Should financial aid in private school be stricter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If you’re unhappy with how YOUR donations are being used, designate how you want YOUR donations to be used. Or stop donating, problem solved.

I am not unhappy about anything. It’s just a question. Is it ok to subsidize well off families? Maybe you think it’s fair.

After slavery ended, the U.S. government gave reparations to slave owners to compensate them for their ‘loss of property’. I thought that was super unfair. Instead of giving money and property to the slaves, who had nothing but the clothes on their backs and clearly needed it, they gave it to the wealthy white landowners. What do you think about this? Would you like to help correct this atrocity?

Yes, schools can contribute to repair this atrocity by providing aid to low income families. That’s what I have been saying.

This has nothing to do with slavery. Schools give aid to the kids they think will make the student body better. The students benefit from a better education, but the school benefits by having a more desired student body.

Financial aid is not reparations to the families of the people enslaved on US soil. Those people deserve a cash dispersement.

Stop responding to this instigator. It’s the same nonsense across several threads. It’s either a mom or a student who is spewing this.

They want to go to a top dmv private, but can’t afford it and don’t have the grades to get in. So everything keeps getting boiled down to scholarships being given to MC minorities and not them.

No.
This is a former employee of two private schools. There is a reason no private school discloses financial aid grants per HHI level. There is also a reason that schools require that FA families not share award amounts with each other at all privates. Transparency would blow this open.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Socialism for the rich, golden parachutes, tax payer bailouts, tax cuts for the rich, tariffs on groceries...thank a rich person today, for our wonderful corruption proof system

Woe is me. The world so so unfair and everyone conspires to keep me down. Why can’t the someone else pays for everything I need. Why do I have to work so hard?!?!

Then just eliminate financial aid. I think it would be better. No give away to upper middle class families.

Since I can’t have it, nobody can.

It’s was sarchasm for the oligarch parent that was trolling another parent. But no. It’s very simple. Don’t give money to people that can pay for school. Very simple.

What are your criteria for who can pay? HHI, AGI, home equity, number of dependents, number of children enrolled, retirement balance, assets, or debt to income ratios? How do you know what these are for the ‘upper middle class’ families that you think are unfairly receiving aids?

This is why schools have a committee or office to determine who gets aid. No matter what they do or where they draw the line, people will complain. I'm more comfortable giving it to MC teachers to keep them longer. Some of them have been the best teachers we've had. One of our favorite teachers used this perk for her grandchildren and I thought it was a great way to reward ther tenure at the school. She was so helpful to my youngest, I think she changed my DD's life.

That’s fine for you, but would it be fine for the rest of the donors. Maybe or maybe not, because there is not full disclosure. This is not the school money, is the parents money by the way.

💯 absolutely!! It's the parent's money and they can designate how it's spent. At our school they can tick a box or fill in the blank. They can also write "I don't want teachers or MC people to receive any financial aid with this money", or, "I want all this money to upgrade the dining facilities", or, "I want this money to be spent to market in lower income communities", or, I want this money to be spent only on the girls basketball team". See how that works?

Maybe the donors should just donate to the facilities and their kids' sports - no financial aid at all. How would you find that? After all, they still get the same tax break.

That’s a good approach. In most schools financial aid is as opaque as the dark side of the moon.

Which school is that? I have 4 kids and we've been members of 4 communities through the years. I can allocate my donations at all those schools. I didn't realize there are schools that don't have that option for the donors. Which are these? I know most of the schools discussed on this forum have that as an option. You can also request to know the allocation of money. Also the report published every year. Some schools publish their annual report to the public, some don't.

For financial aid in us schools you donate to a fund and you CANNOT request that financial aid is allocate for low income families. This is decided arbitrarily by the school.

That is absolutely false. You can allocate at every school we've donated to. Clearly you have no experience with this.

Really? Can I say, please give my 1000 dollar donation to the Asian single mother than earns less than 150k. Obviously that does happen. Firs there is fundraising, and the school give away the money to well off families for random reasons.

You can absolutely do this. It would be a pain in the @ss for your school to administer this if it were a $1000 donation. Make it a $10K and watch your school rush to make it happen.

