Financial aid "dried up"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what extracurriculars?
what vacations? A flight to Europe to spend a month on grandmothers couch?

My child is in lower school so we are talking young kid - the extra curriculars are usually mulitple dance/gymnastics and sports classes - all private. Some with private coaching on the side. The private summer camps also.

Vacations - it usually ends up being at least one big Disney trip, cruises, trips to ski, trips to the beach - in fact the destination doesn't matter when you are paying air fare for a family of 4 or 5 - 3 to 4 times a year it adds up to a lot.

And actually your post illustrates my point - a flight to Europe even for just one kid is going to cost a couple thousand dollars when all is said and done - the flight plus other travel expenses and parents like you don't feel they need to give up that trip but instead they need to get a couple thousand in finaicial aid instead to cover the tuition

[Anonymous]

00:03, let me ask. Do you even give to the auction/scholarship fund? I'm convinced most of these threads are fights between people who neither receive nor give to support financial aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is in lower school so we are talking young kid - the extra curriculars are usually mulitple dance/gymnastics and sports classes - all private. Some with private coaching on the side. The private summer camps also.

Vacations - it usually ends up being at least one big Disney trip, cruises, trips to ski, trips to the beach - in fact the destination doesn't matter when you are paying air fare for a family of 4 or 5 - 3 to 4 times a year it adds up to a lot.

how old is the kid? Because a summer camp is a must for working parents, and they are all private
Dance, gym, sport?? Nothing wrong with that.
Trips to the beach - I do not believe you actually said that.
Trips to ski - those are incredibly cheap if you know where to go and what to look for

For your information, my kids flight to Europe to spend 2 weeks at granny was $1200. He flew by himself and my parents insisted on paying his expenses once he was there.
I once had a job where travel was required, so I got enough frequent flyer club points to afford free flights for the family and we went to California. My cousin drives a company car, i.e. not his own. My neighbor has rich parents and the grandparents sponsor a yearly holiday for the family.
Even cruises can be got on the cheap if you are educated enough

[Anonymous]

Some of these posts have been really hard to read as I recently had to turn down a spot offered at a "top" school because we didn't get enough FA. Just the fact that someone would say "event cruises can be on the cheap" shows SUCH a difference in financial awareness to me. We live in a 1 bedroom with a den in a "transitional" part of town with two parents working. We shed tears over a recent weekend drive back to my husband's hometown for a wedding because of costs. A cruise is so far out of my abilities... nonetheless a SKIING trip.

It was just kind of a depressing read after coping with the disappointment of not being able to give my child what was an amazing opportunity.

[Anonymous]

has anyone heard of cross country skiing
All you need is forest, snow and skis
There are some state parks that are not too far where you can go and ski and it costs absolutely nothing,except for the gas to get there
skis can be bought at craigslist for almost free, and if you have been skiing all your life, then you most likely already have the gear

[Anonymous]

I don't get all these allegations of people who don't need FA getting it. We just missed the cut off (school told us at application time we'd probably get something, and then after the calculations came back saying we didn't need any...we didn't get any.) So we pay full freight, and we tighten our belts. There are certainly no Disney vacations or cruises or million dollar houses in our life. How, then (aside from the weird, probably very rare situation of a couple divorcing and then one party refusing to pay tuition) do you think a family with financial aid can live it up? I can't live it up, and the $15 in aid that family is getting wouldn't allow me to live it up.

In addition, the cost of educating a kid is higher than anyone pays in tuition. So, if you pay full tuition and resent that your money is going to pay for some ungrateful upper middle class professor's kid...you can lay that burden down. It's not. That person writing the four figure check is picking up the tab, voluntarily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get all these allegations of people who don't need FA getting it. We just missed the cut off (school told us at application time we'd probably get something, and then after the calculations came back saying we didn't need any...we didn't get any.) So we pay full freight, and we tighten our belts. There are certainly no Disney vacations or cruises or million dollar houses in our life. How, then (aside from the weird, probably very rare situation of a couple divorcing and then one party refusing to pay tuition) do you think a family with financial aid can live it up? I can't live it up, and the $15 in aid that family is getting wouldn't allow me to live it up.

In addition, the cost of educating a kid is higher than anyone pays in tuition. So, if you pay full tuition and resent that your money is going to pay for some ungrateful upper middle class professor's kid...you can lay that burden down. It's not. That person writing the four figure check is picking up the tab, voluntarily.

No they think they are giving to a worthy cause, to keep the campus in good repair, to invest in state of the art buildings and equipment so that the school can continue to attract top students. They do not think it is going to someone driving a luxury car living in a $500+ home. Yes, I know that this is happening because I know what a neighbor of mine got in aid. This is the reason that we are considering not writing a check because I do not think the school is spending the funds correctly. I'm sure that there are plenty of people who will give but I'm really beginning to resent it.

[Anonymous]

I was responding to people saying they don't want to pay full tuition when the tuition in subsidizing middle class FA. My point was: its not. Giving subsidizes EVERYONE'S tuition. Or, if you are in a Catholic school (and some other religious schools, too), the church subsidizes everyone's tuition.

