Am I screwing us over for financial aid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who are currently in the middle of this (kids applying to colleges/ financial aid or with current college students), tell me your thoughts. DH is a gov employee (makes about $175,000), and I started out as a biglaw attorney but then significantly downshifted to a legal writing role for lower pay ($50,000) for many years while my kids were young. I've gone back to biglaw as college comes closer (first kid will go in 2 years) to rack up our savings. If we keep grinding, we could have enough to send both kids to any school they choose. However, I HATE my job, and it costs me quality time with my family. I've begun wondering if we'd stayed in a much lower income bracket ($225,000 combined income vs. $500,000+), if we may have qualified for aid at some of these more expensive private schools that are now offering essentially to give aid up to a family's demonstrated need. Am I wrong in second guessing? Is $225,000 still too much to actually garner any aid? If we'd gone that route, we would have had essentially no savings aside from $150,000 per kid in 529 accounts and our retirement savings. I'm just dreaming of my old job and the better balance it gave me with family and worrying I gave up that life for essentially no benefit.

It depends on your “other” assets. We have a HHI less than half of that $225K and received no financial aid.

We’re a HHI of $120k and don’t qualify for any federal funding.

[Anonymous]

I guess I don’t see the point of working a ton of hours at a job you hate, so your kids can go to a prestigious school so they too can work a ton of hours at jobs they hate.

In-state schools are a great option, and like pp pointed out, less-prestigious schools often give aid as well. I did part-time work for many years when my kids were small, and I’m grateful I got to spend that time with them. I’m back to full-time now in their teen years, and honestly it’s almost too much. Big law hours would kill me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why should you get any financial aid? Seriously.

Well I don't think we should if we maintain our current income lol. But I also think it's up to each person and family to make trade offs that they deem appropriate for themselves. And I'm just wondering what the trade offs for us might be with choosing manageable workloads, resulting lower college savings, but maybe qualifying for some aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing to remember about need-based financial aid is that it still will hurt.
So maybe you would get aid at $225K if you had hardly any assets, but you would still be paying a lot. (Maybe something like $70K instead of $90K,).
Its also not guaranteed that you would get any aid.
I think the choice you need to make is whether this job is worth private school or if in-state would be better so you can focus on your family.

Thanks. This is a helpful assessment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a B student who is a sophomore in college right now. We had saved 200K in 529 and we make 350K.

I was surprised that the mid-tier, non competitive schools she applied to all offered her aid, bringing total costs from roughly 80K to 40-50K. Had she been an A student she would have been offered more.

However, I'm talking about private schools out of the top 100 - really outside of the top 150.

My impression is that there would have been less aide available at more competitive schools (even had she been an A+ student).

It does sound like you're in a grind situation, and that kind of sucks. But I don't think 150K in savings would have been enough. But partially it depends on what kind of private (how competitive to get in) and what kind of student your kids are.

But there's a lot of quality time with kids that happens in high school - is there a middle ground between big law and legal writing? My gut tells me you were right to grind up, but might have gone too far up.

This is interesting and helpful. thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You won't get aid. We applied with a government salary around that and we have several kids and I stay home. We got basically nothing (loans or work study in small amounts). I know there are a couple ivy leagues advertising free under $200K but that just wasn't our experience though things may have changed since four years ago. I'm not sure who in this area does get aid.

That's helpful perspective. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Run a couple of calculators at schools of interest, make sure to include a couple (Emory is one) that include your full home equity as well as others that include it only over it 2x income. Most also include your 401k assets.
Assuming you own your home and have some retirement savings quitting your job may not make that much of a difference.
My guess is when both kids are in college at the same time you will get some aid but you should expect to pay a significant portion of your kids college costs.

That makes sense that equity is included. I'm sort of surprised retirement income would ever be included. Seems cruel to make families choose between paying for kids' education and being able to retire.

[Anonymous]

From most private schools, you will get ~25k/year "merit" scholarship. This is basically school's way of giving you a "discount". The problem is that even with 25k, you still have to pay a lot. Did you not save 529?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Run a couple of calculators at schools of interest, make sure to include a couple (Emory is one) that include your full home equity as well as others that include it only over it 2x income. Most also include your 401k assets.
Assuming you own your home and have some retirement savings quitting your job may not make that much of a difference.
My guess is when both kids are in college at the same time you will get some aid but you should expect to pay a significant portion of your kids college costs.

That makes sense that equity is included. I'm sort of surprised retirement income would ever be included. Seems cruel to make families choose between paying for kids' education and being able to retire.

Welcome to the college madness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From most private schools, you will get ~25k/year "merit" scholarship. This is basically school's way of giving you a "discount". The problem is that even with 25k, you still have to pay a lot. Did you not save 529?

We did save. It just wouldn't have been enough for out of state schools without a substantial increase in income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From most private schools, you will get ~25k/year "merit" scholarship. This is basically school's way of giving you a "discount". The problem is that even with 25k, you still have to pay a lot. Did you not save 529?

We did save. It just wouldn't have been enough for out of state schools without a substantial increase in income.

There is your answer then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Run a couple of calculators at schools of interest, make sure to include a couple (Emory is one) that include your full home equity as well as others that include it only over it 2x income. Most also include your 401k assets.
Assuming you own your home and have some retirement savings quitting your job may not make that much of a difference.
My guess is when both kids are in college at the same time you will get some aid but you should expect to pay a significant portion of your kids college costs.

That makes sense that equity is included. I'm sort of surprised retirement income would ever be included. Seems cruel to make families choose between paying for kids' education and being able to retire.

It's not cruelty, its to prevent wealthy families from hiding all of their assets in retirement accounts.

[Anonymous]

Hopefully I didn't eff up fafsa but I'm pretty sure you don't include retirement accounts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Run a couple of calculators at schools of interest, make sure to include a couple (Emory is one) that include your full home equity as well as others that include it only over it 2x income. Most also include your 401k assets.
Assuming you own your home and have some retirement savings quitting your job may not make that much of a difference.
My guess is when both kids are in college at the same time you will get some aid but you should expect to pay a significant portion of your kids college costs.

That makes sense that equity is included. I'm sort of surprised retirement income would ever be included. Seems cruel to make families choose between paying for kids' education and being able to retire.

It's not cruelty, its to prevent wealthy families from hiding all of their assets in retirement accounts.

but retirement accounts have contribution limits you can't just transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars there at once, and you're penalized if you take it out for uses other than retirement

[Anonymous]

For the privates the CSS is the income disclosure that will probably make more of a difference with institutional-driven need-based aid. If you're still working your current income will probably show up in those financial disclosures even for '27 start, IIRC.

I think if you were to try to dive below income thresholds you'd really have to play the long game, and that might defeat some of the perceived financial "benefits" of shooting for need-based aid as someone capable of higher-earning.

As others have noted - that's also ignoring the household assets you'd presumably need to obscure as a higher HHI family?

And then what if DC decides to stay in-state?