What is a "donut hole family"?

[Anonymous]

The eduction really just cost 200k, the other 200k that you are forking over is to pay for the first gen kid. Full pay families are paying for two people in reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The eduction really just cost 200k, the other 200k that you are forking over is to pay for the first gen kid. Full pay families are paying for two people in reality.

No, that’s not what you’re paying for. Look at a university budget and you will see.

[Anonymous]

What should donut holes be thinking about with this new regime? And/or for students of Fed workers?

[Anonymous]

FAFSA depending on what is done could impact class of '26 and after

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like a broken record on this thread. Before you assume you don't qualify for need-based aid, do a net price calculator. A non-school specific non-profit one is available here: https://myintuition.org/quick-college-cost-estimator/.

For most (all?) of the most selective schools, families with HHI of up to and even in some cases OVER $200k ARE receiving need-based financial aid. The families who are not are the families with significant non-retirement assets (savings or investments). If someone tells you they aren't receiving need-based aid with a $180k HHI income at one of these kinds of schools, they have big $$ in accounts somewhere (EXCLUDING retirement...financial aid does not consider retirement $).

There are persistent rumors out there that families making $100-200k are not receiving financial aid when it's not the case at the most-desired schools. I don't know why this misconception is so ubiquitous.

To drive this point home, just did the calculator -- for a family with $250k HHI, $200k in savings, and $200k in non-retirement investment funds, they WOULD STILL RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID AT BROWN. ($13k in financial aid a year, no loans)

At 250K a year there is no excuse they aren't saving more except for rare situations.

Yes---even if they were only making $175K a decade ago, they could have chosen to save the increases over the years, invest wisely (plenty of good 529 plans out there) and have enough if they wanted to make that choice.

We started saving when our hhi was half that and kid was born. $175 no excuse not to have enough saved for a state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like a broken record on this thread. Before you assume you don't qualify for need-based aid, do a net price calculator. A non-school specific non-profit one is available here: https://myintuition.org/quick-college-cost-estimator/.

For most (all?) of the most selective schools, families with HHI of up to and even in some cases OVER $200k ARE receiving need-based financial aid. The families who are not are the families with significant non-retirement assets (savings or investments). If someone tells you they aren't receiving need-based aid with a $180k HHI income at one of these kinds of schools, they have big $$ in accounts somewhere (EXCLUDING retirement...financial aid does not consider retirement $).

There are persistent rumors out there that families making $100-200k are not receiving financial aid when it's not the case at the most-desired schools. I don't know why this misconception is so ubiquitous.

To drive this point home, just did the calculator -- for a family with $250k HHI, $200k in savings, and $200k in non-retirement investment funds, they WOULD STILL RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID AT BROWN. ($13k in financial aid a year, no loans)

At 250K a year there is no excuse they aren't saving more except for rare situations.

Yes---even if they were only making $175K a decade ago, they could have chosen to save the increases over the years, invest wisely (plenty of good 529 plans out there) and have enough if they wanted to make that choice.

We started saving when our hhi was half that and kid was born. $175 no excuse not to have enough saved for a state school.

That’s true for a state school but most of this discussion is about being priced out of private ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, you nailed it. It’s people who have enough money but because of other choices they made, don’t have it available for other choices they wish they could make with respect to expensive schools.

I'm a WUSTL alumna. We make $250,000 a year as a household. We do not qualify for financial aid. DCs could get into WUSTL, but there's no way we could pay cash for WUSTL. It's over $87,000 a year. I don't know what "lifestyle choices" would have allowed us to pay for three kids to go to an expensive school.

It's fine. We have excellent state school choices available to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you nailed it. It’s people who have enough money but because of other choices they made, don’t have it available for other choices they wish they could make with respect to expensive schools.

