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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hi We will have three kids in college at once (a twin plus singleton situation).  We are pretty high income $475k/yr.  Please don't jump down my throat -it's a honest question- is there any way we will qualify for any aid
if all three are in school at once, or are we way out of the ball park - We just started making this income and do not have enough saved to pay 80k a year x3 for 4 years (if they go to private universities).[/quote]

What most people don't appreciate is that few private schools charge full price.  The high sticker prices you see are marketing gimmicks.  People tend to think if something is expensive, it must be good.

But colleges charge the way airlines do:  nobody is paying the same price.

And here's how the game works.  Have your kids send in their applications.  Don't file a FASFA.  Have the kid state on the application that he/she will NOT be applying for need-based financial aid.

When the acceptance letters come in, so will offers of "merit scholarships."  These are just tuition discounts, and virtually every school awards them routinely -- as long as you're not trying to get your kid into an "elite" school (where the demand for spots is so great that no discounting is necessary).

Use the US News ranking schemes, and select colleges that rank below the top 30 or so on each list (liberal arts colleges on the one hand, research universities on the other).

These schools are no worse than the supposedly prestigious schools (and may be better, insofar as your kids won't be surrounded with neurotic strivers and status seekers).  (Unfortunately, most colleges have lost their way, and academics have been displaced by politics.)

So, never fear.  Ignore the sticker prices.  Your kids can go to private schools for the same price as you'd pay at your in-state flagship public university.[/quote]

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