<p>Some of you may be in the same boat as our family: having paid for private school with the help of financial aid, our oldest is heading off to college next year. Meanwhile, our other two are still in K-12.</p>
<p>I ran a couple financial aid estimators with my dd1’s colleges and put in amounts for the k-12 tuitions ranging from 0 to 15K and I found that swung the “net” price at the college only about 25% of the HS tuition. In other words, if we pay for dd2 to attend private HS next year and pay 15K, college A will increase the award by 3K. At the same time, the estimate for the financial aid for HS does not increase when older dd goes to college: it seems like the schools take the EFC and divide by the number of siblings in fee charging schools. So if our EFC is 15K, that is divided by 3 kids, even though the cost of college is way higher than the cost of HS.</p>
<p>The upshot is that dd2 and dd3 will probably have to go to public school because of college costs, and the schools are quite bad (failing grades from the state) in my area.</p>
<p>Anyone have any practical experience with handling k12 costs and college at the same time? My kids are spaced so that we will never have any two in college at the same time, and thus not ever get that FA break.</p>
<p>One thing I thought to do was to use dd1’s 529 money for dd2’s high school, which is allowable. It seems like if I use it for college, it just reduces institutional grants dollar for dollar.</p>
<p>“The upshot is that dd2 and dd3 will probably have to go to public school because of college costs, and the schools are quite bad (failing grades from the state) in my area.”</p>
<p>Perhaps the solution is to identify more affordable colleges for dd1. Take another long hard look at that list, and see what you can come up with if you pay what private HS cost, plus what would be available with a Stafford Loan ($5,500 freshman year), and with summer and school year jobs for dd1.</p>
<p>The simple truth is that most students do not get financial aid packages that bring the cost down to the family EFC. Your daughter needs to know that now, so she can make wise decisions about her education.</p>
<p>Some colleges ask about the tuition costs for siblings in private schools and others simply do not. How the colleges use these when computing their financial aid awards is a mystery as the question is on the Profile, I believe and Profile schools have tons of different formulas using the same info…or portions of it.</p>
<p>If you want your younger two to remain at private school, you will have to make some compromises, and one might be the cost of colleges for all three of them.</p>
<p>Happymom is right. You may need to look at more affordable options for Child #1…such as looking at schools that give merit for stats.</p>
<p>And, be sure to tell your child exactly how much you can pay per year, so that she knows that the rest must come from student aid or merit. (and merit gets applied to “need” first, not EFC)</p>
<p>Many colleges do not care that you’re paying for K-12 tuition. Many consider that to be a luxury and a choice. I’m not trying to be harsh; my own kids went to private K-12. </p>
<p>However, the colleges that do consider K-12 tuition (often ivies, other elites, and Catholic Univs), don’t usually consider the cost “dollar for dollar”. After all, there’s a difference between sending a child to a modest priced private and sending a child to a pricey elite. Colleges can’t be expected to give more of their money so that younger kids can continue at the pricier preps. Even those attending the modestly priced privates aren’t going to see a dollar for dollar allowance.</p>
<p>it seems like the schools take the EFC and divide by the number of siblings in fee charging schools. So if our EFC is 15K, that is divided by 3 kids, even though the cost of college is way higher than the cost of HS.</p>
<p>It may have just worked out that way for your situation.<br>
(Wow…amazing if you have an EFC of $15k, yet can send 3 kids to private K-12. )</p>
<p>However, I’m confused. If your EFC is $15k and you think it is being divided by 3 kids, then the result would be $5k…not $3k. Or am I mixing something up? </p>
<p>And, typically **family total **FAFSA EFC is only divided 50/50 for kids in college. A CSS Profile school will divide by about 60/60 (again, for college bound students only), and then “may” give some sort of “break” for those who are paying tuition for K-12.</p>
<p>Our efc for K12 has been between 18 and 28 over the time the kids have been in school. In fact we have spent close to 40k a year which we did thru loans. I’m not recommending this! We had our reasons: bad public schools, special learning issues, health problems etc. Two of my daughters got merit and need based fa which made up the short fall between what we could borrow and save and the full cost.</p>
<p>Our fafsa efc is looking like 28. So if we pay that for dd1, we don’t have any left for dd2 and 3. We can’t borrow more.</p>
<p>But I wonder if folks can tell how 529 money will effect financial aid. An aunt has 529s for all three, and she told me they are transferrable and can also be used for HS tuition. So does it make sense to do that rather than apply it to college since the college will treat it like additional income?</p>
<p>*In fact we have spent close to 40k a year which we did thru loans. I’m not recommending this! *</p>
<p>*
Our fafsa efc is looking like 28. So if we pay that for dd1, we don’t have any left for dd2 and 3. We can’t borrow more.*</p>
<p>Since this will be a problem for D1 and D2, why not look at some schools that will give generous merit for stats for college as financial safeties? </p>
<p>Keep in mind that your FAFSA EFC may not be the same as your CSS Profile “family contribution”. CSS uses other things like home equity, etc.</p>
<p>My college age daughter has great stats and is an NMSF, so she does have potential for some merit money, and the State U will likely give a 75% tuition scholarship if I read the website correctly. We are doing that.</p>
<p>Due to some family constraints, we aren’t able to send her more than an hour or two drive from home. Being in the Philadelphia area, that still leaves tons of schools and she is applying to some where her stats will stand out as well as some reach type schools that are good fits for her physics/ math interest. I am also hoping that the financial aid estimators that the colleges are creating end up understating the actual offers.</p>
<p>This scenario is what I’m wondering about: cost of HS tuition is $15k, college A gives the parents a 3k financial aid bonus because of the HS expense, thereby bringing the net tuition down to 12k. If I use older daughters 529 plan from her aunt to pay for HS for dd2, I think maybe this works out better than using it to pay college tuition. Is this true? Do colleges treat 529s held by people who are not parents or grandparents as a parental asset when determining financial aid?</p>
<p>My college age daughter has great stats and is an NMSF, so she does have potential for some merit money, and the State U will likely give a 75% tuition scholarship if I read the website correctly. We are doing that.</p>
<p>I don’t think Penn State gives a 75% merit scholarship…it only gives about $5k for Shreyers Honors…which school do you mean? UPitt? </p>
<p>There are schools that will give her a lot more than just 75% of tuition. There are schools that will give her a free ride or a near free ride.</p>
<p>Due to some family constraints, we aren’t able to send her more than an hour or two drive from home.</p>
<p>Is that to save on travel costs? If she were to get a huge merit scholarship, wouldn’t that make travel costs more affordable?</p>
<p>The State U I was referring to is UD, and the shortened radius is for health reasons, not travel costs. </p>
<p>So, if I understand this question about an Aunt having a 529,it won’t effect financial aid? In the first year I can see that, but in year two when you fill out the forms again, they might take the existence of the 529 into account and lower the offer? In which case it would be better to keep it for year 4 then space it out?</p>
<p>*In the first year I can see that, but in year two when you fill out the forms again, they might take the existence of the 529 into account and lower the offer? In which case it would be better to keep it for year 4 then space it out? *</p>
<p>Not sure…I think that if the aunt provides funds from that 529 to pay for some of the costs, that will have to be declared and that could affect future aid.</p>
<p>Yes, in year 2 the 529 payment from year 1 has to be reported on the student side as other untaxed income or gifts … that can affect the aid. However, if the parent income is really low, the effect might be minimal. You can play with the EFC calculators to find out.</p>