I have one child who is a senior in WA and wants go to West Coast schools, most likely UC schools major in nursing-BSN.
34 ACT, 2120 SAT(old), 4.0(GPA-UW)
We do not have a savings account. We don’t have retirement account.
I make 24K a year and my wife doesn’t work.
Our primary residence has no mortgage and we have a couple of rental properties.
First rental has no mortgage and second rental has $300K mortgage (approx).
Basically we pay the mortgage on the 2nd rental AND live off on rental income monthly generated. We do not have an extravagant life style. We don’t dine out or even go out to theaters. We can’t even afford vacation in Hawaii. The rental properties are our life savings for retirement.
Beginning of the year, I ran a NPCs on some of the colleges. But due to high asset, my child does not qualify for financially assistance. If, its a BIG IF, gets accepted by one of the choice school, we’ll have to sell the one of the property for the 4 year tuition. That said, is there still a need or even worth to complete the FAFSA or CSS Profile? And if I do, should I low-balling the market price of the rental prices(even though it sounds unethical)?
You need to file the fafsa if you want any federal money, grants or loans. Some schools and states also base their awards off fafsa. Whether you file the css will depend on the school and what it requires for awarding financial aid.
Yes, you should file the FAFSA, because even if you do not qualify for free money, it will allow your child to take a federal student loan. You cannot pay all of this for her.
The UC schools don’t give aid to out of state. You might qualify for some aid at a school where you are not automatically disqualified for being out of state, but it would depend on how the school views the rental properties.
If your income is 24K per year, your child needs to pick a school in Washington for in-state tuition. She probably needs to start at a community college. Use this program matrix to find the community college in your region that has the best health-care offerings.
The UCs will be unaffordable. I would suggest to you that selling your primary source of income which is also your retirement nest egg…is not a good idea.
There are plenty of instate, and less costly options for getting a BSN. With your level of income, I would strongly suggest that you not look at OOS costly options at all.
Any chance you are eligible to receive free or reduced lunch? If so, you might be eligible for the simplified needs test when completing your FAFSA. If you are eligible for this, you assets will not be listed at all on the FAFSA.
Consider if a neighboring state participates in the WUE program, which is in-state tuition plus 50%.
Several California State Universities have have nursing BSN programs, but check to see if they are WUE eligible. Other adjoining states are OR and AZ.
You have made some financial choices in your life to work at a lower paying job and make your money off of some real estate investments. That’s fine, but now your child doesn’t have as many options for college. You can’t now ‘buy’ a UC education at OOS prices. You have Washington options, you have WUE schools, you have the schools that award full tuition scholarships for grades/scores.
You also have the option of changing jobs, taking a second job, having your spouse take a job, and that additional income would pay the tuition.
I’m going to be very blunt. On a $24,000 income, you cannot afford to send your kiddo to any OOS college. Where do you think the money will come from? You say your rentals are your bread and butter. Don’t sell your bread and butter for this college thing.
Your daughter can become a BSN at any number of instate public universities.
Gonzaga has an excellent direct admit nursing program for which your daughter seems very qualified. She might be eligible for some merit aid. I agree that paying $55K/year for a UC is a terrible idea. She can come to California after she gets her BSN degree. There are plenty of nursing job opportunities in California.