What families qualify for financial aid?

[Anonymous]

Exactly. While our HHI is almost at 200k, we have two kids with tuition at almost 65k. In order to pay that amount, you need to make about 100k before taxes. Of course this is just tuition as there are books and supplies and other hidden costs too. Would someone making $1 million a year pay a half a million to the school? Would someone making $50k pay $25 k to the school? No, there is a totally different calculation which considers what our reasonable contribution should be. It is plenty but without the aid we do get, we could not swing it. We do not have an expensive house, or car or summer home or nice clothes or anything. Every dime goes to paying our share of the tuition bill. Maybe the financial planners think this is insane, to foresake retirement/savings/etc for financing private school educations, but we feel it is worth it. Our kids are happy and thriving and we love the school where they go.

All of you who are rethinking your gift giving/auction buying are frankly the insane ones. True philanthropy doesn't need strings attached. Let the financial aid offices do their job and determine who truly needs the money. If you have enough to be able to give, then give generously and realize that every penny is helping kids be there with yours who would not be there otherwise, whether from a single parent home in another part of town, or from someone down your own street who may have lost their job or have other expenses you don't know about. Very few people go through the hassle of applying for aid who do not truly need it.

[Anonymous]

Ditto.

[Anonymous]

But if you are paying full freight and participating in annual giving, it is frustrating to see families who you know receive financial aid go on vacations to Europe or New England, or buy a new car, or renovate a portion of their house when you can't do the same. Yes, I do see this at my Big 3 school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of you who are rethinking your gift giving/auction buying are frankly the insane ones. True philanthropy doesn't need strings attached. Let the financial aid offices do their job and determine who truly needs the money. If you have enough to be able to give, then give generously and realize that every penny is helping kids be there with yours who would not be there otherwise, whether from a single parent home in another part of town, or from someone down your own street who may have lost their job or have other expenses you don't know about. Very few people go through the hassle of applying for aid who do not truly need it.

Really? Why, I'll just call up DH's grandfather and tell him to tear up the policy goal documents that cover the grants his foundation makes and give YOU the money instead. You seem to think you are worthy of getting it all, and so much more so than the single mother from another part of town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of you who are rethinking your gift giving/auction buying are frankly the insane ones. True philanthropy doesn't need strings attached. Let the financial aid offices do their job and determine who truly needs the money. If you have enough to be able to give, then give generously and realize that every penny is helping kids be there with yours who would not be there otherwise, whether from a single parent home in another part of town, or from someone down your own street who may have lost their job or have other expenses you don't know about. Very few people go through the hassle of applying for aid who do not truly need it.

Really? Why, I'll just call up DH's grandfather and tell him to tear up the policy goal documents that cover the grants his foundation makes and give YOU the money instead. You seem to think you are worthy of getting it all, and so much more so than the single mother from another part of town.

I am not this PP, but that wasn't what she was saying at all.

[Anonymous]

I am a single mom, so go jump in a lake, frankly. You have no clue. I never said I was entitled., or deserved anything, let alone it all. What I said is that there are PROFESSIONALS who decide these things. You have to turn in countless forms that get analyzed in Princeton by ETS affiliate...then the school sees their analysis and makes their own decisions. Some schools won't give you any aid if you even own a house. Some are more generous, some have loan possibilities. This thread is about whether it is possible to get aid on a HHI of $200k. And all I'm saying is yes, depending on numerous other factors.

Yes some people might get aid and go on nice vacations or buy new cars. Not us. And if some people lie or abuse the system, I think these things work out in the end and people do get what they deserve. The schools are not clueless. You have to turn in your tax forms. You can't hide a house or a car, can you?

And moreover, you don't know another person's story until you are in their shoes. As others mentioned perhaps there are medical expenses or caring for a parent that you don't know about. In this economy there are bound to be layoffs and salary cuts. Not a big deal if it is a law partner earning $1 million and they take a 10% cut, but for the rest of us working slobs, these are tough times.

[Anonymous]

and aren't you lucky to have grandfather's trust fund money! No one said where it should go, the poster was saying people should work and donate to help the school, because they believe in their mission and want inclusion and diversity and the ability for all those qualified to be able to be there whether they can pay full freight or not.

[Anonymous]

Now Ladies, This getting out of hand. I think some very good points have been made for and against financial aid. Take from it what you will : ) Good Luck to all Financial Aid Recipents and Non - Financial Aid Recipents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone explain to me again how people who make $100K a year or less are poor? Shocking that I came from such low-class people, yet manage to send my kids (plural) to private school without a handout.

PP, do your kids attend one of these $27K plus schools?

Together, my husband and I make about $150K. (I work PT, but when I didn't, we were at about $100K.) If we choose to, we could send our children to a Catholic school where tuition for both is about $10,000/year. (It increases a bit each year, but that's about average. And they give breaks for siblings.) That tuition is almost an insignificant amount on this board!

Even so, it's something we can manage b/c we don't live "high on the hog." We don't consider ourselves poor, but by comparison (unless these posters are lying), I suppose we're at the bottom . . . not that I care b/c we don't take handouts either. And we have (had - before the economy was crushed) a nice nest egg and some money to play around with.

