How much do you make and how much FA do you receive?

[Anonymous]

Which private schools in the DC area are really economically diverse? I'm not talking about Catholic schools because their price is within the reach of many average folks in this area.

[Anonymous]

Our tuition costs keep rising and it appears more and more people are getting financial aid and most of them are going on nice spring breaks and we are staying in town to work. Something is wrong with this. And for those saying that annual fund doesn't go to financial aid - you are wrong. Attend the budget meetings and you can see that yes part of your donations to the annual fund and yes even your tuition payments DO in fact go to FA. I support FA but I truly believe families should pay their tuition in full first and any money that's left can go to vacations. If this means they don't go on vacation or spring break, then so be it. That is a choice they have to make. We are making that choice as a full paying family. Why is it wrong for us to expect others to make the same choices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our tuition costs keep rising and it appears more and more people are getting financial aid and most of them are going on nice spring breaks and we are staying in town to work. Something is wrong with this. And for those saying that annual fund doesn't go to financial aid - you are wrong. Attend the budget meetings and you can see that yes part of your donations to the annual fund and yes even your tuition payments DO in fact go to FA. I support FA but I truly believe families should pay their tuition in full first and any money that's left can go to vacations. If this means they don't go on vacation or spring break, then so be it. That is a choice they have to make. We are making that choice as a full paying family. Why is it wrong for us to expect others to make the same choices?

Family on FA here. I see some families on FA having a lot more resources for vacations, cars, clothing, you name it .
I truly believe they have family help (grand parents, other relatives) who help paying for these things.
It is odd that you might inherit a big estate but until you do you qualify for aid.
We are out of luck in that department and truly need every dollar we get to make it work. Unfortunately,
I don't see how a school can prohibit a wealthy grandparent to fund vacations and more.

[Anonymous]

Single Parent - No help whatsoever from ex-husband who is underemployed. Combined salary $ 140,000 and we get 60% at NOT one of the big three (or whatever it is now)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which private schools in the DC area are really economically diverse? I'm not talking about Catholic schools because their price is within the reach of many average folks in this area.

That's indeed the beauty of Catholic schools. Reasonable fees for all, so folks can focus on what matters instead of FA games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which private schools in the DC area are really economically diverse? I'm not talking about Catholic schools because their price is within the reach of many average folks in this area.

That's indeed the beauty of Catholic schools. Reasonable fees for all, so folks can focus on what matters instead of FA games.

+1 to this. I love how my DC has a racially and socioeconomically diverse set of friends at their school. I happily pay full tuition and donate to the annual fund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:one of the complicating issues around private school FA is that tuition remission for teachers is now taken out of the FA pot. So, a sizable portion of FA money that (I thought) was supposed help increase diversity, now supports teacher kids. Before I get flamed, I love our teachers and want them to be well compensated somehow - if it's not salary, then through tuition remission. And This wouldn't be an issue in my mind if the school made more of an effort to hire diverse teaching candidates, but the majority at our school are white and "from money." Maybe schools could separate FA for staff from the pool that is supposed to add some heterogeneity to the school...or hire more diverse staff!

The Cathedral Schools have very diverse teachers and excellent ones at that, so I fully support their children receiving financial aid, so we can attract and keep great teachers and great kids at that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:one of the complicating issues around private school FA is that tuition remission for teachers is now taken out of the FA pot. So, a sizable portion of FA money that (I thought) was supposed help increase diversity, now supports teacher kids. Before I get flamed, I love our teachers and want them to be well compensated somehow - if it's not salary, then through tuition remission. And This wouldn't be an issue in my mind if the school made more of an effort to hire diverse teaching candidates, but the majority at our school are white and "from money." Maybe schools could separate FA for staff from the pool that is supposed to add some heterogeneity to the school...or hire more diverse staff!

The Cathedral Schools have very diverse teachers and excellent ones at that, so I fully support their children receiving financial aid, so we can attract and keep great teachers and great kids at that. [/quote

In addition, on a teacher's salary, they could not afford $40K for one or two children. We have really excellent teachers at the Cathedral schools and their kids are pretty great too and it is a win win to be able to keep and attract these teachers, while also adding their children to the community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our tuition costs keep rising and it appears more and more people are getting financial aid and most of them are going on nice spring breaks and we are staying in town to work. Something is wrong with this. And for those saying that annual fund doesn't go to financial aid - you are wrong. Attend the budget meetings and you can see that yes part of your donations to the annual fund and yes even your tuition payments DO in fact go to FA. I support FA but I truly believe families should pay their tuition in full first and any money that's left can go to vacations. If this means they don't go on vacation or spring break, then so be it. That is a choice they have to make. We are making that choice as a full paying family. Why is it wrong for us to expect others to make the same choices?

