<p>I never said full aid.</p>
<p>More aid.</p>
<p>I am saying ânot necessarilyâ more aid.</p>
<p>âIf I save $300,000 over 20 years and somebody else saves nothing but has made a similar income, why do I pay around $15,000 more, each year, for the same schoolâ</p>
<p>Why canât I feel or think that is wrong?"</p>
<p>âOh, I donât know. Why do I, with a very simple tax return, no outside businesses, small house with small mortgage, get financial aid awards from 100%-of-need colleges varying by as much as $47k over four years?â</p>
<p>But, to answer your question, which is the same as the answer to mine - it is their money, and they get to do what they want with it.</p>
<p>And you can feel or think what you like, but it wonât change a thing."</p>
<p>âAnd you can feel or think what you likeâ</p>
<p>Thatâs right.</p>
<p>And there is nothing wrong with feeling or thinking this is wrong.</p>
<p>the cost of attendance to attend Emory is $49,708</p>
<p>[Financial</a> Aid - Emory College - Cost of Attendance](<a href=âApply for Financial Aid | Emory University | Atlanta GAâ>Apply for Financial Aid | Emory University | Atlanta GA)</p>
<p>If the Emory gave OP zip in FA, based on Ops information from the FAFSA and CSS profile, the school feels that the family has the income/assets and can afford to pay full freight. </p>
<p>Because a family chooses not to, doesnât mean that they are getting screwed, it means that this is simply not their choice on how they want to spend their money.</p>
<p>âMy data show how much different school could look at the same data and reach vastly different conclusions. if the kid got into the school that only gives 6K grant and you donât have any savings. You canât afford to go.â</p>
<p>Dad II, that doesnât contradict what Iâm saying either.</p>
<p>I never said different schools give the same aid to the same students.</p>
<p>If Emory claims to meet 100% need. </p>
<p>On the other hand, it is possible if OP had not saved as much, his kid may get some aid.</p>
<p>âIf the Emorygave OP zip in FA, based on Ops information from the FAFSA and CSS profile, the school feels that the family has the income/assets and can afford to pay full freight. Because a family chooses not to, doesnât mean that they are getting screwed, it means that this is simply not their choice.â</p>
<p>The people of Emory have the right to think or feel what they want.</p>
<p>Wasnât it the Rolling Stones who sang
" you canât always get what you want"âŠ
Unfortunately, thatâs the way it is with FA and it wonât change for most middle income families anytime soon.</p>
<p>
Because you have more assets, and the amount you are expected to pay is a very small fraction of your assets.
Because those of us who do qualify for extensive aid based on our incomes couldnât even imagine saving $300K over a period of 20 years. We didnât spend that money along the way⊠we never had it. We have been worrying every year of our lives how to make ends meet. </p>
<p>Iâd consider myself very fortunate if I had $300K in the bank and was asked to pay $15K of it each year for college. The worst case scenario would be that at the end of 4 years, Iâd have $240K in the bank â but the reality is that money would be earning interest every step of the way. (I think Iâd put most of it in bonds, CDâs, or money market accounts so that I could maximize the interest. Or maybe buy EurosâŠ)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>you are making a judgment here that the person with the âsimilar incomeâ had the opportunity to save that much.</p>
<p>Is calculation financial aid always âfairâ - nope but life is not fair either.
To be fair perhaps they should ask for income from the last 18 years. And receipts. and electric bills. etc etc.</p>
<p>if someone was able to save $300,000 - curmudgeon is right - sock it in a 401K. You can even withdraw it for educational purposes without a penalty. Of course if you are old enough - 59-1/2 you can withdraw it as well.
That way you can have you cake and eat it too.
