higher or lower EFC than FAFSA. Having another child in college should reduce your EFC, as well. Will this be enough? Hard to say. After taking into account what you’re already paying for education, it’s not extremely likely that Brown will be much more generous than FAFSA, but it may happen - it depends on how they look at that land.</p>
<p>And I wouldn’t necessarily compare the offer your other son received at his current school with what Brown may or may not offer. Where does your other son attend college? Like Uroogla said, Brown and many other schools have their own formula for determining financial aid.</p>
<p>Aside from having your son apply and seeing what happens, I suggest you call the Brown financial aid office or, better yet, if you happen to visit in the future when checking out colleges, talk to them in person bringing any necessary tax and financial information. I think they will be able to give you a much better idea than any of us are able to. Don’t forget to mention your other son in college. Best of luck to you guys!</p>
<p>I’ve known two other families in your situation. They had kids at schools other than Brown, and experienced what you fear. Their financial aid packages from these schools (which included Smith, Middlebury, Carleton, and a bunch of others), was not very good. I’m afraid you will have this problem at many schools, possibly even at the other Ivies that have better packages than Brown. You might want to run the financial aid calculator at Princeton’s website, assuming it’s still there. </p>
<p>Brown does not give the least financial aid of the Ivies. Since every families circumstances vary, a blanket statement like that doesn’t work. It does, however, focus its financial aid on families with incomes under $100,000. Other Ivies, which will give more grant money to families with incomes in the $100-200,000 range, often say these families must have “average” assets. </p>
<p>My suggestion is that you are very honest with your son about exactly how much you can pay. Tell him he can apply to wherever he wants, but if you can’t afford it, he’s not going. Also tell him he needs to find at least one financial safety, and that he should also apply to schools that will give him significant merit aid.</p>
<p>fireandrain: Thanks for your insightful reply. You stated what I already know to be true. Although our income falls in the $100-200,000 range, our assets affect what financial aid we can obtain…which as you stated, is basically nothing. It is rough, as except for a small amount of rental income from the one piece of land, the other land provides us no income and yet since my husband owns a fair share of the land in terms of acres, if you add up the worth of the land, it seems like a lot. But it is not an asset that is liquid. The FAFSA does not see it this way, however…Last year I was told I could write an appeal letter to my other son’s college financial aid office. I did that, explaining about the land and how it is really not a true asset or one we can leverage or sell to pay for college. I got nowhere with them.
I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas how to get around this. I am seeking an answer that is probably not out there… We are probably just stuck with our financial situation, which is basically we cannot afford what the FAFSA thinks we can afford.
I have told my son he cannot go where we cannot afford. He understands that,but he is a bit angry that this land is affecting his chances for financial aid and where he can attend. The land is supposed to help us, but instead it is hurting us…at least in terms of aid for colleges for my two sons…</p>
<p>I’m sure not an expert, but I think it’s more your income that precludes you from receiving significant financial aid. If you’re close to 200K, I think that puts you out of range for receiving aid at even the most generous schools. Having two in college will help, though. I’ve read on here and in books that you should value your real estate on FAFSA and CSS Profile (Brown requires) at what it would bring in a short sale. Is your tax valuation accurate in light of the severe real estate market downturn? You’ll want to use the lowest possible valuation that can be reasonably documented.</p>
<p>We have a much lower income than you but hold some real estate assets that are considered “above the normal assets for our income.” D is a 2011 high school graduate. Her award package at Brown was the same as Dartmouth. Both consider home equity and were significantly more than Harvard and Yale who were very close and seemed not to. We will have two in college and our Dartmouth S will pay 13K more per year than Harvard D.</p>
