Families making $200k - $400k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bump now that RD is out!

Why are you shouting?

[Anonymous]

Same here. HHI $330K. Zero financial aid from Cornell, Penn, Dartmouth, UVA, Michigan, Wisconsin, UCLA, etc.
Lots of merit aid at UGA, Clemson, Pitt etc (basically like 50% off)

Only Columbia gave us financial aid (10K).

[Anonymous]

The whole admissions and pricing scheme for U.S. colleges is total bullshit.
Why are parents burdened by the massive costs of their adult children?
They already pay a massive amount in taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:~300k agi, 90k in 529 and ~100k in savings with 1/2 of mortgage paid, no aid (0) from all 6 T20 schools DC got admitted to. Perfect stats and awards didn't matter.

Isn't this what you expected?

[Anonymous]

$320K plus own a house, have a 529k with $200K and 7 figure 401Ks. We got zero from Penn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same here. HHI $330K. Zero financial aid from Cornell, Penn, Dartmouth, UVA, Michigan, Wisconsin, UCLA, etc.
Lots of merit aid at UGA, Clemson, Pitt etc (basically like 50% off)

Only Columbia gave us financial aid (10K).

If you get money from one Ivy- the other Ivies will match it if you show the offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same here. Two $180k incomes. Home half paid off. Used 529s for high school. Good sized 401ks. Zero need based aid or government subsidized loans…we’re on our own. Merit aid at several Midwest and northeast flagships and jesuits. Different merit aid packages from each, but they all miraculously brought the total out of pocket down to $45k a year.

That was the magic number for us in terms of all-in costs for most options, which just happened to match our (expensive) in-state flagship cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole admissions and pricing scheme for U.S. colleges is total bullshit.
Why are parents burdened by the massive costs of their adult children?
They already pay a massive amount in taxes.

not really

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For families making $200k to $400k (of which there are a lot in the dmv. Two parents each making $150k, etc). If you have a senior going to college, what kind of merit aid are you seeing?

We were at ~$280k for 2024 (the tax year colleges review for current HS seniors). DS has strong-ish stats like so many others (4.0 w, 1400 (not submitted except to safeties), deep ec's including 4 years volunteer, robotics, debate, and varsity athlete- not playing in college).

We received $20k merit from two T50 private universities, $40k from two SLACs, and $70k/yr from a target liberal arts school where we expressed extreme interest. $1.3m house w/$950k mortgage and virtually all savings in retirement funds.

What merit aid are others in this income range seeing?

Merit has zero to do with HHI?

[Anonymous]

This thread is strange.

HHI is irrelevant for Merit Aid. Your HHI could be $300k or $300MM and you will still get the same merit aid.

Unless your name is recognizable and the school knows you are filthy rich, the school has no idea what your HHI may be for providing merit aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For families making $200k to $400k (of which there are a lot in the dmv. Two parents each making $150k, etc). If you have a senior going to college, what kind of merit aid are you seeing?

We were at ~$280k for 2024 (the tax year colleges review for current HS seniors). DS has strong-ish stats like so many others (4.0 w, 1400 (not submitted except to safeties), deep ec's including 4 years volunteer, robotics, debate, and varsity athlete- not playing in college).

We received $20k merit from two T50 private universities, $40k from two SLACs, and $70k/yr from a target liberal arts school where we expressed extreme interest. $1.3m house w/$950k mortgage and virtually all savings in retirement funds.

What merit aid are others in this income range seeing?

Out of curiosity, how much do you have saved for retirement? Also, which liberal arts school offered $70k/yr?

[b]
This sounds too good to be true...
OP, would you be willing to share which schools? Thanks!

It is. The only school that comes close to that is Wash & Lee’s Johnson Scholarship but only 44 students a year get that. Sometimes parents here claim a figure like $70k. That but it’s over all four years - like $18k a year.

What are you talking about? I am in the very beginning of the college search with my sophomore, and have looked at only a small handful of schools, yet I can tell you Villanova and Lafayette both have full tuition scholarships, and tuition that rounds to 70K. If I have already found 2 there are many more.

I know several doughnut-hole families with very smart, high-achieving kids, who assumed those kids would nab those full-rides, or close to full rides, at places like Villanova or Lafayette. It usually didn't end well for them. The chances of getting those full scholarships are very low and should not be counted on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For families making $200k to $400k (of which there are a lot in the dmv. Two parents each making $150k, etc). If you have a senior going to college, what kind of merit aid are you seeing?

We were at ~$280k for 2024 (the tax year colleges review for current HS seniors). DS has strong-ish stats like so many others (4.0 w, 1400 (not submitted except to safeties), deep ec's including 4 years volunteer, robotics, debate, and varsity athlete- not playing in college).

