<p>So I am applying EA for Georgetown. At college fairs I’ve been told that Georgetown meets 100% of financial need, or at least specifically - that if my parents make less than 60k a year I don’t pay a penny. I know my parents make less than that and they are also paying for my sister’s private school education and a portion of my brother’s pharmacy school tuition. </p>
<p>Does it really meet 100%. If I receive financial aid will that cover room and board, books, health insurance, etc. What exactly does it cover if my parents’ income falls way under the 60k limit. </p>
<p>Are you sure your parents make less than $60,000 a year? I’m only asking because with that income, how are they able to support your family and pay private school costs for your sister, and also some of your brother’s costs?</p>
<p>All that aside, there should be a Net Price Calculator on the Georgetown website. Run your financial numbers on that and you should get an estimate of your aid. If your family owns a business, has rental properties, or something of this type, the calculators can be a bit off. If your parents have straight salaries from jobs, the NPC tends to be closer in accuracy.</p>
<p>If you have a brother in Pharm school…what did his EFC per FAFSA look like?</p>
<p>I have not heard of Georgetown having a guarantee that families that earn under $60K don’t pay a penny. As a matter of fact, this is what I saw on the Georgetown website: </p>
<p>"In recent years, many families with incomes above $100,000 have been aided and a few with incomes below $60,000 have not–again, income is not the only factor we consider. " </p>
<p>Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident applying to an undergrad college (arts/sciences, foreign service, nursing)? In general, Georgetown does meet need but it will expect you to work and I believe take out loans. You may want to read this and run a net price calculator. </p>
<p>So I am not too sure about my brother’s tuition right now. I know he received grants and loans so my parents aren’t paying much. My sister’s private school gave us financial aid so they pay about $4000 a year for her, and my high school whose tuition is $28,500 a year gave my a $25,000 scholarship. My mother has been unemployed for a while.</p>
<p>so all three of us receive some form of financial aid for our schools/college. But when I went to a college discussion 2 months ago, it was for Harvard, Duke, UPenn, Stanford and Georgetown and the reason they did it together was because their financial aid guarantees are the same. If your family income is less than 60k than you pay nothing, and if your family income is between 60k and 100k, then your tuition will come out on a sliding scale of 1-10% of the tuition, so the most you would pay is 10% of georgetown tuition. This is exactly what the admissions people told me! I am just afraid because I keep hearing stories of people with fairly low incomes (though higher than my father’) who still can’t afford to attend…</p>
<p>Senylia… These schools have very generous financial aid policies. BUT their acceptance rates are about 10% or less. This means that 90% or so of applicants do not get accepted. So your first hurdle would be getting admitted to these schools which really isn’t a sure thing for anyone applying.</p>
<p>Also, if you really are a competitive applicant for these schools, you should also be looking at schools where you could get a significant merit award. What is your GPA and what are your SAT or ACT scores?</p>
<p>D applied and was accepted at georgetown and we compared her package there to other packages she received and it was probably one of the least generous. Income that year was right arount $60,000 and two kids in school, although we have assets, and our package still required paying about $35000 per year. Don’t count on a great package - have another back up plan.</p>
<p>Harvard, Duke, UPenn, Stanford and G’town do not have the same FA polices. </p>
<p>Harvard’s and Stanford’s FA policies are likely very similar. Maybe UPenn’s and Duke’s are similar. G’town’s would likely be the worst. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that G’town will likely also consider your family’s assets…savings, investments, and home equity. </p>
<p>I agree with Thumper, perhaps your family has some other income/assets if they’re still able to pay reduced tuition for you and sis, and help with pharm school, all on an income well below $60k. Your tuition and your sis’s tuition alone would be about $700 a month…that’s a lot for that income.</p>
<p>Maybe your mom has been getting unemployment? Maybe she rec’d some kind of severance pay when she lost her job? Maybe your family has assets?</p>
<p>This is absolutely not true (I also attend their road show annually). The only thing that they have in common is that all schools meet 100% demonstrated need. However each school meets need differently.</p>
<p>The hierarchy in terms of Financial aid is </p>
<p>Most are not going to take into consideration that your parents are paying for Pharm school (in fact, they may feel that this is money that can be used to pay for your college).</p>
<p>The key term is “demonstrated need.” This term is intentionally undefined by the schools and even when you ask pointed specific questions, you come away with an answer which is very very ambiguous.</p>
<p>If you have a family with no assets and a total of 60k in w-2 earnings, you will get great aid. If you have a family with “typical assets” (whatever that means), no mortgage interest deducttions, with a taxable income of 60k, you will get much less. If you have a family with typical assets and mortgage interest deductions which reduce your taxable income to 60k, you will get even less. If you itemize (because your family has a small business)and have 60k in taxable income only god (and the schools FA department) know what you will receive (if anything).</p>
<p>The schools make you believe that the FA is better then it is for the “typical” family - it’s called great marketing.</p>
<p>Moreover, good planning well in advance of your senior year can at least increase your chances at better FA. Cast a wide net when applying and compare FA packages.</p>
<p>Also note that even if schools expect your parents to contribute $0, you (the student) will be expected to contribute something*. Typically this entails using summer earnings to pay for the student contribution, textbooks, dorm supplies, etc. During the school year, you will be expected to find and hold a (work study) job to pay for incidentals. It will depend on school policy if health insurance is calculated as part of the cost of attendance or not. I don’t know if Georgetown is one of them, but some schools that meet full need do include federal student loans in the financial aid package. </p>
<p>Well our family is in the range of the top aid ($60K) and we don’t have any other assets other than a home and two kids in college. I ran the calculator and it calculated out at about 75% of COA covered in grants/scholarships with the remainder in loans/work study. In comparison, my son attends one of the top Ivies and they cover about 90% of COA. His expected contribution is half of what the calculator determined it would be for Georgetown so I doubt they are comparable to Harvard. Also, to believe one would not have to penny is unrealistic for ANY school.</p>
<p>This is so important to know. Since your family is able to afford several thousand a year (after grants/scholarships) for private school tuition, I suspect you may have a more complicated financial picture. Reading on this board, Georgetown is not as generous as many of the 100% need met schools, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be very generous in your case. </p>
<p>Make sure you have a academic/financial safety. A school that you know you can get in, would be content with going to, and is affordable.</p>
<p>Most schools that meet 100% need expect students with 60K family income and one student in college to take out loans and pay a portion of costs. Some college costs are expected to be paid out of money that families were supposed to have been saving, not just current income. </p>
<p>Having a sibling in college at the same time is a huge factor that should increase financial aid - assuming your brother is still considered a dependent for financial aid purposes. </p>
<p>Most colleges do not consider private high school tuition, because it is considered a luxury.</p>
<p>A few schools that had offered no loan policies have removed that offer, because it became too expensive.</p>
<p>Most of the “cost of attendance” numbers that I see do not include the cost of health insurance for an undergrad student. That is considered a family obligation that you would have even if you were not a student.</p>
<p>There are some colleges that offer a one time grant to new students with limited income to buy a laptop.</p>
<p>The offer of meeting 100% need is typically limited to US students. It also assumes that you submit all of the required documentation on time.</p>
<p>Don’t put all of your hopes into the most selective 100% need met schools, because their admissions are extremely unpredictable. Georgetown’s real admissions rate would be much lower if they didn’t make it so hard to apply. There are some moderately selective colleges that also offer to meet 100% need. </p>
<p>Be sure you are looking at a recent list, because financial aid policies have changed, particularly as budget problems have hit. </p>
<p>There are also some colleges that come very very close to meeting 100%, but don’t show up on the 100% list.</p>