<p>I hope this helps. I don’t think it’s what you want to hear, unfortunately. Good luck to your family next year - it will be full of surprises. D chose a school she did not visit and never really considered. She only applied because H pleaded with her just to see. She did not get into her #1 favorite and looking back is thankful. Our state flagship led late in the decision process, bypassing Brown, another onetime favorite (she had a school-of-the-month thing going on :)), until she visited Harvard in late April. Apply widely enough to have choices in the end, including good financial choices. Who knows how your S will feel by then. I think D oscillated because she was trying not to be set on one school until she found out about acceptances and cost. It turned out to be a good attitude.</p>
<p>The above are very good advice to you. You will have to decide personally what you are willing to pay for college costs. We have income in about the same range. Rest of assets were in retirement funds, and paid off mortgage. We had first child accepted/choice to out of state, in state and out of state private colleges. Except for merit scholarship at one out of state private (bringing to about the same as other out of state) we were not eligible for any financial aid for any. We thought for second child would have the “2 kid” advantage, but first dropped out, just as second started. At Brown, in state colleges, and 3 other privates we were again not eligible for financial aid. (and found out the under 180K income aide at Harvard and Yale would not have helped with the retirement qualified nest egg and paid off mortgage.) So we are paying full ride at Brown. To us, it is worth it. It is a squeeze. I have friends that refused their daughter attending BU (she got in and was willing to take out her own loans just to go, but per parents choice went to UVA and loved it and graduated with much less debt.) Everyone has different philosophies. Just be honest with your son up front. (Ps, have you considered a loan /mortgage against the property? just a thought, re lower interest etc. It seems tough, but you can see it from the other side: if land was exempt for whatever reason, then many would buy it just to qualify for financial aide!)</p>
<p>I actually, shockingly, got extremely generous financial aid. I’m definitely in the minority though and MANY people I know are very upset with their package (one of my friends can’t even come back next year because of the money…)</p>
<p>swim2daend Did your friend’s income level rise dramatically? </p>
<p>Also is Brown’s financial aid consistent year to year? Are they more generous with freshmen than with returning students?</p>
<p>it didn’t, which is actually the problem. there’s just a very big medical emergency in the family taking their money :(.</p>
<p>It’s pretty consistent in the sense of percentage of financial side you get. The amount of money for financial aid changes and it’s need based so it’ll fluctuate as the budget fluctuates (I believe. I’m not an expert on financial aid).</p>
<p>I got more money this year than last year so I want to say not necessarily for the last question. If you try and negotiate using other Ivies’ aids, then probably.</p>
<p>Brown has an appeal process for families who have experienced extraordinary medical expenses, changes in income/employment, and other exceptional issues. There actually is a form to complete to jump start your appeal (URL here: <a href=“https://financialaid.brown.edu/cimages/2011-12%20Appeal%20Form.pdf[/url]”>https://financialaid.brown.edu/cimages/2011-12%20Appeal%20Form.pdf</a>). SwimToDaEnd, I’d strongly encourage your friend to pursue that.</p>
<p>Having received financial aid from three colleges recently, I will say that Brown’s office of financial aid is very responsive and candid. I think Brown is more generous than most colleges. Like a previous responder I will say that Brown’s financial aid is not the worst in the Ivy League. It is not as generous as HPY, nor the most elite LACs, such as Swarthmore. But it is better than Penn and Cornell, on average. I agree with the responder who said that colleges vary in the amount of aid they offer across the range of family incomes.</p>
<p>Daughter just graduated from Brown. Financial aid was very good to us, and it went up a bit each year. Here is the link to their page, including some FA examples:</p>
<p><a href=“https://financialaid.brown.edu/Cmx_Content.aspx?cpId=78#financing[/url]”>https://financialaid.brown.edu/Cmx_Content.aspx?cpId=78#financing</a></p>
<p>I think FA this year is stretched: we accepted more (something above 60%, compare to <50% in the past) incoming freshman on aid than ever before. If the trend from previous years had continued, I should have gotten more aid this year, but they kept my family’s expected contribution at pretty much exactly the same as last year (which is perplexing, considering I had a huge drop in FAFSA/their own calculator’s EFC).</p>
<p>As to your friend, swim2daend, they should very much appeal, and if FA is unresponsive, they should get a dean involved.</p>