Our EFC is 500,000????

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Our EFC is 230k. We don’t even make that much 300k with both parents working + 2 million assets

You make $300K and $2 Million in assets, you have plenty of money to pay for college.

2 million asset is 1 million after expenses and taxes, not even enough to pay for 3 kids @350k each after depleting my lifetime savings

Then they go to public or you figure it out. You choose to have three kids and insist they go to a private. You can sell your million dollar house to pay for it.

Do you feel better about yourself saying things like this? Or are you just pissed that you didn't save as much? Telling someone else to spend all of the assets and show such lack of empathy? And not directing your anger where it really belongs?

Did you save for college?

We absolutely saved enough for a state college and graduate school. If we had that kind of money and income it would be fantastic but we saved for college on 1/2 that income and have a paid-off house with no family help.

If you choose to have three kids, you need to think long term with expenses including college. If you have that kind of money, expecting a free ride is really pathetic.

DP,

you saved enough for in state, but OP's EFC is stating $500K. Can you afford $500K for college? I don't think so.

OP and others are lamenting the fact that 1. college costs are insane 2. these expensive colleges expect you to drain your entire savings to send your kid there. I don't know about others, but we lived very frugally in order to save for our retirement so that we won't be a burden to our children or society. We don't come from family wealth. As a matter of fact, my parents were poor immigrants who don't speak English.

Most people with a good income aren't expecting a free ride, but the EFC for some of these colleges are ridiculous. Yes, you absolutely have a choice to not go. But, colleges have become insanely expensive just like healthcare costs. The EFCs are ridiculous for 99% of people.

Again, OP did not get a bill for $500K. Like anyone one else, OP will not pay more than $80K/kid anywhere. The formula does not demand that people drain their savings. At the top of the scale, FAFSA assumes 7% assets and 47% of income are available for college expense that year. So OP has an annual income over $1M, or $7M in assets or some combination of the two. If OP doesn't want to spend more than $30K on college so be it, but absolutely no reason that should be at an $80K school.

+1000

Nobody is forcing them to pay $80k per year. Yes, there are Plenty of great schools that will be affordable (30-40k). Search them out—including privates that give merit. Nobody is stopping you from getting a great education. If you really desire a t20 and get in, if your etc is 500k, you can choose to pay the 80k. If not go to a t80 school with merit. Just because you “worked hard” does not entitle you to a t20 education—majority who apply do not win the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our EFC is 230k. We don’t even make that much 300k with both parents working + 2 million assets

You make $300K and $2 Million in assets, you have plenty of money to pay for college.

2 million asset is 1 million after expenses and taxes, not even enough to pay for 3 kids @350k each after depleting my lifetime savings

So do what the rest of us do…guide them to schools within your budget. Your whining about your wealth is annoying

NP. It's not annoying. People should not have to deplete their hard earned money that they've saved a lifetime for, to send their kids to college. No one should. And don't say there "are plenty of schools." When a kid works hard and does everything asked of them, stays out of trouble, etc. it's not unreasonable to want to send them to the best schools they can get into. And even a lot of state schools cost in excess of $30k/ year. The cost of college is ridiculous and unsustainable.

Find something affordable to you. Just like I don’t buy cars I can’t afford (no driving a fancy bmw if I can’t afford it—get the Honda for 30k less), I don’t send my kids to schools we can’t afford. It’s about choices. And yes, Tgere are PLENTY of schools that are affordable—just not t20-30. So stop whining and focus on getting an affordable to you education.
If you wanted your kids to attend 80k schools you gotta save. If you choose not to do that then you find ones that you can afford

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The underlying theme isn't that my EFC is $jdafjeiioo and I am pissed that I don't get aid. The underlying theme is that that EFC is totally unrealistic. $500,000??? EFC???? Per year for college??? WTF. Underlying that high dollar amount is the fact that they (and I) know that we will get 0 aid dollars unless it is scholarship money and we are ready and willing to pay for college for our kids. What is infuriating is the fact that I am subsidizing 1/2 of the other students. It just gets tiring funding everyone else at some point. I am tired of hearing "pay your fair share". I pay way more than my fair share and on top of that I pay your fair share and everyone else's. Super maddening especially in this environment of "everyone goes to college" and we don't want to look at your ACT/SAT or grades we just want to say we have "diversity" and we don't mind if we have to offer remedial math/science courses to get everyone through a degree. And the comments about family planning are totally off base - what are they supposed to do? Abort one of the twins so that they won't have 2 in college at the same time. The entitlement mentality gets old and irritating. I do not owe anyone anything and I am tired of being expected to fund other's poor use of finances.

