Financial aid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had the same profile except for the nanny and got offered a meaningless amount of aid from a couple well known privates in the DMV (under $10k) and none from rest. We were also waitlisted at schools that made clear that if we signaled a willingness to full pay we’d get in.

I don’t care what that other poster says, few families making $350,000 a year are getting half tuition to good DMV privates. They’re an outlier.

This is OP. Yes, I’m thinking at most we’d get a tiny amount that wouldn’t make it possible to attend.

To the poster who said to manage our finances better, I hear you. I grew up very working class. We did however have a major emergency that has impacted our finances for years. And have never ever thought about private school until this moment.

LOL at the idea that $10k is meaningless. That's almost a third of the tuition at our suburban independent.

OP, I am a first-gen college grad with blue-collar parents. People like us often think that it's "sticker price or nothing" for expensive UMC-coded stuff, and that it's embarrassing to ask for a discount or need aid. But a ton of the people in private school are getting help, whether in financial aid or grandparent help or because one parent is performing some kind of service for the school. Just like the blue-collar world, there are all kinds of discounts and in-kind payments in the mix.

I have no idea whether private school is a good choice for you (personally I think private K is kind of a waste), and if you choose it you will continue to encounter financial concerns about how long to keep your child in private and whether you can afford certain extracurriculars. Those are real. Just, don't make the decision based on DCUM classism or feeling embarrassed to ask for aid.

The idea that someone with a HHI of $350k is a victim of classism is a bit much. $350 k is UMC by almost everyone’s definition.

Read again. I didn't grow up in a $350k household and neither did OP. She referenced her background several times, it's clearly a factor in her thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the child already admitted? The only reason not to apply is if you think it will affect admissions.

I will get flamed on here by the usual people, but my gross HHI is $300k and we receive modest FA. The school wanting DC to stay is certainly a factor, but I also believe that our income is relatively low compared to classmates. (I base this on current families donating classrooms and equipment, which we could never do.)

The school is a business and it makes business decisions related to FA: trust them to say no if they need to. But the school can't give you anything if you don't ask.

The funny thing is that wealthy or notable families get “discounts” to lure them to attend one prestigious school over the others. So, everything is absolutely a business decision whether about a strong student who couldn’t afford to attend otherwise or a family that will hopefully make large donations. The school makes calculated decisions on what families pay

Talking about trust families that have a reported "low income" and keep it low for such reasons? I have heard of this but unclear how it works. How does it work?

No, wealthy families who are persuaded to come to schools via reduced tuition, not financial aid, in hopes to lure in large donations for years to come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is shocking to me that people with a nanny would get FA.

+1

[Anonymous]

One thing is clear in the financial aid world. Colleges, even those that chare $90K a year, almost never give financial aid to families making more than $250k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing is clear in the financial aid world. Colleges, even those that chare $90K a year, almost never give financial aid to families making more than $250k.

Sure they do. It just isn’t need based aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing is clear in the financial aid world. Colleges, even those that chare $90K a year, almost never give financial aid to families making more than $250k.

Sure they do. It just isn’t need based aid.

You’re right that merit aid and athletic scholarships go to families of all income levels. However, when most people use the term financial aid, they are referring to the need based aid given out by university financial aid offices. Financial aid offices don’t usually handle merit or athletic scholarships.

[Anonymous]

In fairness, private schools are a business, operating in the real world, so of course they make business decisions that, in isolation, will seem surprising, unfair, or whatever.

It seems odd to me that a school would offer discounted tuition in an effort to attract big donors - somebody who cares about a tuition break may not be as generous as the school is hoping. So I question whether that is true, but if it is, then I trust that the schools know what they are doing.

Obviously financial aid has a dirty side to it and you want to find unfairness based on race, class, etc., it will not be hard to find. these are PRIVATE schools for a reason.

If you want the peace of knowing that everyone pays exactly the same for their education, then go to a public school!

[Anonymous]

If there are 2 working parents - divorced - are both parents incomes factored into aid application?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there are 2 working parents - divorced - are both parents incomes factored into aid application?