You have your hands on an asset that can help pay the bill - one that others donât have.</p>
<p>This whole thread reminds me of the Rolling Stones (OKay taken out of context I know):
</p>
<p>Again - it is all about choices.</p>
<p>edit - menloparkmom - LOL we posted at the same time! you were quicker!</p>
<p>As well as the OP can think whatever he wants. However ,the fact still remains that there will still be a lot of families writing the full freight check for their kids to attend Emory. Are they being screwed too?</p>
<p>
But you are assuming/implying that the hypothetical $150K earner with $300K in savings is at a disadvantage compared with the similar earning family with -0- â whereas the reality is that the family without savings has fewer choices. Harvard has a great financial aid initiative, but who can count on their kid getting in? So maybe the upper middle class family that âspentâ all its money over the years finds that at the end of the road, their kid didnât get into any of the most generous colleges. Maybe their kid is almost as smart as Dad IIâs daughter, but was waitlisted at the $30K grand school and is stuck with the $6K grant school. </p>
<p>If youâve got the $300K in the bank⊠youâve got a choice. Do you draw on savings, or not? Do you leverage the savings into a larger loan, or not? Maybe School C isnât affordable, but schoolâs A and B are, even though it requires you to draw down your savings a little more than you had hoped. </p>
<p>If you donât have the extra $300K, there is no choice, except maybe to rant about how unfair it is that school D waitlisted your kid while accepting Dad IIâs daughter.</p>
<p>calmom, thank you. My point is that deserving family is not garantteed to get nice FA packages at elite schools. If you donât save, your kid may get in their dream school and you have to tell them ânoâ because you did not save.</p>
<p>And I went down to the demonstration [cc boards maybe?]
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, âWeâre gonna vent our frustration
If we donât weâre gonna blow a 50-amp fuseâ</p>
<p>âAs well as the OP can think whatever he wants. However ,the fact still remains that there will still be a lot of families writing the full freight check for their kids to attend Emory. Are they being screwed too?â</p>
<p>Thatâs for the full freighters to decide.</p>
<p>I donât remember anybody talking about life being fair in this thread. Must have missed that. 
</p>
<p>Calmom, I think your post #112 is irrelevant.</p>
<p>Getting into a school or not getting into a school, please, that is not the issue.</p>
<p>If you have saved $300,000, yes, you have a choice. The family that had the opportunity to save $300,000 but didnât, choices were made there too.</p>
<p>And after the choices were made, in many circumstances, the frugal person has to pay $15,000 more for college per year. That doesnât make sense to me. </p>
<p>Iâm talking about families in similar situations. People throwing out, but what if one family had to deal with this, and that, and the other didnâtâŠfine, then we are talking about DIFFERENT circumstances. Iâm talking similarâŠ
Itâs not that hard a concept.</p>
<p>âBecause you have more assets, and the amount you are expected to pay is a very small fraction of your assets.â</p>
<p>Whatâs small to one person is not small to another.</p>
<p>Quote:
Why canât I feel or think that is wrong? </p>
<p>âBecause those of us who do qualify for extensive aid based on our incomes couldnât even imagine saving $300K over a period of 20 years. We didnât spend that money along the way⊠we never had it. We have been worrying every year of our lives how to make ends meet.â</p>
<p>Thatâs not relevant. Iâm not trying to negate anyoneâs hardships.</p>
<p>Iâm comparing people that saved $300,000 and people that had the ability and opportunity to save $300,000 but chose to spend it.</p>
<p>I notice people like to use exact words (or numbers). The $300,000 number. It doesnât have to be $300,000. :)</p>
<p>I have a nearly full need-based scholarship to an elite school. My wonderful, extremely hardworking family has come across some terrible luck that has left them with no health insurance and no safety net. I have been able to live out a few of my dreams through sheer grit, but my family would be so lucky to have any of these opportunities that âmiddle classâ posters take for granted. For the love of god, count your blessingsâŠwe still do.</p>
<p>âIâm comparing people that saved $300,000 and people that had the ability and opportunity to save $300,000 but chose to spend it.â
I agree that the above scenario is not âfairâ or âequitableâ but what can be done about it to make it fair or equitable? Not much at this point. As long as PRIVATE Colleges have the ability to decide who gets what based on numerous factors- current savings, zip code, source of income, equity in a home, self employed or not, # of siblings in college or private school, outside medical expenses, etc, etc, etc⊠it will NEVER be fair to everybody.</p>
<p>âit will NEVER be fair to everybody.â </p>
<p>No. It wonât.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Amen. (10 char)</p>
<p>
Exactly - supply and demand rules. Of course, the formula is skewed when thereâs far more demand than supply as seems to exist at the top small handful of schools but weâre fortunate that there are thousands of other choices in our country. No one has to go to the top few colleges and there are countless examples of successful people who went to the non-top-few colleges (or any college for that matter). </p>
<p>I also donât have any contempt for these private schools and Iâm happy they work out for some people.</p>