Financial aid is a scam

[Anonymous]

The key word from the title is sham, not scam. The two are similar but different. I think the key is that institutions are trying to make process of pricing opaque to the consumers. Digging deeper (and looking behind the curtain) is important for people to be educated applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

[Anonymous]

My DD received full ride scholarship to the school she will attend this fall (Clemson). We have high EFC and the our EFC was more that the COA for the school she is attending but she was selected for a unique scholarship opportunity only presented to four students that covered full tuition room and board for all 4 years. She also received over $100k in outside scholarships that she will be able to get a refunds each semester due to overages on her account. So basically she is getting paid to go to school. Point is there is merit money available at the schools and outside school that does not even take your income into account.

[Anonymous]

It is there is always someone who needs it more than you. I can't repeat what a NOVACC counselor said to me but that was basically the gist of it. She was 10000% right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD received full ride scholarship to the school she will attend this fall (Clemson). We have high EFC and the our EFC was more that the COA for the school she is attending but she was selected for a unique scholarship opportunity only presented to four students that covered full tuition room and board for all 4 years. She also received over $100k in outside scholarships that she will be able to get a refunds each semester due to overages on her account. So basically she is getting paid to go to school. Point is there is merit money available at the schools and outside school that does not even take your income into account.

Wow! Good outcome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD received full ride scholarship to the school she will attend this fall (Clemson). We have high EFC and the our EFC was more that the COA for the school she is attending but she was selected for a unique scholarship opportunity only presented to four students that covered full tuition room and board for all 4 years. She also received over $100k in outside scholarships that she will be able to get a refunds each semester due to overages on her account. So basically she is getting paid to go to school. Point is there is merit money available at the schools and outside school that does not even take your income into account.

There are 4,600 freshman at Clemson. .08% will receive that scholarship. We must have very different definitions of available.

[Anonymous]

That was a very dumb article. As a parent of a rising college freshman, I know more about the aid and admissions process than was conveyed by the writer, who claims to be some kind of education expert. There is a lot of merit available; that doesn't mean that every applicant will get the same amount of merit or that an applicant can get the same COA at any school he or she hopes to attend.

[Anonymous]

"The Merit Myth" is another insightful book on this subject

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Harvard, Princeton, Rice, Amherst and similarly high ranking schools with large endowments and alumni contributions, give free rides to almost everyone with household income below $150k unless they have assets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

This matters a lot. People who are earning, saving and thrifting get dinged while ones living it up become eligible for higher aid. Same goes for people with more children vs one or two kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

This matters a lot. People who are earning, saving and thrifting get dinged while ones living it up become eligible for higher aid. Same goes for people with more children vs one or two kids.

[Anonymous]

I thought this was a decent comment in the article's comment section:

Well, this article mixes up four different kinds of college tuition rates: in-state public, out-of-state public, selective private, and non-selective private.

Generally speaking, in-state public will be the cheapest, and they generally have very good resources for low-income students. Upper middle class families and above will pay full freight, but it’s a far lower number (in Washington it’s about $25,000 per year for tuition, room, and board).

Out-of-state public tuition, unless you are a star athlete in a flagship program, is generally not going to be subsidized at all. Why would the taxpayers of Pennsylvania subsidize tuition for a Maryland resident?

Selective private tuition, assuming they have the resources, can and will be significantly discounted for low-income students, including a full ride. But they can and will charge full freight to families who can afford it.

This story is mostly about non-selective private tuition. They can and will charge whatever they can get away with and will maximize revenue by discounting tuition regardless of family income.

This article also missed the opportunity to discuss early decision. Many semi-selective schools will load up on students who can afford to pay full freight and admit them early. Once they’ve got the requisite number of full-paying students, then they can go after the lower-income high achievers to round out the class

[Anonymous]

Schools like Radford have long provided affordable education. There are plenty of affordable colleges that are not selective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.