No Financial Aid if One parent is not working?

[Anonymous]

Not to be redundant but what some people fail to appreciate is that a SCHOOL does not really provide the financial aid, but rather the other FAMILIES at that school (either present families and/or in the case of an endowment past families). And many of these families are making substantial sacrifices to pay for their own kids and contribute as best as they can to the school's financial aid pool. Thus the chorus of somewhat unsympathetic responses to your post ... none of them snarky.

[Anonymous]

Another thing to think about. Some moms work precisely to be able to afford a private school. After paying taxes, a nanny, and other work-related expenses, many working moms have barely enough money left over.

Many, including me, are working in very large part to afford private schools. So it isn't fair for someone to get FA to stay at home. If that truly is an option, I will start rethinking my strategy immediately.

[Anonymous]

fwiw, i hear what all the PPs have said about the lawyer mom making a choice and missing out on earning substantial sums, but let's not forget that all lawyers are not paid a lot. some public interest lawyers make even less than teachers, but have all the loans of their highly paid counterparts. there are no flashy cars or big homes for them!

if op has other children not yet school age, i can completely understand. if not, then i should hope that her decision to remain out of the workforce is taken into consideration.

[Anonymous]

"fwiw, i hear what all the PPs have said about the lawyer mom making a choice and missing out on earning substantial sums, but let's not forget that all lawyers are not paid a lot. some public interest lawyers make even less than teachers, but have all the loans of their highly paid counterparts. there are no flashy cars or big homes for them!

if op has other children not yet school age, i can completely understand. if not, then i should hope that her decision to remain out of the workforce is taken into consideration. "

The other consideration is that what the OP believes childcare should cost. We scrimp to afford a nanny but I completely realize that this is a luxury. Moms who make less than I do often choose daycare which is much more affordable. If the OP chooses not to work because she wouldn't bring home much after an expensive nanny and expensive preschool over a daycare option than I don't think other people should be funding this choice either.

[Anonymous]

If private school tuition is too much, then forget it and look into it again when your kid starts middle or high school.
There are other options than starting it at K, especially if you cannot afford it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:fwiw, i hear what all the PPs have said about the lawyer mom making a choice and missing out on earning substantial sums, but let's not forget that all lawyers are not paid a lot. some public interest lawyers make even less than teachers, but have all the loans of their highly paid counterparts. there are no flashy cars or big homes for them!

if op has other children not yet school age, i can completely understand. if not, then i should hope that her decision to remain out of the workforce is taken into consideration.

Didn't she say she was a government lawyer, though? Even an entry-level government lawyer job is pretty darn good....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree that SAHM moms work very hard. However, the schools you apply to may see this from a more limited financial perspective.

Especially since even a *really* low government lawyer job pays, what, $90K? I'm not familiar with the GS-12 range these days, but that's probably what you're giving up (versus the higher paying GS-13 to GS-15, which is most government lawyers in DC). This is money that you are foregoing, and the school may ask why this is worth it. As one parent asked, are you staying home to care for a toddler?

BWAH, A *really* low government lawyer job pays $60k, my friend.

[Anonymous]

Staying home with your kids is a lovely choice no matter what your profession might be. If you substitute another generally lower paid occupation for lawyer in OP's story, I still wouldn't care to finance her choice to stay home rather than work. Many, many others have faced the same situation and have managed their lives so as not to have their neighbors pay for their desire to put their kids in a private school. Staying home is great. So is private schooling. But OP needs to figure out how to pay for what she wants and set priorities like everyone else. Next thing you know she's going to want a Volvo because it would be safer for her children ... must others help pay for that too??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree that SAHM moms work very hard. However, the schools you apply to may see this from a more limited financial perspective.

Especially since even a *really* low government lawyer job pays, what, $90K? I'm not familiar with the GS-12 range these days, but that's probably what you're giving up (versus the higher paying GS-13 to GS-15, which is most government lawyers in DC). This is money that you are foregoing, and the school may ask why this is worth it. As one parent asked, are you staying home to care for a toddler?

BWAH, A *really* low government lawyer job pays $60k, my friend.

Ok, fine, then that is money that could pay the tuition, YK?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the posts, even those that border on flames. I totally understand your point of view. To those that raised it--yes, have infant and toddler at home, plus kid heading to K. Government job was not on the GS scale so very low (ie. not even 90K), and childcare was going to be daycare or a nanny share. One car, modest home. Whether or not we would be eligible for FA, I am not even sure we would actually apply. Mostly, just interested if we would be immediately disqualified.

To those who noted that it is parents who fund the FA, I realize that. I guess since I always imagined returning to work once all kids are in school (and thus pay full ride) I would be paying it back.

At any rate, thanks for all the input. I think we can put this thread to rest.