My goal is to apply to the University of Pennsylvania early decision this fall. It is my number one school but the problem is that my family “can’t” afford it. After going to the information session at the college and doing research online I was told numerous times not to apply early decision if I want to compare financial aid. However, I am not looking to compare financial aid. I just need enough to be able to attend UPenn. I understand that on the website it says that early decision is binding unless the student can’t pay for it but who determines this- UPenn or my family? Also does the FAFSA look at savings intended for retirement? If they do then that might lead them to believe I can pay for college even though that money is intended for something else.
Penn determines how much they feel that your family can afford to pay. If you already know that Penn is not affordable, why apply ED? it is not going to make money suddenly appear.
Yes, the fafsa looks at money intended for retirement, especially if that money is not in a retirement account 401k/403b, etc.
Your parents are first in line when it comes to paying for college. You need to sit down with them, run your numbers through the net price calculator and then discuss if Penn is a financially feasible option for your family
Has your family run a net price calculator on the Penn website?
Are they self employed, divorced, or own real estate other than your primary residence?
Is their annual income above $150,000 a year?
How much CAN they pay each year?
Penn uses the CSS Profile to determine the awarding of its institutional aid. Really, that’s what you are looking for. The FAFSA EFC will not be what is used to determine financial aid awards at Penn.
Retirement account balances IN IRA, TSA or other authorized retirement accounts are not included as assets. If younare applying for admission for 2018, you will be doing the 2018-2019 financial,aid forms…and the contributions to tax deferred retirement accounts in 2016 WILL be added back in as income.
If money intended for retirement is NOT in authorized retirement accounts…it IS counted as an asset.
If finances are a huge consideration…then you might want to reconsider applying ED to Penn.
Have you run a net price calculator? They are not perfect but its a start to figure out, based on your parents income, savings etc, what your ability to pay is compared to the costs of Penn. If there is a large gap, then you know the answer. Do some research on this site about peoples shock regarding what they make vs what the FAFSA says is their annual expected family contribution (EFC). Our personal experience 3 years ago? Gross income of just over $200k and our EFC was $76,000 for an Ivy. Savings for college and retirement (not in a qualified plan) are counted.
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However, I am not looking to compare financial aid. I just need enough to be able to attend UPenn.
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Lol…good one!
How are the retirement funds held? In stocks and investments? Or in protected retirement accts like IRAs and 401k’s?
Have your parents run the NPC on UPenn’s website.
And…annual contributions to retirement accts also count.
You will have NO WAY of knowing whether Penn will be affordable until Penn sends you a financial aid award.
None of us here know the specifics of your family finances. None of us are Penn finaid Officers.
But I will say…if you get accepted ED, and have an offer for Penn…you will also have a very short window of time to accept their offer. Here is the rub. If you think it’s not enough, and decline…you are DONE with Penn…done.
That Penn offer could have the lowest net price…or it could have the highest…you will never know.
So…say you declined what Penn offer…and all of the others come in at net costs that are HIGHER. You won’t be happy.
Apply regular decision. Then you can compare net costs.
It sounds like your family can’t meet their family contribution…or won’t.
I’ll offer a slightly more optimistic (and possibly more irresponsible) view. I really do understand the appeal of ED, when it has about a 21% admit rate with 7% for RD (even considering how legacies, athletes, etc., might skew things).
My D just applied to Penn this year, and she initially considered applying ED, but decided not to. I thought it would be OK, though, because of her NPC results. They gave the following required family contributions:
Harvard: 7K, no loan
Penn: 11K, no loan
Meets full need with loan schools like UVa, Northeastern, USC: 13K to 17K contribution plus about 5K loan for a total of 18K to 22K
So if she had applied to Penn ED, got in, and they asked for 11K, I would have been thrilled. If they wanted 16K (still less than the total for the “with loan” schools), that would be great. Even if they required 20K, my D would have taken out the loans and it would be similar to those other schools. And in that case, I wouldn’t have worried too much about the possibility that the extreme long shot of Harvard might have come in, or that another school might have ended up 2 or 3K less than Penn. Penn is a great school.
Now if she got in ED and Penn insisted on more than 22K (which is at least twice their NPC figure and more than any other “meets full need” school NPC figure), that probably wouldn’t be affordable. But that really didn’t seem likely. And even if it did happen, it just meant my D would have to go to one of her other options. (By the way, she didn’t get in to Penn or Harvard, but did get in at the other three schools, and their NPCs were all fairly close to the actual amounts offered.)
Here’s the point (finally!). Run the Penn NPC with the correct amounts for assets. If it gives a figure your parents say they definitely are willing to pay AND you know you can pay somewhat higher (with loans or an additional amount your parents have also agreed to) AND you won’t regret any other possible options, then maybe ED could be a good idea. As other people have mentioned, if your parents can’t (or won’t) even pay the expected amount, ED may not work out well even if you get in.
Only you and your parents can decide what is actually affordable for your family. If it isn’t absolutely clear that you can afford UPenn, then don’t apply ED. Heed warning from my experience: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1938793-having-serious-regret-about-allowing-ed-p1.html. In the end, my D got admitted to Penn and we couldn’t afford it.
The EFC had made it so we could get by with ~$10,000/year in loans. The final FA package came in with an EFC $3300 more than the NPC had predicted. I also think they woefully underestimated the travel costs for an out of state student, and they awarded my D an unrealistically high amount of work study (I confirmed in a parents forum that it would be near impossible to earn the total amount). When it’s all added together, we were looking at $15,000/year in loans based off the FA package. So, the school was completely unaffordable.
Everything worked out in the end and she was awarded several merit scholarships including one that’s a full ride. It was hard to turn down the “dream school” but doing so for graduating with money in the bank instead of $60,000 in debt made the decision a no-brainer.
@SuburbMom I just read your thread. Turns out I had read it before and had a post on it. Glad things have worked out.
Yes, as you very well know, your situation was clearly one not meant for ED: an NPC result that’s $10,000 more than you feel you can pay, an aversion to loans, and other possible options that were actually below the amount you could pay. If the OP has a situation that is like any of those things (let alone all) then ED is not a good choice. If nothing like that is true for the OP, it might be.