I don’t know what school you’re referring to that’s giving FA for random reasons. Our school uses an independent company to gather, validate, and assess the FA applications based on criteria the school established. Each application is assigned a grade. The clear No’s are removed and the committee review the Maybes and make their decision.

What your are saying for practical purposes does not work. I understand if you donate 10 million dollars. But for humble parents like I that can only donate 5k, that doesn’t work. Ok. Forget about it. Middle class families with financial aid can still go to Europe.

They should not be able to go to Europe if other parents are paying their tuition. I think that is the point. Private school is a luxury and not something you only pay what you can but still live a luxurious life. If you can t pay for private school then all extra income should go to the school. I would expect those on financial aid to go on my CV less expensive vacations.

Do you honestly believe that a family whose income + assets qualify them for financial aid are actually paying to go to Europe? You're mistaken. The numbers don't add up.

Their parents (students grandparents) pay for it. You never heard of parents giving their children gifts? The average home here is $1.5m+. Recipients of parent gifting are everywhere. Look to the left, look to the right, one of them or both are receiving gifts.

I know a family with two kids in private who ski in Utah and travel to Europe each year. They receive aid of $5,000 per child.

I know a family with one child in private who spends a month at Martha’s Vineyard every summer and receives 20k each year on a HHI of over 300k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem I was discussing here is more narrow that all the societal problems like slavery threats to democracy or climate change. The question is if financial aid be stricter? Given that money is limited, the answer is yes.

“Stricter” is a subjective term and clearly many people disagree with you about what criteria schools should prioritize when administering their aid budget. Thankfully you just seem to be an internet troll and in no real position of responsibility to make such decisions. Will look forward to your next display of nonsense coming soon.

Sure. Also check financial aid during the next recession, and you will see that it will be stricter. It’s pity that what I am suggesting will be observed pretty soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re unhappy with how YOUR donations are being used, designate how you want YOUR donations to be used. Or stop donating, problem solved.

I am not unhappy about anything. It’s just a question. Is it ok to subsidize well off families? Maybe you think it’s fair.

After slavery ended, the U.S. government gave reparations to slave owners to compensate them for their ‘loss of property’. I thought that was super unfair. Instead of giving money and property to the slaves, who had nothing but the clothes on their backs and clearly needed it, they gave it to the wealthy white landowners. What do you think about this? Would you like to help correct this atrocity?

Yes, schools can contribute to repair this atrocity by providing aid to low income families. That’s what I have been saying.

This has nothing to do with slavery. Schools give aid to the kids they think will make the student body better. The students benefit from a better education, but the school benefits by having a more desired student body.

Financial aid is not reparations to the families of the people enslaved on US soil. Those people deserve a cash dispersement.

Stop responding to this instigator. It’s the same nonsense across several threads. It’s either a mom or a student who is spewing this.

They want to go to a top dmv private, but can’t afford it and don’t have the grades to get in. So everything keeps getting boiled down to scholarships being given to MC minorities and not them.

No.
This is a former employee of two private schools. There is a reason no private school discloses financial aid grants per HHI level. There is also a reason that schools require that FA families not share award amounts with each other at all privates. Transparency would blow this open.

Some do disclose it. I think it’s very positive for accountability, so parents know that aid goes to families in need.

[Anonymous]

I tend to not agree with more transparency. Again, if financial aid is contributed by gift, no need to disclose. If a part of tuition, which it is not, full disclosure in annual reports.

How a school spends its gifts is up to that school. Parents are on the hook for tuition. They can choose or not choose to extend gift contributions. But they cannot choose and then direct where those monies go. They cannot simply not choose to gift.

[Anonymous]

“They can simply choose not to gift”

[Anonymous]

This poster keeps wanting private schools to disclose more about gifted donations and how they are spent. I say non of your concern. If you want to freely donate to institutional goals, then donate. If not, then so be it. But you don’t get to tell the school how it should spend those donation dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This poster keeps wanting private schools to disclose more about gifted donations and how they are spent. I say non of your concern. If you want to freely donate to institutional goals, then donate. If not, then so be it. But you don’t get to tell the school how it should spend those donation dollars.