Yes of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there are 2 working parents - divorced - are both parents incomes factored into aid application?

And also the expenses in two separate households are higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In fairness, private schools are a business, operating in the real world, so of course they make business decisions that, in isolation, will seem surprising, unfair, or whatever.

It seems odd to me that a school would offer discounted tuition in an effort to attract big donors - somebody who cares about a tuition break may not be as generous as the school is hoping. So I question whether that is true, but if it is, then I trust that the schools know what they are doing.

Obviously financial aid has a dirty side to it and you want to find unfairness based on race, class, etc., it will not be hard to find. these are PRIVATE schools for a reason.

If you want the peace of knowing that everyone pays exactly the same for their education, then go to a public school!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had the same profile except for the nanny and got offered a meaningless amount of aid from a couple well known privates in the DMV (under $10k) and none from rest. We were also waitlisted at schools that made clear that if we signaled a willingness to full pay we’d get in.

I don’t care what that other poster says, few families making $350,000 a year are getting half tuition to good DMV privates. They’re an outlier.

This is OP. Yes, I’m thinking at most we’d get a tiny amount that wouldn’t make it possible to attend.

To the poster who said to manage our finances better, I hear you. I grew up very working class. We did however have a major emergency that has impacted our finances for years. And have never ever thought about private school until this moment.

LOL at the idea that $10k is meaningless. That's almost a third of the tuition at our suburban independent.

OP, I am a first-gen college grad with blue-collar parents. People like us often think that it's "sticker price or nothing" for expensive UMC-coded stuff, and that it's embarrassing to ask for a discount or need aid. But a ton of the people in private school are getting help, whether in financial aid or grandparent help or because one parent is performing some kind of service for the school. Just like the blue-collar world, there are all kinds of discounts and in-kind payments in the mix.

I have no idea whether private school is a good choice for you (personally I think private K is kind of a waste), and if you choose it you will continue to encounter financial concerns about how long to keep your child in private and whether you can afford certain extracurriculars. Those are real. Just, don't make the decision based on DCUM classism or feeling embarrassed to ask for aid.

What bullshit halfway decent suburban private charges $30k? None in the DMV do other than the Catholic schools, many of which are fine but none of which are referred to as “suburban privates.”

DMV privates charge closer to 60k than 30k. If you can’t afford 60 you can’t afford 50. Anybody making 350 can afford 30 and wouldn’t get a dime in aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the child already admitted? The only reason not to apply is if you think it will affect admissions.

I will get flamed on here by the usual people, but my gross HHI is $300k and we receive modest FA. The school wanting DC to stay is certainly a factor, but I also believe that our income is relatively low compared to classmates. (I base this on current families donating classrooms and equipment, which we could never do.)

The school is a business and it makes business decisions related to FA: trust them to say no if they need to. But the school can't give you anything if you don't ask.

The funny thing is that wealthy or notable families get “discounts” to lure them to attend one prestigious school over the others. So, everything is absolutely a business decision whether about a strong student who couldn’t afford to attend otherwise or a family that will hopefully make large donations. The school makes calculated decisions on what families pay

Talking about trust families that have a reported "low income" and keep it low for such reasons? I have heard of this but unclear how it works. How does it work?

No, wealthy families who are persuaded to come to schools via reduced tuition, not financial aid, in hopes to lure in large donations for years to come.

But isn't that basically the same thing in the end??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there are 2 working parents - divorced - are both parents incomes factored into aid application?

Yes, unless one parent refuses to pay. You need legal paperwork to prove that the other parent won’t be contributing. I don’t know or if child support factors in.

[Anonymous]

Give. OP’s financials, I would advise to stay with public for now. When kids are older you will have a much better chance of what type of school will be the best fit for them and you can take the nanny expense out of the equation. Even if you were awarded aid now, that does not guarantee the same level of aid year over year and you are looking at twelve years of tuition before college—for two kids.

We did the math and figured we could stretch for MS and HS if no aid was given (and it wasn’t).