So I don't get it. I am opposed to people making $200K and above asking for handouts. Live within your means, I say, and get your priorities straight. Just b/c you make $600K doesn't mean you should have a $6,000/month mortgage and fancy cars. That's just ostentatious and wasteful. And what a terrible way to raise children. Talk about materialistic. My friend's father is a millionaire 3 times over, and you should see their home. He's lived a "middle class" lifestyle ever since he hit it big. They say you don't recognize the true millionaires b/c they don't live to impress others.

I agree, generally, about living simply, but I think you can live simply and still require financial aid. What if you wanted to send your children to a more expensive school -- maybe because it offered a specific advantage. Could you pay the $60,000 tuition on a $150,000 salary? We make just slightly more than you do $175K. We currently pay the $30,000 tuition, but I will not be ashamed to ask for aid if we send another child to that school. Do I expect a free ride? No. I am willing to ask for and accept a little help. We live quite simply btw -- old cars, no dinners out, no vacations, etc...

If we had to ask for handouts, I would never apply to a school that would eat away at my retirement. What happens if my husband and I can't handle ourselves in the future? Imagine the burden on the kids. So we decide to live w/in our means. In doing so, we teach our children that living moderately is best. Furthermore, as an educator, I want my children to have a sound foundation. However, I also want them to realize that the world does not revolve around them. Mommy and Daddy aren't paying half their salary so that they can receive an "elite" education. The schools we've researched - those that run around $10K or so - offer excellent programs. And for what it's worth, from what I know of these big 3/top tier schools, I want no part of them. I don't believe in flaunting wealth. As I mentioned earlier, my friend's father is loaded, but you'd never know it. His kids went through the public system, attended University of Maryland, and all have excellent jobs. Their kids are going through the public system now, too. I will not waste money on a school that claims to offer my children the world. There are other schools that are just as solid that don't break the bank. If posters do step down from their pedestals and do some research, they'd find excellent educational institutions outside of these so-called top tier schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But if you are paying full freight and participating in annual giving, it is frustrating to see families who you know receive financial aid go on vacations to Europe or New England, or buy a new car, or renovate a portion of their house when you can't do the same. Yes, I do see this at my Big 3 school.

We're not at a Big 3 school, but this really is an issue for us. You would not believe the things I do to allow our family's budget to accomodate $22k tuition each year without aid. I accept the fact that it is MY decision to not seek financial aid, but nonetheless, it is difficult to know that families with significantly more income than us are getting partial assistance and give less to annual giving. But ultimately, I am making my decisions based on my own values (and pride!), and I have to accept that others must be allowed to do the same. But I think there are more families like mine out there than is sometimes acknowledged on this forum ... meaning there would not be a complete lack of middle income families (which is how I personally define HHI greater than $100K and less than $175K).

[Anonymous]

I will say that you have no idea what allows a family to do extra things if they are on financial aid. My family is on partial aid (which is offsetting 10% of tuition, a help but we still pay over 20K) and we do take vacations to fun places. Any fun place where everything is free, that is. A relative's vacation home, a friend's apartment on NYC, a neighbor's house in the Outer Banks, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will say that you have no idea what allows a family to do extra things if they are on financial aid. My family is on partial aid (which is offsetting 10% of tuition, a help but we still pay over 20K) and we do take vacations to fun places. Any fun place where everything is free, that is. A relative's vacation home, a friend's apartment on NYC, a neighbor's house in the Outer Banks, for example.

9:55 here. Actually, I do know how SOME families on FA at my DC's school are able to take vacations, etc. And it's not freebies. Some families volunteer quite a bit of information. Some families truly do take advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say that you have no idea what allows a family to do extra things if they are on financial aid. My family is on partial aid (which is offsetting 10% of tuition, a help but we still pay over 20K) and we do take vacations to fun places. Any fun place where everything is free, that is. A relative's vacation home, a friend's apartment on NYC, a neighbor's house in the Outer Banks, for example.

9:55 here. Actually, I do know how SOME families on FA at my DC's school are able to take vacations, etc. And it's not freebies. Some families volunteer quite a bit of information. Some families truly do take advantage.

Some families also live in debt. A lot of debt.

Let it go. Trust the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and aren't you lucky to have grandfather's trust fund money! No one said where it should go, the poster was saying people should work and donate to help the school, because they believe in their mission and want inclusion and diversity and the ability for all those qualified to be able to be there whether they can pay full freight or not.

I don't. He gives us nothing and puts it all into his foundation. And you know what? That's ok, because IT'S HIS MONEY. Don't presume to tell me what to do with mine by telling me I must support financial aid for people making $200K and up or I don't know what true philanthropy means. If all of us who don't need aid stopped giving money for aid to the school because they were tired of people acting like we owe it and because it went to people we thought shouldn't get it based on their incomes, those of you getting it would be up a creek.

[Anonymous]

Boy, I hope you are not representative of parents at schools other than the ones my kids attend (because I certainly don't know anyone like you at their school).