Your point is you want your gift to go to ball fields and such, not FA. If that is what you value, earmark your gift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is in lower school so we are talking young kid - the extra curriculars are usually mulitple dance/gymnastics and sports classes - all private. Some with private coaching on the side. The private summer camps also.

Vacations - it usually ends up being at least one big Disney trip, cruises, trips to ski, trips to the beach - in fact the destination doesn't matter when you are paying air fare for a family of 4 or 5 - 3 to 4 times a year it adds up to a lot.

how old is the kid? Because a summer camp is a must for working parents, and they are all private
Dance, gym, sport?? Nothing wrong with that.
Trips to the beach - I do not believe you actually said that.
Trips to ski - those are incredibly cheap if you know where to go and what to look for

For your information, my kids flight to Europe to spend 2 weeks at granny was $1200. He flew by himself and my parents insisted on paying his expenses once he was there.
I once had a job where travel was required, so I got enough frequent flyer club points to afford free flights for the family and we went to California. My cousin drives a company car, i.e. not his own. My neighbor has rich parents and the grandparents sponsor a yearly holiday for the family.
Even cruises can be got on the cheap if you are educated enough

so you feel entitled to financial aid so that instead of paying for tuition you have that $1200 to spend on the ticket alone not to mention incidental expenses which again push this cost much higher than you are reporting.

A visit to Europe when you can't afford tuition is wrong. I don't care who lives there. If its that important, than choose free public school and trips to Europe. NO you can't have both when you have limited means.

[Anonymous]

Who makes the decision about who gets financial aid? Imagine if this were left to the public or DCUMMIES. No financial aid would be awarded since each individual has their own "cut off" point. We would have chaos and private schools would be full of families paying full freight or century-old legacy trust fund grand babies.

Thank God morons aren't ruling the asylum.

[Anonymous]

Those "morons" are just footing the bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
so you feel entitled to financial aid so that instead of paying for tuition you have that $1200 to spend on the ticket alone not to mention incidental expenses which again push this cost much higher than you are reporting.

A visit to Europe when you can't afford tuition is wrong. I don't care who lives there. If its that important, than choose free public school and trips to Europe. NO you can't have both when you have limited means.

Yes I feel entitled to financial because I qualify for it and because I get it.
My kid does fly to Europe and that is none of your business. He gets to live and experience another culture as well for just about no cost. He is just a regular kid and we really do have both.
And my kid will compete with your kid when it comes to scholarships and places at the top universities. He will compete with yours when it comes to employment and internships.
And you will not see me begging for food at the traffic lights, we even heat our house in the winter. The public school is as good as it can be, but I chose private for the same reason you did.
Life is as good as it can be. I love my job
I do not have 2 jobs and have no desire to hold down 2 jobs. I need to see my child as well to be a good parent. You really do need to give them more than your wealth and absense. But since we do not have wealth, providing them with our absense will do no good.
What I do with my money is not your business and there is nothing you can do about it

[Anonymous]

What I do with my money is not your business and there is nothing you can do about it

I have no control over what you do with your money, but I sure as hell have control over my own. Yours is the best argument for why I will no longer contribute to the scholarship fund. I think I will send a copy of your email to all of my friends. Unfortunately, the trickle down effect of your little entitlement rant will impact a lot of truly deserving kids. It is people like you that give financial aid a bad rap.

[Anonymous]

PP On the other side is someone like me and my child. I do not send my child on $1200 plane rides and feel entitled to FA. I do feel very fortunate and extremely grateful to people who contribute to FA. I feel this way because I realize that without the generosity of others at the school my child would not be able to attend a school that cost $35,000 a year. We pay part of the tuition but there is no way we could afford the entire tuition. My child's alternative would be DC public schools but we are nowhere near upper northwest and the neighborhood school my child would attend is awful. I hope you do not let one ungrateful FA brat spoil something so wonderful for the kids and parents of those who are truly deserving and very appreciative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
so you feel entitled to financial aid so that instead of paying for tuition you have that $1200 to spend on the ticket alone not to mention incidental expenses which again push this cost much higher than you are reporting.

A visit to Europe when you can't afford tuition is wrong. I don't care who lives there. If its that important, than choose free public school and trips to Europe. NO you can't have both when you have limited means.

Yes I feel entitled to financial because I qualify for it and because I get it.
My kid does fly to Europe and that is none of your business. He gets to live and experience another culture as well for just about no cost. He is just a regular kid and we really do have both.
And my kid will compete with your kid when it comes to scholarships and places at the top universities. He will compete with yours when it comes to employment and internships.
And you will not see me begging for food at the traffic lights, we even heat our house in the winter. The public school is as good as it can be, but I chose private for the same reason you did.
Life is as good as it can be. I love my job
I do not have 2 jobs and have no desire to hold down 2 jobs. I need to see my child as well to be a good parent. You really do need to give them more than your wealth and absense. But since we do not have wealth, providing them with our absense will do no good.
What I do with my money is not your business and there is nothing you can do about it

As for you, I wonder how you will feel if the day comes you get a letter telling you that due to a decrease in donations FA will not be offered to you for the school year. I think you do shine a bad light on FA recipients. Your post was horrible and a real slap in the face to the very people you rely on to help your kid attend private school!