2025 & 2026 donut hole families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

Thanks, it is interesting to see the varying costs. A little surprising that all those schools are consistently in the 30s. Congrats on the options!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a donut hole family? High income nut no savings?

Too rich to get aid. But not rich enough to easily pay $90k a year, especially with multiple kids. Usually live in high cost of living areas.

Many of us have lower incomes and in high cost of living areas. It’s lifestyle choices. It’s insane someone in a million dollar house making what many do feel entitled to aid when the rest of us live poorly to save.

I do not have fancy stuff, internet stranger. I do have more kids than most thanks to unexpected multiples, and I do pay for private religious-based schools. Why do YOU feel entitled to live in a high cost of living area when you have a lower income? Why should others pay for your "lifestyle choice"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

You aren’t a donut hole family if you got that much need-based aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

You aren’t a donut hole family if you got that much need-based aid.

NP, but there are a lot of families who get some need-based aid but who, just like full-pay donut hole families, are expected to pay far more than they reasonably can afford to. I think of this group as the lower half of the donut hole. For both groups, chasing merit is the only financially reasonable option. And that makes them more like each other than either is like the rich or the poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a donut hole family? High income nut no savings?

Too rich to get aid. But not rich enough to easily pay $90k a year, especially with multiple kids. Usually live in high cost of living areas.

Many of us have lower incomes and in high cost of living areas. It’s lifestyle choices. It’s insane someone in a million dollar house making what many do feel entitled to aid when the rest of us live poorly to save.

“Living poorly” to be able to be full pay when you would otherwise receive aid is a lifestyle choice. And not a particularly good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

Many of those scbools don’t give merit. Why is the coa discounted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

She’s down to Amherst and Brown. Last day of revisits today and hopefully a decision soon 🤞🏼
Congrats! Where is your DC leaning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

Thanks, it is interesting to see the varying costs. A little surprising that all those schools are consistently in the 30s. Congrats on the options!

I was wrong - UMD was in the mid 40s (were out of state) but the other three were all mid 30s with merit. UVM gives a lot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

Many of those scbools don’t give merit. Why is the coa discounted?

Financial aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

You aren’t a donut hole family if you got that much need-based aid.

They specifically said merit not need based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

Many of those scbools don’t give merit. Why is the coa discounted?

HHI of $215 is going to be full-pay at some schools but get need-based aid at others.

[Anonymous]

Not donut hole, I guess.

Harvard, No FA

HHI under 200. Assets 2mm in brokerage, 1mm in retirement, 1mm house (paid off, we bought 25 years ago for 300k), 100k in 529.

We are small business owners and are limited by earned income as to how much we can shift to retirement.

2 younger kids

I think if we had 2mm in retirement and 1mm in brokerage we would have gotten aid.

I dont really understand why colleges care where the money is. Our brokerage includes our retirement money, it's just not tax advantaged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family (HHI $215k) results with a current senior:

Accepted to Brown and Cornell, cost in the 60s

Accepted to Amherst, Bowdoin and Vassar, cost in the 40s

Accepted to UMD, UConn, UVM, Binghamton, cost in the 30s with merit

You aren’t a donut hole family if you got that much need-based aid.

They specifically said merit not need based.

Read again. They only said merit for the state schools. The private universities and LACs are need-based discounts.

[Anonymous]

$0 need based other than the basic loan.

Merit aid has varied even for similar schools from 0 to $45k a year. My kid is going out of state to a school that gave enough merit to make it just slightly cheaper than the in state alternatives but that is a much better fit for her major and interests.

[Anonymous]

I need to quit my job. It’s painful to see people paying $40-50k less for the same school with not a big difference in income.