People with $1.2M+ homes and getting significant financial aid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's up to the school how the calculate FA, right. Leave the school if you don't like or open your on private.
The smartest kids are all in public as they don't even need schooling.
Mine asked today if he could skip college. I love it!

Or, I won't leave the school, but I won't donate anymore, or at least donate anything to the financial aid fund. I'll also advocate for change, that the school use a more robust screening method for financial aid requests, and that they focus on truly low income families.

You don’t understand what FA really is.

It’s an enrollment tool. The school discounts tuition so they have full classes, much like airlines offer different fares to ensure all the seats are filled.

About 1/3rd get FA, but most of these packages are for less than 50% of tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yep, that’s why I never give unrestricted donations to my kids’ school.

If I don't trust the management of an institution to make good use of donated funds, I wouldn't give at all, restricted or otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just look at your school directory - how many kids are living in apartments? At ours it’s maybe one per class.

Schools want to brag about how high a percentage of their class gets aid and how much they pay out per year in aid, but they don't want to deal with truly needy kids because they come with challenges the schools would rather avoid. Hence aid going to families that the majority of the area would consider well off

Schools can afford to give full rides to kids so they give aid allowing middle income families to be able to attend. So $55k per year becomes $25k which is still a lot but more obtainable.

Middle income still isn't affording 25k. They give discounts to upper middle class kids.

[Anonymous]

Annual dues are only $10k/year? That is nothing for that crowd and I guarantee they are not getting FA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. Also where are country club dues $10k/year? All the rich people I know are at Congressional with a $100k buy in.

Anonymous wrote:

Pay attention. I said annual dues are $10,000 - not initiation fees which are $100,000.

Pay attention. I said annual dues are $10,000 - not initiation fees which are $100,000.

[Anonymous]

When I attended private school, my much richer friend's dad had learned how to finesse financial aid. He keep all his profit in his business, and their super nice house, so his kid was getting financial aid. Meanwhile, my lower middle class parents were paying full tuition.

A lot of these parents are either getting help.from.the grandparents to keep up their lifestyles, or they are making sure they qualify for financial aid some other way.

[Anonymous]

A poster on an early retirement forum I frequent said their daughter is attending an expensive, exclusive private school for free even though their family owns 3 properties (including one in a VCHOL city), and the parents are planning to retire very ahead of schedule within a year.

[Anonymous]

At The Potomac School, I know a family with $400k+ HHI and $1.2m+ home, sending two kids here and getting a good portion of FA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At The Potomac School, I know a family with $400k+ HHI and $1.2m+ home, sending two kids here and getting a good portion of FA.

If you know what you are doing, you can fudge your income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At The Potomac School, I know a family with $400k+ HHI and $1.2m+ home, sending two kids here and getting a good portion of FA.

If you know what you are doing, you can fudge your income.

How?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At The Potomac School, I know a family with $400k+ HHI and $1.2m+ home, sending two kids here and getting a good portion of FA.

If you know what you are doing, you can fudge your income.

How?

It’s easiest to do if you are a business owner / entrepreneur.

[Anonymous]

Yes. If you are a business owner it can easily be fudged - I know a family like that getting aid at three local privates. Private school is a choice not a right. This is why people choose to have two kids instead of three, or send them to public for elementary so they can afford private later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one living in $1 million plus house should be receiving financial aid for any of the Bethesda privates. Is that what OP is talking about?

Sadly, a $1 million house in most areas in Bethesda is close to being a tear down. It’s a 1950 bungalow with a small addition. I’ve seen plenty of these sold for over $750K and torn down for the lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming this is in reference to the DMV area, some of you seem woefully misinformed about what $1.2 million gets you around here. And many people bought their homes years ago for much less and they have increased in value. That doesn’t the owner has a liquid asset to use towards tuition payment. As a result, primary home is exempt for all sorts of programs, even SNAP and Medicaid.

https://redf.in/4ivIWx

https://redf.in/IZ43Rp

https://redf.in/kGR6ZY

+1. Some of the posts here sound like the grandparents from middle America who are footing the tuition bill, rather than the parents living in the DMV who wouldn’t be fazed by a $1 million home in the slightest. $1 million would get you a crappy duplex in a lot of parts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's up to the school how the calculate FA, right. Leave the school if you don't like or open your on private.
The smartest kids are all in public as they don't even need schooling.
Mine asked today if he could skip college. I love it!

Or, I won't leave the school, but I won't donate anymore, or at least donate anything to the financial aid fund. I'll also advocate for change, that the school use a more robust screening method for financial aid requests, and that they focus on truly low income families.

You should definitely do that based on nothing more than a DCUM rumor. The school will think you are totally sane and worth listening to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's up to the school how the calculate FA, right. Leave the school if you don't like or open your on private.
The smartest kids are all in public as they don't even need schooling.
Mine asked today if he could skip college. I love it!

Or, I won't leave the school, but I won't donate anymore, or at least donate anything to the financial aid fund. I'll also advocate for change, that the school use a more robust screening method for financial aid requests, and that they focus on truly low income families.

You don’t understand what FA really is.

It’s an enrollment tool. The school discounts tuition so they have full classes, much like airlines offer different fares to ensure all the seats are filled.

About 1/3rd get FA, but most of these packages are for less than 50% of tuition.

Sure. But FA isn't a discount, it's someone else paying. A discount is when the school actually lowers the price.

Also, just as they get to decide how they spend FA funds, I get to decide how much, and for what, I'll donate.