What does "we meet 100% of demonstrated need" really look like in numbers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

I would assume the answer is yes, unfortunately. Most schools that use CSS consider home equity. I told my child that he couldn't apply to any school that considers home equity AND isn't known for generous merit aid. Many schools dropped off the list.

Why didn't you save?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

Absolutely. Otherwise, I’m taking the cash I’ve got saved for college and using it to pay off the balance of my mortgage. Or buying a better house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

Because you choose a higher priced house over college savings. We bought a tiny sh@t shack so we could save for college. Why should we have the same income, you choose not to save, scream poverty and live in a much nicer house, take vacations, etc. Yes, you can borrow against your equity or save.

These are the same people who try to sell this doughnut hole sob story nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools are getting away with some very fuzzy wording, in may mind. Their idea of "demonstrated need" involves loans, definitely. Then they come away feeling good about themselves, but meanwhile they have saddled my child with loans she will have for year to come! I will say that the FAFSA calculator is pretty darn eye opening as to what they think we as parents are supposed to be able to contribute. I don't know how they think it's gonna happen, but for us with a combined income of just over 200K and another child in college, they expect us to contribute $30K per year for our rising college student. And they offered her $1K in work study and $5K in student loans. Total BS.

You actually sound awful. Why didn’t you save more for college? 30k a year on a 200k HHI seems like a bargain. I don’t care if you have 3 kids in college. You decided to have the number of kids you did and how to space them out. Now you are complaining that you have to pay for college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

Because you choose a higher priced house over college savings. We bought a tiny sh@t shack so we could save for college. Why should we have the same income, you choose not to save, scream poverty and live in a much nicer house, take vacations, etc. Yes, you can borrow against your equity or save.

These are the same people who try to sell this doughnut hole sob story nonsense.

Are you actually paying 80k per kids on ~ 200k HHI in a insecure (non government) job with no pension and no family help??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

I would assume the answer is yes, unfortunately. Most schools that use CSS consider home equity. I told my child that he couldn't apply to any school that considers home equity AND isn't known for generous merit aid. Many schools dropped off the list.

Why didn't you save?

We did save but I am not willing to pay $80k per year for college. I’m not complaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

Yes. As a PP said, you choose a home that may have greater value.

That said, many colleges realize that cost of living is higher in some areas, making home values higher. Some cap the amount that is figured, and some don't include the value of the primary residence. Some will count the entire amount though. And, all count the value of a second property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

Yes, because otherwise you’d be encouraging people to shelter (no pun intended) their wealth in real estate. Money is money, whether you choose to put it in your house or the stock market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

Yes, because otherwise you’d be encouraging people to shelter (no pun intended) their wealth in real estate. Money is money, whether you choose to put it in your house or the stock market.

Except your home is not a liquid asset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

Because you choose a higher priced house over college savings. We bought a tiny sh@t shack so we could save for college. Why should we have the same income, you choose not to save, scream poverty and live in a much nicer house, take vacations, etc. Yes, you can borrow against your equity or save.

These are the same people who try to sell this doughnut hole sob story nonsense.

But we HAD to live in our five bedroom, three car garage house and the OBX house is very modest!

[Anonymous]

Did it ever occur to the "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAAVVVEE??!!!" harpies that some people have modest houses that are paid off b/c they were purchased within a budget? And drive old cars without car payments? That not everyone chooses an extravagant home and then expects aid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are getting away with some very fuzzy wording, in may mind. Their idea of "demonstrated need" involves loans, definitely. Then they come away feeling good about themselves, but meanwhile they have saddled my child with loans she will have for year to come! I will say that the FAFSA calculator is pretty darn eye opening as to what they think we as parents are supposed to be able to contribute. I don't know how they think it's gonna happen, but for us with a combined income of just over 200K and another child in college, they expect us to contribute $30K per year for our rising college student. And they offered her $1K in work study and $5K in student loans. Total BS.

You actually sound awful. Why didn’t you save more for college? 30k a year on a 200k HHI seems like a bargain. I don’t care if you have 3 kids in college. You decided to have the number of kids you did and how to space them out. Now you are complaining that you have to pay for college?

Ever heard of having unplanned multiples?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing is for sure, the schools definition of “need”’ is likely far from your family’s definition of need. My HHI is about $300k and our EFC is almost $80k so…. There ya go.

At $300K, you can afford to pay for college. If you choose to spend it on a more expensive house, cars, travel, dining out, etc. then why should someone else subsidize you when some of us make 1/3 what you are making and manage to save?

NP. BS. These top 50 schools are sticking families with $80k tabs because they CAN. They do not need to charge this much to break even. There's no "subsidizing".

I don't really quote TFG much, if at all, but "it is what it is." If 80K is too high, then you should redirect your DC to schools that fall within your budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are getting away with some very fuzzy wording, in may mind. Their idea of "demonstrated need" involves loans, definitely. Then they come away feeling good about themselves, but meanwhile they have saddled my child with loans she will have for year to come! I will say that the FAFSA calculator is pretty darn eye opening as to what they think we as parents are supposed to be able to contribute. I don't know how they think it's gonna happen, but for us with a combined income of just over 200K and another child in college, they expect us to contribute $30K per year for our rising college student. And they offered her $1K in work study and $5K in student loans. Total BS.

Right, but then won't your older kid's drop too? Sounds like your efc is 60k, now halved for each kid when #2 enters because #1 is still in school, right?

This is actually a great deal, but it may not last. The new college finance bill the passed congress a few years ago will go into effect next year, and Lamar Alexander added a clause that eliminates this siblings at the same time benefit. For many schools, you may see that 30k double.

My #2 will be applying next year, and I hope some css schools will keep that provision even if FAFSA calculations drop it.

But at 200k annual, 60k efc is not bad and 30k is excellent. You should have some money saved, right?

So Lamar is the one responsible for this horrendous change. PP, DYK why he did this? Who stands to benefit? Private loan companies?

I can't really imagine he was motivated by an equity argument. I think this is going to blow up and sadly can't see Congress being able to fix it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI is $200k and you have $500k+ home equity you should be full pay.

What should home equity have to do with it? Are you expected to borrow against your home?

Yes, because otherwise you’d be encouraging people to shelter (no pun intended) their wealth in real estate. Money is money, whether you choose to put it in your house or the stock market.

Except your home is not a liquid asset.

Correct. That's why some parent(s) opt for a more modest home to ensure that they have more liquid assets.