Reply to schools w/ no merit aid

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "schools w/ no merit aid"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Long story short: we will not get any financial aid. We make too much for help but don't make enough to go full pay at a private in a way that leaves any wiggle room.

We are just starting this process, and child is an athlete that is in the midst of recruiting (only D3 at this point b/c of NCAA limits- and FTR I don't care if DC plays a sport or not but she does). I'm looking at the finances of the various schools and was shocked to learn that some of the schools she's been talking to give NO MERIT aid. DC has excellent grades, community service, ECs, and athletics.

I get she's one of many like man others . . . and I know at DC there are no athletic scholarships. [b]But, how are people affording places like Wellesley[/b]? Their website and what I'm finding says they give ZERO aid on the basis that, essentially, "everyone there is special."

Yes, she can look elsewhere. And she is. But it is so sad to have to shut down a possibility that would, honestly, be such a perfect fit for her in every way. With room and board, etc. the cost per year is nearly $80K!!!! Two years would eat up more than our 529 has in it. Super bummed to have to limit her.
[/quote]

They are either poor enough to get a lot of aid, rich enough to not need it, or had parents putting away a lot of money from conception. [/quote]

Well it is no shock that top schools would cost ~$80K/year when my kid would enter college.  So we did plan for that and sock away as much as we could from an early age, as we knew we wouldn't qualify for any FA.  Had we not been able to do that, our kid would have had to search out more affordable schools. [/quote]

Congratulations on making enough money to save 320k per kid? [/quote]

No, it's congratulation on planning.  [b]Anyone smart enough to save $160K should be smart enough to know that college will be up to $80K/year in 2022.[/b]  SO if attending those "Top schools" is important you plan accordingly. 
Had we not been able to save enough, I would have set the mindset with my kids that while you can apply to T40 schools, we might not be able to afford them.  So, you need to have a balanced list of college choices.  To me, the most important part is finding great schools that are affordable to YOU.  And there are many, many, many choices available for everyone.  The OP has ~$40K/year saved for DD.  There are literally hundreds of amazing options that will allow DD to graduate debt free.  If only the OP would change their mindset and focus on what's available instead of complaining.

Similarly, [b]I don't buy a house/car/vacation that I can't afford.  I live within my means, or deal with the consequences.  I don't expect others to compensate me for my lack of planning.[/b]  OP could likely now cash flow another $10K+/year if they wanted to, based on their statements.  So if the Top college is that important, they can do that and take parent loans and pay them off now that they have a higher income.  (not saying I'd recommend that, as I actually think that's a bad idea----no school is worth going into debt for). But there are options.  Smartest option (IMO) is to find a great school list that is affordable....and many many exist, just not T20 schools.  [/quote]

This is such an uber-American, "personal responsibility" thought pattern.  So when college costs $200K/year in the future, anyone who didn't "plan" should just be shut out?  How about when it gets to a million dollars a year?  Are we all good with it only being for the children of Elon Musk and the like and if we can't do it, well then the fault is somehow our own?

It has not always been like this.  Private schools have always been more expensive than public, but not to the degree they are now.

[img]https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Rise-of-College-Tuition_Datastream-1.jpg[/img]

Instead of pointing fingers at people for "lack of planning" by saving $300K+ / child, why aren't we demanding to know why the costs are so outrageously impossible for even wealthy people to handle?

[/quote]

You are NOT SHUT OUT. You are simply shut out of the “luxury” product version of college. You feel entitled to a Louis Vuitton degree for your kid on your Coach budget. I’m sorry that you’ve bought into the idea that admissions are the ultimate arbiter of your kids’ merit but there are plenty of affordable options including community college. [/quote]

That is your reaction to these graphics?[/quote]

I'm not the PP, but basically yes. College costs are crazy and, being a former FAFSA kid, I'm kinda shocked that OP, who also claims to have been on FA in college, didn't realize that the costs were outpacing inflation and wasn't setting expectations accordingly with their DCs. The number of parents who get to their kids' junior or senior years and have absolutely no idea on how financing college works is stunning.

OP, you have enough money set aside that your DC can land a merit scholarship, attend a great school, and graduate debt free. That would be so great for your kid and an opportunity neither you nor your husband were able to have. Rather than focusing on what probably cannot happen, lean in to the fabulous opportunities your DC can have that many kids are not able to experience.

GL to your DC![/quote]

Just my observation, people who were themselves on FA feel the most entitled to aid and are the most blindsided to find out they’re supposed to be able to afford sticker. [/quote]

Yes, I fall into that category. I think it is because we paid for our own down payments on houses, supporting our elderly parents, expecting no “generational transfer of wealth,” while we see the majority of our DC friends and colleagues not in that situation at all. [/quote]

[b]But who should be paying this for you? [/b] The government?  The government needs to allocate its scarce resources to the highest need.  The school?  The school also needs to consider what is good stewardship of its funds.  Merit is by definition not based on need.  If all students are meritorious (‘meaning you don’t have to buy higher stats kids with merit aid), what is the good reason to give merit aid to some and not others.  Schools like Duke have a few scholarships, UVA has Echols, UNC Chapel Hill has Morehouse, but these are for tippy top academic students.  Some student on another thread got a full ride at University of Chicago, probably an exceptional student among exceptional students.  But the discounting you hear about, that is to lure desirable (relative the the general student body) students to attend schools most would consider safety or likely schools for those students.

I did not have a generational transfer of wealth other than my parents paid for my undergraduate education at a state school.  You can do that for your kids.  That is an amazing gift.[/quote]

It should not cost so much.  Tuition rises should not be exceeding inflation.

It’s wrong.[/quote]

As I already said in this thread, that reflects growing income inequality. The top 10% can afford much more tuition than they could when your parents were paying for college. [/quote]

We are in vehement agreement.  It's wrong.  Studies all show that education is critical to a productive life and economic security just as healthcare, housing, and food are.  Comparing it to luxury cars and vacations is a false equivalence.[/quote]

No it's not a false equivalence. Of course education is critical.  Nothing is preventing you from getting a great education (except maybe your own false notions).  There are LITERALLY Hundreds of excellent schools that do not cost $80K/year.  Nobody is stopping your kid from getting an education, except you who sets up the mentality that it's "IVY/Stanford/T20 or bust".

If you have stats for a T20/Top SLAC, you will find plenty of universities that will provide that education at a rate you can afford.  
[/quote]

+100[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics