Families making $200k - $400k

[Anonymous]

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

$1.3m house w/$950k

PP here, our mortgage has 375,000 left and we make $325k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

That’s what they officially say, but in the person above that have 5 merit offers get the price down to $45k, which is exactly the top of what we are comfortable with. Public and private, different tuition and room and board costs, but the net after merit were all within $2k of each other. I’m not that good of a researcher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Well, if you take all the taxes out, mortgage payment, food and other spending, you'll not remain with 90k+/year that the top schools charge. Do you sell the house to pay for or use 401k miney? No.
So, only option are loans that are at more than 9%now.
Families making between 200 and 300k and not much in savings are in the worst position. Pay full without really affording.

[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?

$15k merit annually from OOS flagship, $0 for second child

No financial aid

HHI $240k (only for the past 2 years, much lower prior)

[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.

Can’t you only use $10,000 per year per kid from the 529 for private high school?

[Anonymous]

You should focus on in-state and OOS public schools. That’s what most people do. I’ve been looking at “commitment” IG pages for well to do suburban public school, and nearly all the kids are going to public schools (both in and OOS) or schools that give heavy merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Can’t you only use $10,000 per year per kid from the 529 for private high school?

Teacher had about $45k saved per kid when they started high school.

[Anonymous]

We autocorrect. “We” not teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Well, if you take all the taxes out, mortgage payment, food and other spending, you'll not remain with 90k+/year that the top schools charge. Do you sell the house to pay for or use 401k miney? No.
So, only option are loans that are at more than 9%now.
Families making between 200 and 300k and not much in savings are in the worst position. Pay full without really affording.

The price of college in this country is outrageous. It needs to change. But I am just saying that I wouldn't have expected aid for someone in your situation from need-based schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

That’s what they officially say, but in the person above that have 5 merit offers get the price down to $45k, which is exactly the top of what we are comfortable with. Public and private, different tuition and room and board costs, but the net after merit were all within $2k of each other. I’m not that good of a researcher.

That is highly unusual. I have had two kids go through the process. When all was said and done the range of prices went from about 32K to 95K for both.

*All the need-based top private schools were full pay
*One step down privates offered a bit of merit
*Two-step down privates offered enough merit to bring tuition to in-state cost
*In state schools offered no merit
*Out-of-state state schools offered a little merit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Well, if you take all the taxes out, mortgage payment, food and other spending, you'll not remain with 90k+/year that the top schools charge. Do you sell the house to pay for or use 401k miney? No.
So, only option are loans that are at more than 9%now.
Families making between 200 and 300k and not much in savings are in the worst position. Pay full without really affording.

That is really greedy to live in a million or more house and expect aid like you are low income. We paid 400k so we could easily save and pay for college. Others should not have to support your lifestyle spchoucces and selling the house is an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Well, if you take all the taxes out, mortgage payment, food and other spending, you'll not remain with 90k+/year that the top schools charge. Do you sell the house to pay for or use 401k miney? No.
So, only option are loans that are at more than 9%now.
Families making between 200 and 300k and not much in savings are in the worst position. Pay full without really affording.

The price of college in this country is outrageous. It needs to change. But I am just saying that I wouldn't have expected aid for someone in your situation from need-based schools.

Outrageous is spending a million on a house and feeling entitled to a free college education because you did not manage your money well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

That’s what they officially say, but in the person above that have 5 merit offers get the price down to $45k, which is exactly the top of what we are comfortable with. Public and private, different tuition and room and board costs, but the net after merit were all within $2k of each other. I’m not that good of a researcher.

That is highly unusual. I have had two kids go through the process. When all was said and done the range of prices went from about 32K to 95K for both.

*All the need-based top private schools were full pay
*One step down privates offered a bit of merit
*Two-step down privates offered enough merit to bring tuition to in-state cost
*In state schools offered no merit
*Out-of-state state schools offered a little merit

Agreed that the price range after merit (if any) can be pretty extreme. In DC’s case, $35k to $99k.

(But fwiw, got up to $25k/year at OOS state schools.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Well, if you take all the taxes out, mortgage payment, food and other spending, you'll not remain with 90k+/year that the top schools charge. Do you sell the house to pay for or use 401k miney? No.
So, only option are loans that are at more than 9%now.
Families making between 200 and 300k and not much in savings are in the worst position. Pay full without really affording.

That is really greedy to live in a million or more house and expect aid like you are low income. We paid 400k so we could easily save and pay for college. Others should not have to support your lifestyle spchoucces and selling the house is an option.

Selling the house is indeed what the financial calculations call for at most schools, but they don’t want to spell it out because most families (and indeed, most teens, if the choice were theirs) would then choose less expensive schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Well, if you take all the taxes out, mortgage payment, food and other spending, you'll not remain with 90k+/year that the top schools charge. Do you sell the house to pay for or use 401k miney? No.
So, only option are loans that are at more than 9%now.
Families making between 200 and 300k and not much in savings are in the worst position. Pay full without really affording.

The price of college in this country is outrageous. It needs to change. But I am just saying that I wouldn't have expected aid for someone in your situation from need-based schools.

Outrageous is spending a million on a house and feeling entitled to a free college education because you did not manage your money well.

Too be fair, someone could have spent $500k on a house not that long ago and find themselves in a million dollar house now.