Told by who?
If anything, that would probably just trigger verification not some formula which magically “creates” more income for the family.
If they can afford a 40k mortgage, they either have other monies/assets they live on or someone else, something else, (or some loophole) is kicking in on something. You can’t just buy an expensive home (or set up higher payments) and expect a college to say, ok, she has an expensive mortgage, let’s give her more aid and some other kids whose family rents or has a less expensive home can make do with less.
It’s not necessarily to “find” phantom income, but to see the discretionary choices. And when 2+2 doesn’t add up, then you’re in a spot.
But, regardless, Duke says right there that funds for internationals are limited. Duke has roughly 200 international kids (foreign citizens) in the class of 2019. I take thumper’s quote in #9 to mean that only 20-25 get a full need aid package. The rest, regardless of the NPC, get gapped.
It is based on a conversation a close friend - US citizen - had with a kind FA officer at a Top 30 meets full needs school. He was going over her paperwork because she had filed an extension and would not be getting prior year taxes in before May 1 but needed an estimate of FA.
He went over her CSS and prior prior tax returns and asked her about her mortgage payment which was unusually high. She had included her insurance and taxes and second mortgage thinking that would make her look poorer since she had to spend so much on her house. He explained that she would be better off taking those out because with her income and those payments the calculator assumed she must have an unreported phantom income stream (she does not), according to what she thought he was telling her, it is something the calculator does automatically or at least flags for the FA officers.
Then she had to call another school where she had not gotten final numbers for the same reason. She spoke to another FA officer and explained why her mortgage payment was so high and he also knew about the phantom income issue and appreciated her clarifying it because it was something that had been flagged. She ended up getting decent offers of FA at both schools within a couple of $ of each other.
They wouldn’t know how much to “add back in.” Unlike business related expenses or 401k contributions, no appropriate detail would show up anywhere, telling them how much.
I think what you’re describing, Pam, is a little different. It’s possible a formula could flag any line detail that seems off. Then a human could review for the seeming logic. His advice seems to have fallen under Professional Judgment (whether or not she officially asked for that.) In that case, numbers can be changed, as long as the action the school takes is consistent for all within a category. Something similar happened to a friend of mine, where one part of her income was lowered (by the college,) for the formula.
Just wanted to clarify that Duke does meet full need for international students! It’s not need blind but it does meet the full need of international applicants who are fortunate enough to be accepted.
If you’re paying 3 lakh rupees a month for a mortgage you’re probably living in a home worth a couple of million dollars (11 - 14 crore rupees). Your parents are likely very wealthy.
@NerdyChica the home is worth 2.5 crore. I indicated that on the CSS too. But my home equity is negligible since my parents have only just begun paying for the home.
I can’t speak specifically to Duke, but I can tell you what I’ve heard at a lot of info sessions at meets-full-need colleges: they may take your geographical location into consideration from a cost of living standpoint, but if you have an above average mortgage for the area or anything else they consider discretionary that’s on you, and they may not be sympathetic.