Do families with $250K in income get financial aid? If not, how do they afford college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. I have been hearing all of my friends who are federal government workers saying their kids are not eligible for financial aid. But I don't think this is enough $ in income to afford $70K in college costs per kid per year. And it's not as though these families had extra income before their kids went to college - in this area, a mortgage, saving for retirement, and cost of raising kids will eat up all of that income. Where does the extra $ come from if they don't get financial aid?

No. They get zero aid and send their kids to places like Towson or UMBC.

I'm a GS-14, step 10 and make $206k year. $192k is my base pay and then bonus.

So in this area there are 2 Fed families if they are in their 50s like me that bring home $400k. Kid is going full pay to a private $85k.

And many 1-Fed families. I'm the 'secondary', not primary breadwinner with my Fed salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. I have been hearing all of my friends who are federal government workers saying their kids are not eligible for financial aid. But I don't think this is enough $ in income to afford $70K in college costs per kid per year. And it's not as though these families had extra income before their kids went to college - in this area, a mortgage, saving for retirement, and cost of raising kids will eat up all of that income. Where does the extra $ come from if they don't get financial aid?

If the parents failed to save, the smart kids go to where they can afford. That can be in-state schools, OOS with merit, private schools with merit, start at CC and move to 4 year school, etc. But they are likely not attending a T25 as merit does not really exist for those.

Some naively/stupidly go into massive debt (the parents do). But most simply pick what they can afford.
If you have a good student, all they need to do is step down "1 to 2 tiers" and they can easily find excellent merit. College can be affordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear OP - go to a cheaper college you can afford. Why should someone else subsidize your 70k per year college???

This is OP. Why are you being rude already? We don't have a college age kid yet. I am observing the kids of my friends going to private schools that cost about this amount per year.

The weird thing about these posts is that people always direct their hostility toward the questioner, rather than the fact that college today can cost $70k or more per year, which is absurd.

OP, google about the donut hole, and also look at some of the calculators (expected family contribution and student aid). They will give you an idea. There isn’t just one number where you suddenly don’t get aid.

Because the "questioner" always seem to not understand that you are not entitled to an elite education and that there are many affordable ways to get a great education. If you chose to save, then you have more options. If not, you must find what you can afford (of which there are many choices)

Just like with everything else in life, you may not always be able to afford the "best/most expensive" car/house/vacation/etc. If you cannot afford a BMW, buy a Honda. Same goes for college. You will still get a great education, just like the Honda will still get you to/from work and school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So let me get this straight , the kids at top privates are there primarily because mom and dad can pony up, not because they are particularly more intelligent than anyone else?

Not true at all.

Majority are there because they are highly qualified. A few are rich legacy/athletes/some other connections who get in with slightly (sometimes more than slightly---think Bush and TrumP) lower standards. But vast majority are highly qualified.
Yes, significant portion are full pay---some are rich, others the parents are taking on massive loans. And others get FA (yes there are highly intelligent kids who grow up poor/LMC)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS just graduated from Duke. HHI about $200 and we got no aid-paid full freight. We scrimped, contributed to 529, drove cars to the ground rarely ate out and did not spend on lavish vacations. I believe we were subsidizing the scholarships of others by paying full which annoyed me because we are not wealthy.

Bull. You had to have put a decent amount in the 529. Don’t act like you paid with the coins in your couch cushions. Rarely eating out is not paying $90k total cost of enrollment.

I know people at $200K who spend $1-2K/month on Starbucks, lunches and dinners out. Put that $12K -24K/year into savings/529 for 10+ years and you will be doing well. Driving $35K Hondas for 12 years vs exchanging 50K BMW every 5 years for a new one will give you even more.

See---it is possible to do. People just dont' want to do it. But they likely lived very nicely while saving. They prioritized education over other spending (unnecessary spending)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s pretty clear OP - go to a cheaper college you can afford. Why should someone else subsidize your 70k per year college???

This is OP. Why are you being rude already? We don't have a college age kid yet. I am observing the kids of my friends going to private schools that cost about this amount per year.

