Financial Aid UMC with multiple kids

[Anonymous]

We are trying to decide whether to stay at our small private school that we love, but just had our fourth (and last) baby last year. The financial aspect of staying private for PK-12 (if that’s how everything pans out as we are IB in DC that we would not go to for middle and high school) for all four kids is daunting for us. We ended up at the private due to the pandemic and the school being open and it has a parochial school tuition level which was easily doable with two kids, a bit tighter for 3, and tight for four.

Is there any financial aid at schools for families like ours-UMC but 4 kids in private-at the middle/high school levels when the tuition ends up closer to $20k at the very least or more?

[Anonymous]

Don't act like a beggar because the rich people are not acting like beggars. It would be traumatic for kids whose family get labeled as the poor ones at the rich kid school. Go to public schools and take alittle pride in what your tax dollars already pay for. You could also volunteer which instills character and pride.

[Anonymous]

Consider moving out of DC to a place with good public schools, in-state tuition, etc.

Your future, estimated tuition number looks low. Currently, even the most affordable Catholic HSs close to the city run 22-24k/year/child. You don't mention college at all, but hopefully that's in your financial planning too.

Plenty of families choose not to have more kids because of the financial implications. The families I know with four or more in the city are either seriously rich so can easily afford private, or make public work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't act like a beggar because the rich people are not acting like beggars. It would be traumatic for kids whose family get labeled as the poor ones at the rich kid school. Go to public schools and take alittle pride in what your tax dollars already pay for. You could also volunteer which instills character and pride.

You must not have been reading any of the FA threads lately. People making $400k a year or more are asking for FA with no shame.

OP, with four kids, you are definitely more likely to get aid. If you need it, ask. And in most privates, there’s really not as much awareness as PP seems to think there is about who gets FA or not. We’ve been a two strong (but not big 3) schools in my kids academic career so far and I couldn’t even guess.

[Anonymous]

With rich people any dollar amount never enough to have the gull to act like bums who want more hand outs. It should be illegal for rich people to extract money like bums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't act like a beggar because the rich people are not acting like beggars. It would be traumatic for kids whose family get labeled as the poor ones at the rich kid school. Go to public schools and take alittle pride in what your tax dollars already pay for. You could also volunteer which instills character and pride.

We’re not acting like a beggar-we’ve never asked for aid nor planned to even with kid 3. So thanks for the advice-it’s so very helpful.

Our IB is Dunbar-are you sending your children there currently? Granted things could change in 4 years, but I’m not too hopeful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't act like a beggar because the rich people are not acting like beggars. It would be traumatic for kids whose family get labeled as the poor ones at the rich kid school. Go to public schools and take alittle pride in what your tax dollars already pay for. You could also volunteer which instills character and pride.

You must not have been reading any of the FA threads lately. People making $400k a year or more are asking for FA with no shame.

OP, with four kids, you are definitely more likely to get aid. If you need it, ask. And in most privates, there’s really not as much awareness as PP seems to think there is about who gets FA or not. We’ve been a two strong (but not big 3) schools in my kids academic career so far and I couldn’t even guess.

Thank you for the more helpful response. We don’t live an extravagant lifestyle (vacations are spent at other family members’ homes, shop at Aldi/Lidl, drive a 15 year old minivan), actively help parents financially, and feel like we make sensible decisions financially (maxing retirement), but we are also trying to balance our kids, with one having severe anxiety. College is not as much of an issue as we saved some for that before having kids and they are dual citizens, so can go for much less outside the US if needed.

[Anonymous]

what is your actual income OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider moving out of DC to a place with good public schools, in-state tuition, etc.

Your future, estimated tuition number looks low. Currently, even the most affordable Catholic HSs close to the city run 22-24k/year/child. You don't mention college at all, but hopefully that's in your financial planning too.

Plenty of families choose not to have more kids because of the financial implications. The families I know with four or more in the city are either seriously rich so can easily afford private, or make public work.

Not worried about college as kids are dual citizens, so tuition in the other country is on par with what we’re currently paying and we feel that is manageable.

We’ve also done the math as far as moving (which would dramatically increase commute times), and to buy a similar house for what we bought our ten years ago (which wouldn’t be possible these days at the same price), puts us at additional interest on monthly payments equivalent to the four kids in the current school. We have looked into it, but we aren’t sold on moving as we love our neighborhood.

We can’t get rid of a kid, so 4 kids is where we’re at currently! We’re just curious if these middle/high schools that are almost double the tuition we will be at for 4 currently end up giving some aid to middle class/UMC families like us or if it’s just full pay for the wealthy and full aid for those who truly need it (which we understand!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't act like a beggar because the rich people are not acting like beggars. It would be traumatic for kids whose family get labeled as the poor ones at the rich kid school. Go to public schools and take alittle pride in what your tax dollars already pay for. You could also volunteer which instills character and pride.

We’re not acting like a beggar-we’ve never asked for aid nor planned to even with kid 3. So thanks for the advice-it’s so very helpful.

Our IB is Dunbar-are you sending your children there currently? Granted things could change in 4 years, but I’m not too hopeful.

OP I am guessing this is one of the posters who comes around to troll the private school forum regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what is your actual income OP?

I agree this is a needed data point, at least for useful advice. So many people consider themselves UMC that it doesn’t mean much as a description.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider moving out of DC to a place with good public schools, in-state tuition, etc.

Your future, estimated tuition number looks low. Currently, even the most affordable Catholic HSs close to the city run 22-24k/year/child. You don't mention college at all, but hopefully that's in your financial planning too.

Plenty of families choose not to have more kids because of the financial implications. The families I know with four or more in the city are either seriously rich so can easily afford private, or make public work.

Not worried about college as kids are dual citizens, so tuition in the other country is on par with what we’re currently paying and we feel that is manageable.

We’ve also done the math as far as moving (which would dramatically increase commute times), and to buy a similar house for what we bought our ten years ago (which wouldn’t be possible these days at the same price), puts us at additional interest on monthly payments equivalent to the four kids in the current school. We have looked into it, but we aren’t sold on moving as we love our neighborhood.

We can’t get rid of a kid, so 4 kids is where we’re at currently! We’re just curious if these middle/high schools that are almost double the tuition we will be at for 4 currently end up giving some aid to middle class/UMC families like us or if it’s just full pay for the wealthy and full aid for those who truly need it (which we understand!).

UMC with multiple kids can definitely get FA. Obviously no guarantee and amounts vary by financial details, but there are absolutely families receiving aid with higher HHI than you’d think.

[Anonymous]

So you bought in the Dunbar cachement. No doubt a larger, cheaper house than if you bought in the JR cachement or in one of the surrounding counties with a solid path from ES through HS. And no doubt knowing Dunbar was unlikely to satisfy. Esp at the time you decided to have a FOURth child. And now you want other families to pick some of your tab because you like your neighborhood too much to move?

Seems your poor planning shouldn’t be someone else’s issue.

All that said, you are likely to get FA because privates don’t give much to truly poor people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what is your actual income OP?

I agree this is a needed data point, at least for useful advice. So many people consider themselves UMC that it doesn’t mean much as a description.

HHI is $275

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what is your actual income OP?

I agree this is a needed data point, at least for useful advice. So many people consider themselves UMC that it doesn’t mean much as a description.

HHI is $275

Not sure this is the only data point that's needed. At least at our school for variable tuition every year they leave no stone unturned to figure out what your possible financial assets are. They even check how much you've been spending on home renovations.