I'm a WUSTL alumna. We make $250,000 a year as a household. We do not qualify for financial aid. DCs could get into WUSTL, but there's no way we could pay cash for WUSTL. It's over $87,000 a year. I don't know what "lifestyle choices" would have allowed us to pay for three kids to go to an expensive school.

It's fine. We have excellent state school choices available to us.

It's all ridonc. The schools that were safetys for most of us are no longer for this gen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The eduction really just cost 200k, the other 200k that you are forking over is to pay for the first gen kid. Full pay families are paying for two people in reality.

Pretty sure this is false. Don’t most schools of a certain caliber essentially subsidize all students, including full-pay? Usually there’s a gap between the school’s per-student cost and even full tuition. That’s where endowments and donations come in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The eduction really just cost 200k, the other 200k that you are forking over is to pay for the first gen kid. Full pay families are paying for two people in reality.

Pretty sure this is false. Don’t most schools of a certain caliber essentially subsidize all students, including full-pay? Usually there’s a gap between the school’s per-student cost and even full tuition. That’s where endowments and donations come in.

Correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you nailed it. It’s people who have enough money but because of other choices they made, don’t have it available for other choices they wish they could make with respect to expensive schools.

I'm a WUSTL alumna. We make $250,000 a year as a household. We do not qualify for financial aid. DCs could get into WUSTL, but there's no way we could pay cash for WUSTL. It's over $87,000 a year. I don't know what "lifestyle choices" would have allowed us to pay for three kids to go to an expensive school.

It's fine. We have excellent state school choices available to us.

Yeah, notice how the “lifestyle choices” people never engage on the actual cost of these schools or how much it has increased in real terms over time. And especially what that looks like if you have more than one kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you nailed it. It’s people who have enough money but because of other choices they made, don’t have it available for other choices they wish they could make with respect to expensive schools.

I'm a WUSTL alumna. We make $250,000 a year as a household. We do not qualify for financial aid. DCs could get into WUSTL, but there's no way we could pay cash for WUSTL. It's over $87,000 a year. I don't know what "lifestyle choices" would have allowed us to pay for three kids to go to an expensive school.

It's fine. We have excellent state school choices available to us.

You could have easily saved $25-75k a year. Housing, car, food, entertainment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you nailed it. It’s people who have enough money but because of other choices they made, don’t have it available for other choices they wish they could make with respect to expensive schools.

I'm a WUSTL alumna. We make $250,000 a year as a household. We do not qualify for financial aid. DCs could get into WUSTL, but there's no way we could pay cash for WUSTL. It's over $87,000 a year. I don't know what "lifestyle choices" would have allowed us to pay for three kids to go to an expensive school.

It's fine. We have excellent state school choices available to us.

Yeah, notice how the “lifestyle choices” people never engage on the actual cost of these schools or how much it has increased in real terms over time. And especially what that looks like if you have more than one kid.

To be fair, the number of children one decides to raise is also a lifestyle choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you nailed it. It’s people who have enough money but because of other choices they made, don’t have it available for other choices they wish they could make with respect to expensive schools.

I'm a WUSTL alumna. We make $250,000 a year as a household. We do not qualify for financial aid. DCs could get into WUSTL, but there's no way we could pay cash for WUSTL. It's over $87,000 a year. I don't know what "lifestyle choices" would have allowed us to pay for three kids to go to an expensive school.

It's fine. We have excellent state school choices available to us.

Live in less house, drive older cars, take less expensive vacations…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, you nailed it. It’s people who have enough money but because of other choices they made, don’t have it available for other choices they wish they could make with respect to expensive schools.

I'm a WUSTL alumna. We make $250,000 a year as a household. We do not qualify for financial aid. DCs could get into WUSTL, but there's no way we could pay cash for WUSTL. It's over $87,000 a year. I don't know what "lifestyle choices" would have allowed us to pay for three kids to go to an expensive school.

It's fine. We have excellent state school choices available to us.

Live in less house, drive older cars, take less expensive vacations…

We live on one income. My income pays tuition.