It’s completely acceptable for the community inclusive of current parents to have opinions on a school’s spending. School boards are not immune from criticism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This poster keeps wanting private schools to disclose more about gifted donations and how they are spent. I say non of your concern. If you want to freely donate to institutional goals, then donate. If not, then so be it. But you don’t get to tell the school how it should spend those donation dollars.

It’s completely acceptable for the community inclusive of current parents to have opinions on a school’s spending. School boards are not immune from criticism.

Again, if it’s tuition dollars—absolutely. Beyond that, transparency does not have to be mandated. If those parents are not donating to the “gift” pot, then they can ask away. No need to answer.

Gifts do not impact those parents directly. Tuition does and hence the need for that transparency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This poster keeps wanting private schools to disclose more about gifted donations and how they are spent. I say non of your concern. If you want to freely donate to institutional goals, then donate. If not, then so be it. But you don’t get to tell the school how it should spend those donation dollars.

I agree. Not sure why conformism is necessary. Of course, unless you don’t want a change in the status quo.
It’s completely acceptable for the community inclusive of current parents to have opinions on a school’s spending. School boards are not immune from criticism.

[Anonymous]

I agree. Not sure why conformism is necessary. Of course, unless you don’t want a change in the status quo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This poster keeps wanting private schools to disclose more about gifted donations and how they are spent. I say non of your concern. If you want to freely donate to institutional goals, then donate. If not, then so be it. But you don’t get to tell the school how it should spend those donation dollars.

It’s completely acceptable for the community inclusive of current parents to have opinions on a school’s spending. School boards are not immune from criticism.

Again, if it’s tuition dollars—absolutely. Beyond that, transparency does not have to be mandated. If those parents are not donating to the “gift” pot, then they can ask away. No need to answer.

Gifts do not impact those parents directly. Tuition does and hence the need for that transparency.

Yes they do, because every single parent at any private school is heckled for financial aid donations multiple times a year. If you are begging for a handout, expect accountability or don’t ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This poster keeps wanting private schools to disclose more about gifted donations and how they are spent. I say non of your concern. If you want to freely donate to institutional goals, then donate. If not, then so be it. But you don’t get to tell the school how it should spend those donation dollars.

It’s completely acceptable for the community inclusive of current parents to have opinions on a school’s spending. School boards are not immune from criticism.

Again, if it’s tuition dollars—absolutely. Beyond that, transparency does not have to be mandated. If those parents are not donating to the “gift” pot, then they can ask away. No need to answer.

Gifts do not impact those parents directly. Tuition does and hence the need for that transparency.

Yes they do, because every single parent at any private school is heckled for financial aid donations multiple times a year. If you are begging for a handout, expect accountability or don’t ask.

Agree!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This poster keeps wanting private schools to disclose more about gifted donations and how they are spent. I say non of your concern. If you want to freely donate to institutional goals, then donate. If not, then so be it. But you don’t get to tell the school how it should spend those donation dollars.

It’s completely acceptable for the community inclusive of current parents to have opinions on a school’s spending. School boards are not immune from criticism.

Again, if it’s tuition dollars—absolutely. Beyond that, transparency does not have to be mandated. If those parents are not donating to the “gift” pot, then they can ask away. No need to answer.

Gifts do not impact those parents directly. Tuition does and hence the need for that transparency.

Yes they do, because every single parent at any private school is heckled for financial aid donations multiple times a year. If you are begging for a handout, expect accountability or don’t ask.

My solution is always “don’t give” if you don’t want to give. No one is making you give.

Under law, charitable donations do not have to be made public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This poster keeps wanting private schools to disclose more about gifted donations and how they are spent. I say non of your concern. If you want to freely donate to institutional goals, then donate. If not, then so be it. But you don’t get to tell the school how it should spend those donation dollars.

It’s completely acceptable for the community inclusive of current parents to have opinions on a school’s spending. School boards are not immune from criticism.

Again, if it’s tuition dollars—absolutely. Beyond that, transparency does not have to be mandated. If those parents are not donating to the “gift” pot, then they can ask away. No need to answer.

Gifts do not impact those parents directly. Tuition does and hence the need for that transparency.

Yes they do, because every single parent at any private school is heckled for financial aid donations multiple times a year. If you are begging for a handout, expect accountability or don’t ask.

What is the point of that as opposed to just raising tuition?