We get financial aid. We've stayed home the last 3 spring breaks to save for a vacation next year. So if you ask me next year where we're going for spring break, I will be able to report--like 95% of the other families at the school--that we're going somewhere fun. The past two years and this year, I've made up a story about not being able to take time off work. (I can, but we can't afford to go anywhere other than visiting the grandparents. New Jersey, yay!) Feel better now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like to remind those complaining about FA on this board that if we are talking about middle or high school, aid is only offered if the school really wants your child. And why would they want a FA child. its not just for diversity it is so the school can keep up with the competition to send kids to top twenty colleges and universities. Brains and leadership in kids do not neatly correlate with high HHI parents.

Aid is only offered if the school wants your child no matter what grade level. I know of two families admitted to the same LS with almost identical HHIs. Both applied for FA. One was given a 60% award package and the other was told they could not offer them any FA and would place them in a FA wait pool. We can only surmise they really wanted the child they awarded the FA to.

What factor do you think made them want one child over the other? Academics, diversity?

Hard to say. Both families are the same race (Black). One child's WPPSI was higher than the other but not drastically. It could be gender (regarding diversity). The child offered FA is female the child placed in the FA wait pool is male. HHI's are are nearly identical, though parents professions are different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly pp. We have one kid with $150k combined income. Pay full freight.

I think a lot of people cheat to get FA

You cant cheat to get FA. I had to submit 2 years of tax returns with all schedules to provide proof of what we stated in our application. We received 57% FA from one school and 0% from another. HHI $189K family of 4 with 2 children in private already paying $28K a year. We can't afford $66K a year to send our 2 children to private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly pp. We have one kid with $150k combined income. Pay full freight.

I think a lot of people cheat to get FA

You cant cheat to get FA. I had to submit 2 years of tax returns with all schedules to provide proof of what we stated in our application. We received 57% FA from one school and 0% from another. HHI $189K family of 4 with 2 children in private already paying $28K a year. We can't afford $66K a year to send our 2 children to private.

I'm not trying to be snarky - can you save for college or retirement at all? Is public just not an option?

[Anonymous]

Too much and none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this thread was an eye opener. Full pay parent here for two kids in Catholic private - about 40K per year. Our HHI is over 500K, and assets are close to 5MM. I am completely onboard for FA for socioeconomic diversity. I am amazed that people making 250K+ are getting FA. That's not diversity, and it's not reaching out for students whose lives you can really change with an education. 250K HHI is solidly middle class, and it sounds like FA is a way to make private an affordable luxury, versus going to what is probably a really good public. If that's URM and 250 HHI, that starts to feel like window dressing to me. This has really spun my head around on FA.

I guess another question I have for the folks in that range - private HS still not free. Even at 50% tuition, with a couple kids in school that 20 or 30K a year. How do you save for college? Do you just plan on loading your kids up with debt? I know for some debt is the only way through school, but if you are making 250K a year you should be able to put your kids through at the very least a state school debt free.

It has been shown that children of families with your HHI will shun the kids that are URM, but the kids from $100K-$250K families will not, because they have diversity in their family/neighborhoods/lives. They often are the only ones in their family with that income or the 1st ones. So they get a $2/4K break and it makes it affordable and they bridge the gap between the 1% and the URM -1%ers.

The $100K-$250K parents may have some college savings depending on what other expenses they have house/medical/etc, (and some have little retirement savings) but they will either work for the rest of their lives to pay for college, or they have an ethical ethos that kids need to have some "skin in the game" and they will need to take out some loans.

+1. This is us. We are at $190 HHI and are recieving FA. We have exactly what you describe in our family and neighborhood in terms of economic diversity, and while we live more comfortable than some there are a lot who live better than us so we are in no position to judge others. While we are saving a modest amount for college and retirement we absolutely will be working for the rest of our lives to pay for college to help our kids pay for college expecting them to also contribute by either taking out loans or working part-time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our tuition costs keep rising and it appears more and more people are getting financial aid and most of them are going on nice spring breaks and we are staying in town to work. Something is wrong with this. And for those saying that annual fund doesn't go to financial aid - you are wrong. Attend the budget meetings and you can see that yes part of your donations to the annual fund and yes even your tuition payments DO in fact go to FA. I support FA but I truly believe families should pay their tuition in full first and any money that's left can go to vacations. If this means they don't go on vacation or spring break, then so be it. That is a choice they have to make. We are making that choice as a full paying family. Why is it wrong for us to expect others to make the same choices?

Your anger is misplaced. Why are you angry that people identified schools that will give them enough FA that makes it possible for them to take a nice vacation? You should be angry at yourself for being willing to forego living. Traveling is as much a part of a learning experience as going to school.