Financial need vs want

ucbalumnus
Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:43:37 +0000

GMTplus7:

what is your income threshold for distinguishing btw middle-middle class v upper-middle class?



If we take middle-middle income as the 40th to 60th percentile of household income, we get an range of about $40,000 to $70,000 per year. If we take upper-middle income as the 60th to 80th percentile of household income, we get a range of about $70,000 to $105,000 per year.

Now, a lot of people talk about middle class as opposed to middle income, but class definitions involve inclusion of educational attainment, source of income, type of job if employed, and such, and are often determined subjectively and not consistently from person to person. However, when people refer to “middle class but will not get financial aid anywhere”, that stretches the definition quite a bit, since it probably takes being in the top 3-4% of household income to not get financial aid anywhere.

But since income is most important in terms of determining need-based financial aid and affordability of college, it is a better means of looking at demographics in a discussion about need-based financial aid and affordability of college.