I’m a rising junior in highschool. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about college and all its expenses. My father is a doctor and my mother is a highschool teacher. My father makes a decent amount of money and my mother not that much. They are seperated, which means they live in seperated houses and have double living expenses. These additional expenses greatly impacted my college savings to the point that there is not money left to put into the college fund. There’s about enough money in mine to pay for one year at a private college. I also have a brother and a sister. My brother goes to BC and has really strained our family financially. My parents are worried how they are going to afford my tuition if I choose to attend an expensive private college like my brother. I want to attend the best school I get accepted to and I have great grades and take honors courses. Im just trying to decide if I get accepted to these schools, is it worth it to have all the financial debt on my hands? I intend to major in bussiness or pre-med. Also, will colleges understand my situation and give me more financial aid like (20k+ or so) or do my parents have to be officially divorced? I need this money attend a private college or I’ll have so much debt. Any advice?
If you attend a college like BC, you will likely have to complete the CSS Profile…and a LOT of those schools require information from both parents regardless of marital status. In other words if your oarents are separated or divorced…if you reside most of the time with your mom, she would be your custodial parent on the Profile, and your dad would complete the non-custodial parent Profile.
Many private universities require the Profile AND the non-custodial parent Profile if the parents are separated or divorced.
In addition, there are some private universities that don’t require the Non-custodial parent Profile but sometimes DO ask for non-custodial parent financial information. Vanderbilt is one such school.
If you attend a college that uses ONLY the FAFSA, you would report only your custodial parent income BUT your mom (if she is the custodial parent) will also have to include any child support or spousal support she receives from your dad…in addition to her own income.
I’m not sure what you hope the colleges will “understand” about your situation. If you are asking if they will somehow ignore your dad’s income IF they require financial information from both parents…the answer is NO.
ETA…premed is not a major. You can major in anything to be premed…as long as you tale the courses required for medical school admissions.
If your goal is grad school or med school you should keep undergraduate costs down.
If you have great grades and test scores you could probably get full tuition or more at schools that offer it.
Then your college fund and a summer job could help with room and board and remaining costs.
Your parents are already struggling to pay for your brother to go to college. Then you and your sister are following.
First, BC was a terrible choice since they factor real estate fully into your assets (as if you could sell your house) and in your case there are two of them. Many colleges don’t do that.
Second, you can borrow 5.5k for freshman year. The rest would have to be borrowed by your parents and since they already have debt for your brother, it’s not happening.
Third, it makes no difference whether they’re divorced or separated, both incomes will be factored in. Having a brother in college will decrease your 'share’at college’s that meet need, not at others.
Fourth, what are your stats? GPA, AP classes, scores? What kind of schools are you thinking of in terms of reaches, targets, safeties?
Fifth, have you run net price calculators - if so, What do they indicate ? Have your parents said theyvxould pay some of these costs? Sobyou know what your parents ’ budget is? If not, bring them the NPC results and ask them which ones are okay, which ones aren’t.
This would be for those private schools you are considering that use the Profile…and REQUIRE non-custodial parent information. BOTH parents will need to report one way or another at these schools.
You need to look for private universities where the non-custodial parent income and assets do NOT need to be included. There are some Profile schools that do not use or require Nin-custodial parent Information. But schools like BC DO use that information.
Oh…and your custodial parent would need to be the oarent with the lower income. You need to love with that parent more than 50% of the time as of the date of filing your FAFSA.
You say your mom is a teacher? What IS her annual income? It might be higher than you think…but certainly NOT as high as your doctor dad’s income.
Most imoortant…please discuss finances with your parents. The will have a budget for your college costs…and you will need to attend a school where that budgeted a,ounc plus any aid you MIGHT receive will cover all the costs.
^yes, FAFSA only will only look at your mother’s income/assets (if she is the person you spend most time with during th year).
UCHicago and Vanderbilt don’t require NCP I think.
P.S. You do NOT need to attend a $60,000 plus a year college to be successful. Maybe you should start looking at less expensive options as well. And once you have a SAT or ACT score…and your GPA, you will know if you are competitive for merit scholarships at schools that give them (lots of those pricey or are schools give need based aid only).
If you have enough money in the bank to pay for one year at a pricey private school…let’s say $60,000…divide that by 4…and you have $15,000 a year towards college costs. Add to that the $5500 Dorect Loan you would be able to take in your name as a freshman…and you have $20,500. If you can get a full tuition scholarship someplace (assuming your stats are high enough to get this, and you are willing to look at colleges outside of the top 50), your college fund could pay room, board, fees, books.
What’s your home state? Usually the state flag ship is relatively affordable and offers an excellent education (and preparation for pre-med).
What are your stats?
YOu don’t need to go to a pricey private for undergrad to get into med school.
My son went to Alabama for almost free with merit scholarships…and he’s now a 4th year med student.
It was a bad strategy for your brother to go to BC with the foil situation what it is…and the equity aspect. Plus, BC is not known to have generous aid calculations.
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ow I have an internal struggle because I want to go these expensive colleges to live up to my potential and get a good job, but at the same time I’m wondering if it’s worth it because I will owe $100,000 and all the money for medical school if I become a doctor.
I just don’t want my options to be limited.
I can’t see myself at a public state school when I know I could be successful at a private school.
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You need to adjust your thinking…
1). YOU can’t borrow $100k. Will your parents borrow that much for your college? If not, then that that option is moot.
2). You shouldn’t have any or much debt as a premed.
- EVERYONE’S options are limited…that’s life. And when parents separate/divorce, usually that limits options further because of the two households.
4). What do you mean by: “I can’t see myself at a public state school when I know I could be successful at a private school”???
- what is your home state.
Do you know how much does your dad earns and your mom?
Think of it as a challenge. If pops is a doctor, talk to some of the other people in the practice - or peers from other practices and ask some questions about pre-med studies. Questions like where did they go, what were some of the schools their med school classmates went to for undergrad, are there places they specifically NOT recommend, and maybe where DO they recommend.
Finding out about the premed->med school transition from people who’ve actually done it has to be different from reading about it on the internet or discussing it with a guidance counselor. I like to quote “in theory, theory and reality are the same, but in reality they’re different.”
If two things are otherwise comparable but one costs 3x as much, bet on the fact that they will try to convince you the results justify the price. Sometimes they do, sometimes they do not. A proper surgeon may bill at 5x the cost of a homeopath, but should you have appendicitis, there’s no contest.
On the other hand, a bottom end Hyundai and an S-Class Mercedes deliver essentially the same transportation results, but at an enormous difference in price. If you can afford the S class and want one, go ahead and buy one. If you cannot, then neither buy it nor allow yourself the luxury of ever wishing you had.