If you have friends with an estimated HHI of 250K with kids at top top private colleges, then their parents - the grandparents - are paying for it. If they are next tier down, then perhaps they landed major merit scholarships, bringing the cost in line with their in-state flagship.

It is what it is.

Or how about their friends actually saved and planned for this? If when you went from $150 up to 200K, you took that increase (40K after taxes) and put just 30K of it into savings, you can easily pay for 2-3 kids at 90K/year colleges. Unless the 150K to 200K was in the last 2 years. But if you did that, you'd be adding 30K/year to college savings. Then let it grow tax free for 10+ years.

But most want to spend more than $10K on lifestyle creep. Totally your choice, but don't complain that you were not "able to save". You could have, just chose not to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make less, we save starting at birth, make savings a priority, no vacations, etc. and state school.

Yep. Started saving when we were TRYING to have our first. Opened a 529 with monthly contributions of $25. Neither of us are "rich" but we are doing fine. Lived in the same house for 24 years. Only the past couple of years do we have combined salaries in excess of $250k. Limited our two children to $50K/yr each which pretty much limits them to public.

I call BS. You need the child's social to open a 529 plan, which isn't possible before they're born.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. I have been hearing all of my friends who are federal government workers saying their kids are not eligible for financial aid. But I don't think this is enough $ in income to afford $70K in college costs per kid per year. And it's not as though these families had extra income before their kids went to college - in this area, a mortgage, saving for retirement, and cost of raising kids will eat up all of that income. Where does the extra $ come from if they don't get financial aid?

- savvy investments - I look back and had I held onto my first property that would have covered private college
- family money
- only have one kid
- cash flowing some of it
- taking on a lot of debt/not saving for retirement
OR
Kids are not attending a 70K or more school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. I have been hearing all of my friends who are federal government workers saying their kids are not eligible for financial aid. But I don't think this is enough $ in income to afford $70K in college costs per kid per year. And it's not as though these families had extra income before their kids went to college - in this area, a mortgage, saving for retirement, and cost of raising kids will eat up all of that income. Where does the extra $ come from if they don't get financial aid?

- savvy investments - I look back and had I held onto my first property that would have covered private college
- family money
- only have one kid
- cash flowing some of it
- taking on a lot of debt/not saving for retirement
OR
Kids are not attending a 70K or more school

Without stating the obvious...two Fed workers with college age kids have a HHI or $375-400k. Ain't nobody getting aid with two Fed salary household.

I have been with the Feds since age 25 and make $200k. Spouse contracts for them and makes $280k. But even if he were in-house Fed like me we would be making minimum $400k. He made more when we were young and we still own our first home (rental property)--which is used against us as well for aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. I have been hearing all of my friends who are federal government workers saying their kids are not eligible for financial aid. But I don't think this is enough $ in income to afford $70K in college costs per kid per year. And it's not as though these families had extra income before their kids went to college - in this area, a mortgage, saving for retirement, and cost of raising kids will eat up all of that income. Where does the extra $ come from if they don't get financial aid?

- savvy investments - I look back and had I held onto my first property that would have covered private college
- family money
- only have one kid
- cash flowing some of it
- taking on a lot of debt/not saving for retirement
OR
Kids are not attending a 70K or more school

Without stating the obvious...two Fed workers with college age kids have a HHI or $375-400k. Ain't nobody getting aid with two Fed salary household.

I have been with the Feds since age 25 and make $200k. Spouse contracts for them and makes $280k. But even if he were in-house Fed like me we would be making minimum $400k. He made more when we were young and we still own our first home (rental property)--which is used against us as well for aid.

Yes assets owned are part of the calculation.

[Anonymous]

Louisiana ranks at the bottom for almost everything. Only 1/3 of the population is college educated. #47 in education and they think this will help? Ha, they need more than the 10 Commandments to help them. Idiots.

People are dumber than dumb and it shows.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/louisiana

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. I have been hearing all of my friends who are federal government workers saying their kids are not eligible for financial aid. But I don't think this is enough $ in income to afford $70K in college costs per kid per year. And it's not as though these families had extra income before their kids went to college - in this area, a mortgage, saving for retirement, and cost of raising kids will eat up all of that income. Where does the extra $ come from if they don't get financial aid?

