<p>Yes, I know that, but HYP and the UCs are still not “scraps.”</p>
<p>In the US free education is only from K-12. If you want free after that, you either study like crazy to get that merit aid or parents need to pay. That being said, I do agree we are missing some of the best and well adjusted students in the middle at those top institutions.</p>
<p>You guys as adults are missing the point. It’s not the kids fault that his parents can’t make the money, and very rarely does any merit aid pay for much…essentially society says to the best and brightest : “Parents can’t or won’t pay? Step aside there is a homeless girl here who obviously deserves this more.” A truly sickening system.</p>
<p>Would you rather be a homeless person, or someone who has had a warm bed in the last 18 years and probably could go to a good college?</p>
<p>Thanks for picking apart the hyperbole, I appreciate it.</p>
<p>You are welcome. </p>
<p>Life isn’t fair. You can’t pick your parents and we can’t pick our kids. You could do everything right, but still not able to get what you want. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, sometimes it is better to count your blessings. It sounds like a clich</p>
<p>Median family income in the U.S. is $49,445 last time I looked. The middle quintile would be roughly $40k-$60k. At highly selective colleges, middle income students will receive wonderful financial aid. As noted, the UCs would be tuition-free. But many may struggle to afford community college.</p>
<p>I’m still having trouble with the concept of 80k/year for public. You did mean 80k for 4 years right?</p>
<p>“It seems Bay missed the memo that middle class people do not get free tuition. That’s only for <50k less or whatever.”</p>
<p>My DH makes more than $100K but less than $150K a year and my son is an only child. He received $41K/yr in institutional aid from his top 25 LAC school. Way more than our EFC suggested he would get. </p>
<p>My son also received $30K/yr in merit aid from his second choice and $27K/yr from his third choice.</p>
<p>So your income is more than double the median - middle-income in the country. Your per year aid is almost as much as the total income (before taxes) of the median middle-income household.</p>
<p>^ Mimi, yes.</p>
<p>One of the problems when you start your own “progressive” tuition system is that you’ve just made a certain group of people a lot more valuable to your institution.</p>
<p>With all my heart I hope that being full pay will give my dear, darling, slightly lazy son an admissions boost. I have told him more than once to be certain to hit the “no” block for the question about applying for FA. If being tall, thin, and an absolute cutie counted, he’d be shoe-in. ;)</p>
<p>i was accepted/waitlisted to schools that i definitely was not qualified for because of my full pay status (and in a few cases because of my OOS student status <em>cough</em> UCs <em>cough</em>)</p>
<p>Of course you were “qualified” for them! No admissions officer will ever admit to choosing any but the “most qualified” candidates. Sometimes that qualification might be the ability to pay. More commonly, it is what usually comes WITH ability to pay.</p>
<p>And the obverse, with the same qualifier of “usually”.</p>