We received $20k merit from two T50 private universities, $40k from two SLACs, and $70k/yr from a target liberal arts school where we expressed extreme interest. $1.3m house w/$950k mortgage and virtually all savings in retirement funds.

What merit aid are others in this income range seeing?

Out of curiosity, how much do you have saved for retirement? Also, which liberal arts school offered $70k/yr?

[b]
This sounds too good to be true...
OP, would you be willing to share which schools? Thanks!

It is. The only school that comes close to that is Wash & Lee’s Johnson Scholarship but only 44 students a year get that. Sometimes parents here claim a figure like $70k. That but it’s over all four years - like $18k a year.

What are you talking about? I am in the very beginning of the college search with my sophomore, and have looked at only a small handful of schools, yet I can tell you Villanova and Lafayette both have full tuition scholarships, and tuition that rounds to 70K. If I have already found 2 there are many more.

I know several doughnut-hole families with very smart, high-achieving kids, who assumed those kids would nab those full-rides, or close to full rides, at places like Villanova or Lafayette. It usually didn't end well for them. The chances of getting those full scholarships are very low and should not be counted on.

They were probably high income screaming poverty as they choose not to save. Oops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For families making $200k to $400k (of which there are a lot in the dmv. Two parents each making $150k, etc). If you have a senior going to college, what kind of merit aid are you seeing?

We were at ~$280k for 2024 (the tax year colleges review for current HS seniors). DS has strong-ish stats like so many others (4.0 w, 1400 (not submitted except to safeties), deep ec's including 4 years volunteer, robotics, debate, and varsity athlete- not playing in college).

We received $20k merit from two T50 private universities, $40k from two SLACs, and $70k/yr from a target liberal arts school where we expressed extreme interest. $1.3m house w/$950k mortgage and virtually all savings in retirement funds.

What merit aid are others in this income range seeing?

Out of curiosity, how much do you have saved for retirement? Also, which liberal arts school offered $70k/yr?

[b]
This sounds too good to be true...
OP, would you be willing to share which schools? Thanks!

It is. The only school that comes close to that is Wash & Lee’s Johnson Scholarship but only 44 students a year get that. Sometimes parents here claim a figure like $70k. That but it’s over all four years - like $18k a year.

What are you talking about? I am in the very beginning of the college search with my sophomore, and have looked at only a small handful of schools, yet I can tell you Villanova and Lafayette both have full tuition scholarships, and tuition that rounds to 70K. If I have already found 2 there are many more.

I know several doughnut-hole families with very smart, high-achieving kids, who assumed those kids would nab those full-rides, or close to full rides, at places like Villanova or Lafayette. It usually didn't end well for them. The chances of getting those full scholarships are very low and should not be counted on.

It’s sad. But luckily found this thread early

[Anonymous]

How are you not freaking out about that mortgage on a 280k salary?

$1.3m house w/$950k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For families making $200k to $400k (of which there are a lot in the dmv. Two parents each making $150k, etc). If you have a senior going to college, what kind of merit aid are you seeing?

We were at ~$280k for 2024 (the tax year colleges review for current HS seniors). DS has strong-ish stats like so many others (4.0 w, 1400 (not submitted except to safeties), deep ec's including 4 years volunteer, robotics, debate, and varsity athlete- not playing in college).

We received $20k merit from two T50 private universities, $40k from two SLACs, and $70k/yr from a target liberal arts school where we expressed extreme interest. $1.3m house w/$950k mortgage and virtually all savings in retirement funds.

What merit aid are others in this income range seeing?

Out of curiosity, how much do you have saved for retirement? Also, which liberal arts school offered $70k/yr?

[b]
This sounds too good to be true...
OP, would you be willing to share which schools? Thanks!

I think you need to go down a notch or two. Schools that are within striking distance of Lafayette that have reputations for merit are Denison and Furman. I also think Oberlin and Depauw are also pretty good with merit. In reality you will be above a your flagship unless you get very lucky or get financial aid.




It is. The only school that comes close to that is Wash & Lee’s Johnson Scholarship but only 44 students a year get that. Sometimes parents here claim a figure like $70k. That but it’s over all four years - like $18k a year.

What are you talking about? I am in the very beginning of the college search with my sophomore, and have looked at only a small handful of schools, yet I can tell you Villanova and Lafayette both have full tuition scholarships, and tuition that rounds to 70K. If I have already found 2 there are many more.

I know several doughnut-hole families with very smart, high-achieving kids, who assumed those kids would nab those full-rides, or close to full rides, at places like Villanova or Lafayette. It usually didn't end well for them. The chances of getting those full scholarships are very low and should not be counted on.

It’s sad. But luckily found this thread early