If you have twins you have 18 years to plan for two in college . And to get in the mindset of state school or merit searching or both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The underlying theme isn't that my EFC is $jdafjeiioo and I am pissed that I don't get aid. The underlying theme is that that EFC is totally unrealistic. $500,000??? EFC???? Per year for college??? WTF. Underlying that high dollar amount is the fact that they (and I) know that we will get 0 aid dollars unless it is scholarship money and we are ready and willing to pay for college for our kids. What is infuriating is the fact that I am subsidizing 1/2 of the other students. It just gets tiring funding everyone else at some point. I am tired of hearing "pay your fair share". I pay way more than my fair share and on top of that I pay your fair share and everyone else's. Super maddening especially in this environment of "everyone goes to college" and we don't want to look at your ACT/SAT or grades we just want to say we have "diversity" and we don't mind if we have to offer remedial math/science courses to get everyone through a degree. And the comments about family planning are totally off base - what are they supposed to do? Abort one of the twins so that they won't have 2 in college at the same time. The entitlement mentality gets old and irritating. I do not owe anyone anything and I am tired of being expected to fund other's poor use of finances.

You aren’t doing sh*t except contorting yourself into some sort of victim. The school is making the decision to fund students with THEIR money. Stop being a pathetic whiner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our EFC is 230k. We don’t even make that much 300k with both parents working + 2 million assets

That seems about right? They expect you are able to pay about 40% of your income + 5% of your assets each year.

Whether you WANT to pay that much is a different story. And you aren't expected to pay 40% of your income each year - they assume at that level of income you had the ability to save more than someone earning just $45,000/year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
FAFSA expects people to use 47% of income to pay for college? That's freakin ridiculous.

Sure, if you aren't gonna miss $80k per year, that makes sense. But 80k is about half of the median income in the DC area.

It's 45% of income over $35,000.

There's an EFC formula; it's quite complicated but it is all public knowledge

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2021-08/2223EFCFormulaGuide.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our EFC is 230k. We don’t even make that much 300k with both parents working + 2 million assets

That seems about right? They expect you are able to pay about 40% of your income + 5% of your assets each year.

Whether you WANT to pay that much is a different story. And you aren't expected to pay 40% of your income each year - they assume at that level of income you had the ability to save more than someone earning just $45,000/year.

DCUM seems to think the formula should be “what would a UMC family be able to pay without any lifestyle adjustments.” In reality it’s more of a “what would be possible if it were really really important to you” situation.

Making personal sacrifices for your children isn’t for everyone. But don’t get mad that you are being forced to be honest with yourself about it.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Some schools merit scholarships still require FAFSA be completed. Got an even higher number when we did ours. Kid chose a different school with no merit. Never filling out a FAFSA again (unless the younger one is in the same position).

+1 I told DC go in state. We get zilch. Our EFC was something really high, too, not as high as OP's though.

I'm not paying $70k per year. We are UMC but we are trying to save fore retirement and another DC's college fund. College costs are insane.

Same here. DH and I both graduated from Va public universities in the late 80’s/early 90’s when tuition, fees, and room & board totaled around $10K/year. Now, those same schools are closer to $30k-$40k. We told our kids that VA has a lot of public options and if they want private or OOS, they will need loans.

Cheapskate.

I am cheap, but also very smart.

Paying more for something doesn’t make it any better.

+1 Unless you won't miss the money, the ROI on those expensive degrees don't justify the cost. Stupid move.

I cringe everytime I see someone evaluating college as an ROI proposition.

And I cringe when I see how some privileged people think everyone can afford $70k/yr tuition.

You know nothing of my background, and you live in a bubble.

You shouldn’t consider ROI— that statement is the equivalent of “let them eat cake.” Telling us ridiculous proletariat folks that we should just study philosophy and literature and not worry about how we are going to pay the bills. No one thinks that. I work at a university and we have long conversations about ROI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our EFC is 230k. We don’t even make that much 300k with both parents working + 2 million assets

You make $300K and $2 Million in assets, you have plenty of money to pay for college.

2 million asset is 1 million after expenses and taxes, not even enough to pay for 3 kids @350k each after depleting my lifetime savings

Then they go to public or you figure it out. You choose to have three kids and insist they go to a private. You can sell your million dollar house to pay for it.

Do you feel better about yourself saying things like this? Or are you just pissed that you didn't save as much? Telling someone else to spend all of the assets and show such lack of empathy? And not directing your anger where it really belongs?

Did you save for college?

