I was accepted into my dream school, Rice under Early Decision. My parents and I received a letter from the Office of Financial Aid yesterday, stating that we were not eligible for any need-based financial aid. Is this set in stone, or should I still fill out the FAFSA and send my parent’s 2015 tax forms to them?
Extra information: When I first filled out Rice’s tuition calculator on their website, it said that my family would be expected to pay $40K (total tuition for Rice is around $60K), and on other EFC calculators I tried, like the one on the FAFSA homepage, it said that the EFC was around $20K. As a result, I assumed that I would at least get some aid from Rice.
More extra information: My parents’ income is around $160K a year, with $40K coming from foreign income (my mom works in China), but I have a twin sister that is also going to college. She still does not know what college she is attending.
Sorry if this question seems really dumb, but my parents are really leaving this whole aid thing to myself and I have no clue what I’m doing. I hope some kind people on this website can help me out!
Neither parent is self-employed. What are business deductions?
Yes, that’s what I meant by the income coming from China.
Yes, I’m pretty sure I did. There was a section on the CSS Profile that asked for the number of other family members would be attending college next year. I remember it also asking for what college the other family members were attending, and that college’s tuition. At the time, I had no clue what college my sister was going to attend, so I just put UCLA, and its tuition as 20K. Do you think this had something to do with my situation?
The FAFSA EFC doesn’t apply to private colleges who do calculate their own institutional EFC. If the NPC said, then you can call them and ask about that. Did you indicate on the application that you need financial aid? Did you fill out the CSS Profile by the due date?
You should fill the FAFSA if you want to take a student loan or if your parent wants to take a plus loan.
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Yes, that’s what I meant by the income coming from China.
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If that is NET INCOME from China, then it will have a harsher calculation.
Since you indicated two in college, I don’t think that is the problem.
Do your parents have a lot of assets? equity? other properties? investments?
Business deductions could be deductions that are work-related. For instance, if a parent is a Realtor, even if s/he works for a broker, that parent would have business deductions…car, phone, advertising, etc.
Contact the Rice financial aid office. Did you have to complete a Profile also? If so, did you indicate on that form that there would be another sibling in college?
With two in college…it seems like you should have gotten some need based aid from Rice, unless there is asset information that is significant.
@BrownParent I already emailed the office, but I guess I’ll try calling in the morning. But yes, I did ask for financial aid on my application and my account does say that all forms were received on time, including the CSS Profile.
Ah, I see. So it’s still a good idea to fill out the FAFSA. Thanks for telling me!
@mom2collegekids Our current home value is $1.8 million, and my parents also own a house in Texas that is worth $180K, but they told me that they did really did not want to sell either of them for my tuition unless it is absolutely necessary. Other than real estate, I think my dad owns some stocks. I’m not too certain too much, but some.
Is the house the reason why I didn’t get any aid? Because it’s worth a lot?
Thank you for the explanation! No, my parents did not take out any business deductions.
@thumper1 I emailed them already, and will attempt to call in the morning. I did the profile and indicated I had a sibling in college. As for assets, the house my family is currently living in is worth $1.8 million, and my parent’s also own a house in Texas worth $180K. They do not want to sell either of them, however, unless there is really no other way to pay for my tuition. My dad also owns some stocks, but I’m not sure how much. My mom told me that combined they have around $50K in the bank, but I have no clue whether that’s for college or their retirement.
I’m guessing that’s the reason why no need-based aid was offered…?
You need to know how much equity there is in the real estate. Rice does factor in home equity in their financial aid numbers. Of course, any real estate holdings or stocks or cash assets would be fair game for paying tuition.
Your parents would be expected to liquidate the second home to pay tuition. IMO that is reasonable.
Contact the school as soon as possible and go over the numbers. The full COA is a lot of money to pay especially with a sibling in school at the same time.
So the house you live in is worth $1.8 .illion. is it owned free and clear or do your parents still have a loan on it? Equity is the difference between the $1.8M value and the loan balance.
