@icbihtsu I don’t know this for a fact but I am pretty sure you can use funds from your home equity in whatever way you want.
I would recommend before you do anything- go to Amazon and for $12 buy a book called “The Financial Aid Handbook: Getting the Education You Want for the Price You Can Afford” It was money WELL spent.
My niece graduated BU in 2016. Her last year there COA was $70k. She got a job after graduation, has no debt (her parents were able to afford it) is an extremely talented young woman, yet she’s still living at home because it’s SO expensive to move out. She wants to go back for her MBA now, which she will have to pay for on her own. Graduating from an expensive school like BU doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a great starting salary, so, unless you can afford to pay your EFC without taking out more than $32,000 TOTAL (for all four years- this is the max allowed by federal student loans) I would seriously consider less expensive options. Good luck with whatever you decide, it’s not an easy process!
@icbihtsu I’m using a HELOC. Interest rate is way less than parent plus. There are some instances where I wouldn’t use a HELOC - I wouldn’t use up every last drop of equity, wouldn’t do it if my housing market was stagnant or declining, etc. I don’t see the reason for taking out higher interest rate lon when I have a cheaper alternative though. My kids will be maxing out the federal loans before we go to the HELOC though.
@ShrimpBurrito
@Clementine7624
@toast18
@SC Anteater
Wow, THANK YOU for your responses! I’m getting a bit verklempt by the mere fact that there are people out there who will respond to such questions. Been wandering alone in the wilderness of college-cost-angst for so long… Thank you!
I’m definitely going to get that book. And knowing that at least one other person on this earth uses a HELOC makes me feel like I’m not totally unhinged in my thinking. And yet, knowing that a place like BU IS ridiculously pricey and deserves to be approached with appropriate trepidation somehow helps me calm down, too. She has an in-state option but it’s in her hometown, and well, we all know how badly most of our kiddos want to finally explore new pastures after 18 years of “being stuck in this place.” Heh.
I feel empowered to continue the campaign. Thank you all very much!!!
@icbihtsu Please don’t take my rantings as being anti-loans across the board. There are just some things about my situation that makes it a bad idea. I haven’t worked outside the home in fifteen years. I have a medical condition that’s getting better but still leaves me with questions about my ability to hold a full time job in the future. And I have an older kid who went through a scary medical situation and two younger kids with mild special needs. One of them I worry about if she’ll be able to manage independently in the future because her EF is unbelievably poor.
If we had a better outlook in terms of future earnings and no younger children, I might be less freaked out by the thought of loans.
Everyone should look at the facts and make the decision that is right for their family. Be prudent, but you don’t have to get all worked up about it like I do. 
@icbihtsu We are also using a HELOC to finance S18 for college. I don’t know that we would if we needed to borrow a large percentage of our home’s equity, but for what we need, we are comfortable with it.
@icbihtsu - What’s the 4 year cost of the in-state option vs BU? New pastures don’t always turn out to be greener! Also, my understanding of the new tax law is that the interest on home equity debt is no longer tax deductible.
“droppedit” Sorry for the USC rejection.
As I have followed:
your D was accepted GT and rejected USC.
MY D was rejected GT and accepted USC.
This whole process is a crap shot as these type of results show.
^^^ THIS ^^^
@icbihtsu I just want to offer my words of support for your post. I think you’ve received excellent advice so I probably can’t add much. However I understand the financial concerns and stress associated with this crazy process. Wishing you clarity as you navigate the financials!
For those curious I can tell you that Pitt did a fabulous job with Admitted Students day. Very well organized, great parent breakout sessions that clarified a lot of questions I had, overall a fun weekend for all of us. If anyone has specific questions feel free to message me. I can say that Pitt continues to impress us.
@icbihtsu , I understand the struggle well. I’m constantly reading all info I can find on the student loan debt and funding options. There is a page on FB called Paying for College 101 that often has a lot of opinions to consider (some more valuable than others). At the top of the page there are calculators and other useful past info. Sometimes career Financial Advisors and Accountants weigh in, though advice which applies to one is obviously not always applicable to another. As a middle class family with three kids currently in High School, our family will be taking on loans. It’s a matter of how much and in what form. 
@icbihtsu fwiw https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-08-09/weigh-whether-to-use-your-home-to-pay-for-college
Well this was a surprise. DD16 received her 2017 1098T from her college (UTD) and we were struggling to figure out why it was higher than expected. She is NMF and has a sizable taxable portion to her scholarship. She also had a small outside scholarship her freshman year that we turned over to UTD to be paid back to DD16 and they split it over her fall 16 and spring 17 semesters. The 1098 T had 1line items per semester, spring, summer, and fall but it was just a sum for each semester. She did a study abroad last summer where the NMF scholarship included 6k. Also the study abroad payment she made was mostly tuition but we can’t deduct the payment we made for study abroad because it wasn’t a US school. Fortunately Tuition scholarships aren’t included on the 1098T because they aren’t taxable. We finally figured out to our surprise that the Pell Grant money she had been awarded in 2017 was also included and she was awarded nearly the full Pell Grant! So that was a huge surprise to us that the Pell Grant was taxable in additional to the scholarship money (excluding the tuition scholarships). We weren’t planning on the Pell Grant being taxable.
I did look it up and it does say that the Pell Grant became taxable for her because she has a full tuition and fee scholarship. We are able to deduct her books and we have done that. But that is why the Pell Grant became taxable for DD16. I was just surprised.
Shelleee, If her tuition/fees are already covered by a scholarship can the Pell Grant money be put towards her housing and meal plan?
Yes, I believe Publication 970 says somewhere that all grants and scholarships can become taxable if they cover nonqualified education expenses.
My D has a similar situation. She has a scholarship that pays for tuition. She claims the state grant as taxable because it pays for room and board, and we get to claim the fees and books towards AOTC.
The 1098T is primarily used to determine if you can claim an education credit such as AOTC.
You can just add up all grants and scholarships received in 2017 minus all qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, books) from 2017. That should give you the taxable amount of scholarships.
mommdc - Room/board is not a qualifying education expense?
@flmom26, yes that’s why the Pell Grant is taxable in this situation. The tuition and fees are already covered by a tax-free scholarship.
The Pell Grant can be used for housing and food, but those are not qualified education expenses for the purpose of determining tax-free treatment of scholarships.
For 529 purposes, room and board are qualified higher education expenses though.
Thanks for clarifying that for me, mommdc. That is all good to know!
No, room and board is not QEE for determining taxable scholarship amount, or claiming AOTC.
But for 529 it counts as a qualified expense.
If someone has a full ride, tuition, fees, room and board, they will have to report as taxable any amounts that paid for room, board, and any other non QEE.