- savvy investments - I look back and had I held onto my first property that would have covered private college
- family money
- only have one kid
- cash flowing some of it
- taking on a lot of debt/not saving for retirement
OR
Kids are not attending a 70K or more school

Without stating the obvious...two Fed workers with college age kids have a HHI or $375-400k. Ain't nobody getting aid with two Fed salary household.

I have been with the Feds since age 25 and make $200k. Spouse contracts for them and makes $280k. But even if he were in-house Fed like me we would be making minimum $400k. He made more when we were young and we still own our first home (rental property)--which is used against us as well for aid.

With those incomes, you could have easily saved and then cash flowed the rest for 85K+/year school. The rental was not used against you for aid. There was no chance you were getting any "aid"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. I have been hearing all of my friends who are federal government workers saying their kids are not eligible for financial aid. But I don't think this is enough $ in income to afford $70K in college costs per kid per year. And it's not as though these families had extra income before their kids went to college - in this area, a mortgage, saving for retirement, and cost of raising kids will eat up all of that income. Where does the extra $ come from if they don't get financial aid?

- savvy investments - I look back and had I held onto my first property that would have covered private college
- family money
- only have one kid
- cash flowing some of it
- taking on a lot of debt/not saving for retirement
OR
Kids are not attending a 70K or more school

Without stating the obvious...two Fed workers with college age kids have a HHI or $375-400k. Ain't nobody getting aid with two Fed salary household.

I have been with the Feds since age 25 and make $200k. Spouse contracts for them and makes $280k. But even if he were in-house Fed like me we would be making minimum $400k. He made more when we were young and we still own our first home (rental property)--which is used against us as well for aid.

Yes assets owned are part of the calculation.

As they should be (well except for the first house---because nobody is going to sell the home they live in to send a kid to college).

[Anonymous]

We are over $250k but only recently and before that had childcare costs and our own student loans. Our goal is for our kids to graduate without loans and we are budgeting pretty tightly just for state schools since we got a late start. We do a lot of things mentioned here- drive old cars, live in our first house, limit meals out, etc. But honestly some of the posts in these threads are extreme. People claiming they NEVER take a vacation or eat out or buy a decent pair of shoes. WTH? Is a private school so much better that you never treat yourself? not so much on this threads but there are others that make the sacrifices seen SO great just to send a kid to a private school where most kids won't think twice about $. I had 2 friends in college whose parents mortgaged homes and businesses to send them. The stress was immense- one dropped out; the other developed a drug problem. Both moved far from their parents. How about some balance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. I have been hearing all of my friends who are federal government workers saying their kids are not eligible for financial aid. But I don't think this is enough $ in income to afford $70K in college costs per kid per year. And it's not as though these families had extra income before their kids went to college - in this area, a mortgage, saving for retirement, and cost of raising kids will eat up all of that income. Where does the extra $ come from if they don't get financial aid?

- savvy investments - I look back and had I held onto my first property that would have covered private college
- family money
- only have one kid
- cash flowing some of it
- taking on a lot of debt/not saving for retirement
OR
Kids are not attending a 70K or more school

Without stating the obvious...two Fed workers with college age kids have a HHI or $375-400k. Ain't nobody getting aid with two Fed salary household.

I have been with the Feds since age 25 and make $200k. Spouse contracts for them and makes $280k. But even if he were in-house Fed like me we would be making minimum $400k. He made more when we were young and we still own our first home (rental property)--which is used against us as well for aid.

With those incomes, you could have easily saved and then cash flowed the rest for 85K+/year school. The rental was not used against you for aid. There was no chance you were getting any "aid"

Ummm. Yes. That’s what we did. We started funding 529 after birth of each kid. We aren’t taking loans. My point was people ask how can two Feds afford an Ivy/$85k. They fail to understand Fed salaries in the DMV. They are $400k HHI with two parents working.