Financial Aid on Government Salary?

[Anonymous]

Please don't laugh, but would someone making $130K (government job) have a prayer of getting any financial aid at one of the top privates?

[Anonymous]

Absolutely possible. Esp if you have debts (mortgage, school loans, etc.). You will get some financial aid. Have you applied to any schools yet, or will you start the process this fall? Also, when you apply for financial aid via PFS (the schools will give you the info), you can request a family report that will show you how much you can afford to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please don't laugh, but would someone making $130K (government job) have a prayer of getting any financial aid at one of the top privates?

i´ve worked on the admin side of a tony private school. my impression is that a private school parent who works for the government is actually seen as a plus. odd as it sounds, such a parent provides diversity of sorts (as distinguished from all of those lawyers and hedge fund managers), reflects what almost all schools espouse (public service, working toward a greater good), and depending on your title and agency, provides both cachee and entree into a network, adding to the overall connections of the school. So, you would be considered a plus for the school. it should help you with admissions. and if you pass that hurdle, it will definitely help you with financial aid.

[Anonymous]

i think it must depend on the school and the amount of money set aside for financial aid. some schools have quite a bit of money set aside for financial aid, others don't. with a big mortgage and a fed govt salary of a little more than 130k, we got $0 in financial aid this year. the application is pretty extensive and takes some time to fill out. i would encourage you to speak with financial aid staff at the schools you're considering to get a sense of how much aid they give a year total, what the average amount of aid is (a lot of smaller gifts vs a few full scholarships), how the aid is spread over the grades (i have heard for example that at some schools there may be more financial aid given to high school rather than lower or middle schools). not sure what your family demographics are but some schools also prefer both parents to work before they consider financial aid.

good luck. it's a big pain.