<p>I’ve written posts on the FIn Aid forum about how people do it. However, I also want to add, and I’ve done it before, that if you squeeze it down to the penny on paper, you had better add a good 10% of need. Things happen. Your kid could get hurt necessitating an unpllanned trip home or there, loved ones die and get married and unless you are putting your whole life on hold for college, you may want to go to some special occaisions. Houses start to fall apart and applances and cars need repairs. We need a new car soon as this one is beginning to get very close to a car payment in terms of what it needs in maintenace and repairs. Things get broken and need to be replaced and stinting on some things makes no sense. Stuff happen so when you have yourself in a financial corner, the impact of those things can be much more.</p>
<p>You are wise in that you checked out what the story is going to be for you already. This gives you time to try to pull it together fiancially and see what you can afford, what you can cut in your budget. Yeah, it 's senior year and the expenses there are high but believe me, next year with graduation and then going off to college, they aren’t going to be any less, but more and we are coping with a second year kid in college for whom a pricey summer school course made a big difference in what he plans to do do, and an increase in housing due the costs of upper classmen dorm choices, who wants to now to be more active and join a club sport ($s but I really think he should) and his little brother should get braces this next year when our HSA will be limited to $2500 for Obama Care provisions. I"ve been planning all sort of medical,dental etc related things and this is going to be a major price increase for us for any of those procedures. </p>
<p>Our income is up there so there is a lot of wiggle room for which I am ever grateful and humble when I think of many including my own parents who juggled this “life happens” with far less leeway. I will tell you that when we looked at any and all of our kids college options, they all got choices that would have cost practically nothing up to a middle income family salary. Those were the choices. </p>
<p>When you actually fill out the FAFSA and the PROFILE and Duke looks it over, it may come out a little bit better…or worse. So don’t rule it out paced on the NPC… CLearly it is not a good ED choice. But I’ve seen a lot of variances when actual numbers are used for aid, sometimes the shocker is that the need is way less, but sometimes the way the school looks at the figure and where the numbers fall that are actually used are more favorable than the calculators show. But a kid with Dulke’s acceptance profile, will have a good chance at some good merit money at a number of schools with name recognition and near full rides if he gives up that aspect.</p>