So confused by net price calculator

[Anonymous]

I'm a single parent (widowed). Oldest just graduated college, and we received substantial aid for her final year at in-state VA school due to our decreased finances as a result of DH's passing. Youngest is finishing up junior year of HS, so we're starting to look at colleges.

I plugged in our info to the net price calculators at 3 schools -- Boston College, Holy Cross, and Trinity. BC and HC have us paying full freight!! I do have a lot of equity in my house, but my mortgage payment takes up most of my paycheck. Retirement funds are healthy-ish, but certainly not extravagant, and I'm going to need every last dollar probably. We get by with Social Security (which will stop before younger DC goes to college), and dipping into the cash reserves from DH's life insurance proceeds.

Trinity's NPC had us paying about what we paid in-state for older DC before her final year -- probably doable, but it will deplete both the 529 and the remaining life insurance cash reserves.

I'm really struggling here, and I stupidly thought the one benefit to DH's passing was that younger DC would get FA in college. The NPCs don't ask what our monthly take home and expenses are, so I'm hoping that the schools' actual FA assessments will be different.

Anyone BTDT and received decent FA offers despite the NPC's unrealistic expectations?

[Anonymous]

I mean, how big was your life insurance payout? If you have assets you have to use them. Plenty of single parents who don’t have a payout know this.

[Anonymous]

Home equity counts more at some schools than others. Keep trying Net Price Calculators to see if you come across any privates that look affordable.

If the kid has high stats, add to the list some less selective schools that offer lots of merit scholarship money.

How much is your annual budget for your junior's college education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, how big was your life insurance payout? If you have assets you have to use them. Plenty of single parents who don’t have a payout know this.

This. Why wouldn’t you have to use your money to pay for college. Go instate if you want cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, how big was your life insurance payout? If you have assets you have to use them. Plenty of single parents who don’t have a payout know this.

This. Why wouldn’t you have to use your money to pay for college. Go instate if you want cheaper.

Because I need it to live. I cannot meet my monthly financial obligations without it.

[Anonymous]

Could the issue with the NPCs be the tax year that the income data comes from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Home equity counts more at some schools than others. Keep trying Net Price Calculators to see if you come across any privates that look affordable.

If the kid has high stats, add to the list some less selective schools that offer lots of merit scholarship money.

How much is your annual budget for your junior's college education?

Thank you. So are you saying the NPCs are fairly accurate? My annual budget for the younger's college education is $25K-$40K; the higher end is a stretch.

We will be adding less selective private schools and public schools into the mix. Our intent is to cast a wide net, but I guess I thought that schools with higher endowments offered more generous aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, how big was your life insurance payout? If you have assets you have to use them. Plenty of single parents who don’t have a payout know this.

This. Why wouldn’t you have to use your money to pay for college. Go instate if you want cheaper.

Because I need it to live. I cannot meet my monthly financial obligations without it.

But colleges don’t differentiate between someone that’s won the lottery & someone who has gone from 2 incomes to one with a life insurance payout. On paper, unfortunately, you appear the same. It sucks, but if you have assets, they will expect you to use them.

Definitely check many schools. I’m sorry for your loss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Home equity counts more at some schools than others. Keep trying Net Price Calculators to see if you come across any privates that look affordable.

If the kid has high stats, add to the list some less selective schools that offer lots of merit scholarship money.

How much is your annual budget for your junior's college education?

Thank you. So are you saying the NPCs are fairly accurate? My annual budget for the younger's college education is $25K-$40K; the higher end is a stretch.

We will be adding less selective private schools and public schools into the mix. Our intent is to cast a wide net, but I guess I thought that schools with higher endowments offered more generous aid.

So, Princeton has a reputation for having the most generous need-based aid. Try Princeton's NPC to see if it comes out affordable, just as an experiment, to get an idea how likely it is that you might find enough need-based aid anywhere. (Schools at BC's level are often stingy with need-based aid because they have lower endowment than, say, schools at Princeton's level.)

What major? Geographic preferences? Unweighted GPA and test scores?

[Anonymous]

Could you use the life insurance payout to pay off the mortgage so the money becomes home equity?

I have a situation with some similarities and the differences in NPC’s when the $ is equity bs other investments is huge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, how big was your life insurance payout? If you have assets you have to use them. Plenty of single parents who don’t have a payout know this.

This. Why wouldn’t you have to use your money to pay for college. Go instate if you want cheaper.

Because I need it to live. I cannot meet my monthly financial obligations without it.

Sure you can. You an borrow against equity or sell your home and rent or buy something cheaper. Your child is not entitled to a free private school college education.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm sorry for your loss, and for the terrible humans posting here with a total lack of empathy or grace. Go to College Confidential and ask your question there, and the responses will be quite different. Or, at least, will be delivered with kindness and understanding.

[Anonymous]

Isn’t the social security money tax-free? And it goes up every year?

I think that ends when your kid is 19, so you’re going to have to budget for that too.

You’re going to have to steer your kid to cheaper schools and/or try to get merit aid.

Again, plenty of single parents who don’t have massive payouts are in this situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Home equity counts more at some schools than others. Keep trying Net Price Calculators to see if you come across any privates that look affordable.

If the kid has high stats, add to the list some less selective schools that offer lots of merit scholarship money.

How much is your annual budget for your junior's college education?

Thank you. So are you saying the NPCs are fairly accurate? My annual budget for the younger's college education is $25K-$40K; the higher end is a stretch.

We will be adding less selective private schools and public schools into the mix. Our intent is to cast a wide net, but I guess I thought that schools with higher endowments offered more generous aid.

Goodness no. HC and BC are very expensive colleges. It’s the reason I told my child don’t bother applying to them even though they’d be a wonderful fit for her. They are not generous. We have focused on public universities and schools that offer merit.

[Anonymous]

OP, I've run these calcs too. We have income of 98K, 400K in home equity and 90K in assets outside of retirement accounts. Our EFC for Holy Cross is around 39K.

It's your assets. If I bump our assets to 250K, our costs are 46K. At 500K, it's 60K a year.