If aid doesn’t improve due to large assets, your parents could consider taking out a HELOC loan against their home to pay for Rice if that’s something they want to do, rather than sell the TX property.
Filing FAFSA isn’t going to help except to get you a small loan.
The house is the issue. How much equity is in that home? How much equity is in the other home?
Sounds like about $1.5M is equity because with that income, it’s unlikely that the mortgage could be much more than $300k. The taxes on a $1.8M home must be crazy-high…at least $20k for property taxes alone.
That home is in Calif, correct?
Is that second home a rental property? IF so, what about the income from that home?
You said that your parents are leaving “this whole aid thing” up to you. Does that mean that YOU filled out the paperwork? Or did they?
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My dad also owns some stocks, but I'm not sure how much. My mom told me that combined they have around $50K in the bank, but I have no clue whether that's for college or their retirement.
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your parents don’t have to sell either property. They could borrow against the $1.8M property, if they wanted.
Something doesn’t sound right unless that home is fully paid for or nearly fully paid for.
Is that $40k from China the amount of money your mom sends to your dad after paying for her living expenses and taxes in China?
The equity in your second piece of real estate will count as an asset. So if it’s $180,000 in equity, that would increase your family contribution by $10,800 for FAFSA purposes. The Profile schools could expect a LOT more. Schools do not provide need based institutional financial aid so your family can own a second home. Period.
In terms of your primary residence…the equity to this is also included on your Profile…and Rice does use home equity in their calculations, I believe. So this also likely added to your family contribution.
As an FYI…because your family owns property other than your primary residence AND because some of the family earnings are from abroad…the net price calculators will NOT NOT NOT be accurate.
But with your family income…the family contribution just based on income would be in the $40,000 -50,000 plus range. Add to that home equity in the second home as an asset, and whatever Rice uses for equity in the primary residence, and it is very possible your family contribution exceeds the cost of attendance.
@txstella@thumper1 Alright, this is what I understand right now. Home equity for our current house is around $1.5 million, and the other house is around $160K. So after factoring this in, this means that our EFC is probably over Rice’s tuition cost. I should fill out the FAFSA and talk to Rice’s FA office, but I shouldn’t expect anything more than small loans.
Thank you for your help! My parents will be disappointed with this, but things should be fine.
@mom2collegekids You’re about right, the home equity is around $1.5 million and it is in CA. The rental income from the 2nd home was around $17K.
Yes, I was the one that filled out the paperwork. As for my dad’s stocks, when I first filled it out, my dad told me that the amount he had in stocks was negligible, and that I should put it as 0. My mom told me a couple days ago that my dad was going to have to sell his stocks to pay for college, which was why I was under the impression he actually did own some. I just asked him how much he actually has, but he has yet to reply.
Alright, thank you for the suggestion! I will ask them about that.
And yes, I believe that is the amount she sends home. At least that’s what the forms are telling me.
Sounds like dad has substantial stock investments if he can sell some to pay for Rice for four years.
Did the rental income get counted in the $160k per year?
The $1.7M in real estate equity is the biggest issue. That alone gives you an EFC of over $100k. Once you add in parents’ income and rental income, no aid is warranted.
Fill out FAFSA if you want a loan. Otherwise, not worth it.
This thread is a good example of why students shouldn’t be filling out NPCs unless they have truly been given accurate info. Garbage in, garbage out.
Did your parents really expect need based aid with two homes, one with $1.5 million in equity,mand one a second home…with an income of $160,000 a year?
You were accepted ED. Your FAFSA will not affect the aid you need to know about for Rice before you need to make a decision about accepting this ED offer of admission.
Can and will your parents pay the full cost of attendance for you at Rice for four years? That is the big question.
Please don’t guilt them into feeling like they need to seek of things to pay for your college costs if the school is really unaffordable.
There are plenty of other colleges out there…which cost far less.