Is there ever secret merit-based aid?

[Anonymous]

Would you think an income in the $180 - 200K range would do it for the most expensive schools (in the $25 - 30K range?)

[Anonymous]

Again this board is stunning me! I am happy to help the truly disadvantaged get a private school education, but now I find out that our annual fund contributions are funding the private school educations of families who don't make any more than we do??? We never dreamed of asking for financial aid with a $250K income. Of course it is expensive to live in this area. We all make choices. You can live in the burbs where the houses are cheaper and taxes are lower and suffer a long commute like some of the rest of us. Live more modestly if private education is that important to you. No nice cars. No vacations. There ought to be more transparency in the FA process so those of us who are floating the boat for others know we aren't being taken advantage of.

[Anonymous]

It is probably an overestimation of 250,000 financial aid eligibility -- 160-200 thousand may be more the real number in terms of highest income eligibility (and even there it would be where there are multiple kids to educate, etc, and we are not talking every school here). But you should probably just check with the relevant schools and ask if they can give you some guidelines.

PP, if you're really upset about the annual fund and where it goes, perhaps try to talk to the development people at your school and see if they can put your fears to rest by giving you some general info. Naturally schools can't give you too much information without giving away the confidentiality of the FA recipients (you just can't have total "transparency" if you don't want to broadcast FA status), but maybe they can give you a "median income of families on financial aid" figure or something of that nature. Don't take an anonymous message board as gospel information; try to get real information from your own school if you are really troubled.

[Anonymous]

Also don't forget the schools aren't making these decisions randomly. Families requesting aid send their info to the Princeton place that makes an assessment of what they can afford that factors in various circumstances (number of kids, etc.). Of course not all schools can afford to provide the full level of recommended aid. I also highly doubt these claims of merit based aid. Sounds totally urban legend based on what i've seen at a few schools. And the soccer example someone gave only supports that - the school ultimately didn't provide any money. It's possible that someone with high potential might get closer to the value established by the Princeton place but I really don't think people are getting aid without demonstrated financial need (and going through the financial aid process).

[Anonymous]

Well-said, PP.

[Anonymous]

I have noted that several big-name schools encourage everyone to apply for FA as even a few thousand dollars might make a difference.

[Anonymous]

Most schools provide both the percentage of students receiving aid and the average "gift" received. Some schools state that the average family receiving aid gets about half of tuition paid, which happens to be the case for our family. I assure you that our family is not taking nice vacations or driving a nice car. No ski trips for us (our children go to see their grandparents over spring break). Our kids have never even been on an airplane. Aside from the huge exception that our children attend a wonderful private school, the rest of our family's lifestyle barely approaches middle class.

[Anonymous]

And those discouraged by who may or may not be receiving aid -- you don't know how much one gets. We have a high income, but multiple children to pay for, parents we support, and more. The aid we receive enables our kids to attend. Without it, we could not go. Until you walk a mile in someone's shoes do not judge. You have no idea what their income/debt/etc might be. In order to qualify for aid, you must submit your w-2 and tax information, including amounts spent on cars/homes/vacations/camps etc. I am sure there are ways to game the system. I know of a family that gets nearly full aid, but grandparents are multi-millionaires. I know of another that supposedly gets nearly full aid too, and they live in a nicer house, drive better cars and their kids seem to be equipped in always the best of everything.

But I don't have the full information and cannot worry about other people. I have to worry about my own family (will we keep our jobs and be able to pay even our share going forward). And we still contribute to the annual fund too, by the way.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the posts from 13:33 and 19:46. I'm glad to hear that many of the financial aid applicants are in the $160,000-$200,000 range. We fall in the lower end of that spectrum and I was concerned that our financial aid request would not even be considered.

[Anonymous]

I think the system's a mess, my impression is that more people could make sacrifices and receive less or no FA. I'm not getting FA, I know I'd qualify, I'd rather make the sacrifice. Do folks understand that tuition increases might not be as high if more people made sacrifices?

[Anonymous]

Catholic Schools are a little different than some of the really elite private schools. A lot of Catholic Schools have lower tuition -- sometimes they will find the money for a really top basketball or football player to come and play. At the elite privates -- it is less likely to happen because of the much higher sticker price and tougher admission standards.

[Anonymous]

I find it hard to imagine that we could make a lot more sacrifices and still have a reasonable life here in the DC area. And our income falls into the range mentioned above.

We have a house worth about $500K (pretty modest by area standards), a 10 year old car and a two year old small car, no fancy vacations, etc. Yes, we do go out to dinner every now and then and fly to see grandparents once or twice a year, but it doesn't feel like there's a lot left to sacrifice. Unless you're thinking, live in a 2 bedroom apartment or something like that.

If a school has tuition of $25 - 30K and only provides financial aid for people with income under $100K or $80K, you end up with a student population of very well off and not well off at all -- no one in the middle. But if a school provides modest FA to those in the middle, you get a well-rounded group of kids and have the freedom to choose the most suitable kids for the program. I'm not talking a full ride, but a few thousand dollars relief from the tuition can make a difference between going and not going.

[Anonymous]

14:03 I'm 13:56. I'm not talking about people like you.

[Anonymous]

14:19:

Who ARE you talking about? Are there people with higher incomes than this range that get financial aid?

It seems kind of like a game -- why not lower the tuition and give less FA? I wonder if there are tax advantages this way.

[Anonymous]

14:31: 14:19. I remarked that if more people made sacrifices and didn't ask for as much FA, then perhaps tuition would not increase as much. (I didn't say lower tuition.) It's not a game. It's an analysis. We've seen several examples of families in this thread alone that suggest that folks are gaming the system, I think the system's flawed because it creates opportunities to game it. This is hardly a new observation!