We absolutely saved enough for a state college and graduate school. If we had that kind of money and income it would be fantastic but we saved for college on 1/2 that income and have a paid-off house with no family help.

If you choose to have three kids, you need to think long term with expenses including college. If you have that kind of money, expecting a free ride is really pathetic.

DP,

you saved enough for in state, but OP's EFC is stating $500K. Can you afford $500K for college? I don't think so.

OP and others are lamenting the fact that 1. college costs are insane 2. these expensive colleges expect you to drain your entire savings to send your kid there. I don't know about others, but we lived very frugally in order to save for our retirement so that we won't be a burden to our children or society. We don't come from family wealth. As a matter of fact, my parents were poor immigrants who don't speak English.

Most people with a good income aren't expecting a free ride, but the EFC for some of these colleges are ridiculous. Yes, you absolutely have a choice to not go. But, colleges have become insanely expensive just like healthcare costs. The EFCs are ridiculous for 99% of people.

Technically yes, we could as we live in a shack we paid off to make sure it was paid off before college but we also live way under our means in a way OP would not do. That's the difference. We aren't going on vacations, we aren't living in a big or expensive house. We DIY our own house repairs or they don't get done, etc. The only splurge is on kids activities.

[Anonymous]

I vaguely recall that FAFSA is supposed to be changed in 2023 or 2024 in such a way that there will no longer be a discount for having more than one child in college during a given year. Is that still the plan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some schools merit scholarships still require FAFSA be completed. Got an even higher number when we did ours. Kid chose a different school with no merit. Never filling out a FAFSA again (unless the younger one is in the same position).

yes some require it for merit, but most do not. Never filled out FAFSA for any of our 3 kids. All got some merit at many schools(25+ between the 3 of them). None required FAFSA.

Only reason to file fafsa at a high income level/high net worth is if there is ANY chance at all for significant changes (ie it's all Income, not savings and the jobs are not stable). If so, then it could be worth filing just in case something changes---it makes it easier to contact school and request re-reviews.

My son, now a senior, plays a Division 1 sport at a private university and has had a 35% athletic scholarship for all 4 years. We would have otherwise been full pay; no way we would have qualified for any kind of need-based aid. Nevertheless, we had to complete FAFSA all 4 years as a requirement by the school, in order for them to apply the athletic scholarship. I have dutifully done it. They apply the athletic scholarship, and we pay the balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our EFC is 230k. We don’t even make that much 300k with both parents working + 2 million assets

That seems about right? They expect you are able to pay about 40% of your income + 5% of your assets each year.

Whether you WANT to pay that much is a different story. And you aren't expected to pay 40% of your income each year - they assume at that level of income you had the ability to save more than someone earning just $45,000/year.

DCUM seems to think the formula should be “what would a UMC family be able to pay without any lifestyle adjustments.” In reality it’s more of a “what would be possible if it were really really important to you” situation.

Making personal sacrifices for your children isn’t for everyone. But don’t get mad that you are being forced to be honest with yourself about it.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our EFC is 230k. We don’t even make that much 300k with both parents working + 2 million assets

You make $300K and $2 Million in assets, you have plenty of money to pay for college.

You are quite presumptuous; I am in the same situation financially and I have worked my tail off my entire life for my assets and income. I support elderly parents and fund my retirement and my children’s inheritance. I have also saved diligently for college but to assume that I can pay full price for college without it hurting is stupid. I will have 3 in college at the same time for a few years (Full price will be easily over 200,000/year). I am sick of people just saying that those with finances need to shut up and just pay pay pay…. I’ve worked so hard to pay my share and your share and your brother’s share and your neighbors share and I am getting really really tired of it.

Oh FFS. We're all working hard, sweetheart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Especially when I have to pay for your test optional snowflake with grade inflation mediocre high school performance when my own high scoring test submitted (after studying diligently) straight A grade earning kid can’t get in because we don’t check the “URM” or “first-gen” or whatever else “needs a chance” box is in style these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our EFC is 230k. We don’t even make that much 300k with both parents working + 2 million assets

That seems about right? They expect you are able to pay about 40% of your income + 5% of your assets each year.

Whether you WANT to pay that much is a different story. And you aren't expected to pay 40% of your income each year - they assume at that level of income you had the ability to save more than someone earning just $45,000/year.

DCUM seems to think the formula should be “what would a UMC family be able to pay without any lifestyle adjustments.” In reality it’s more of a “what would be possible if it were really really important to you” situation.

Making personal sacrifices for your children isn’t for everyone. But don’t get mad that you are being forced to be honest with yourself about it.

This is a perfect summation.