OP here--thanks all. This is helpful. I have no idea how much aid the school offers collectively, but they were the ones who asked us to submit the request when we told them we planned to send the younger child somewhere less expensive for a year until the older one starts K. So I guess we'll see. We landed on a number that we feel comfortable with, and will just have to see how it shakes out. (And no, we never planned to ask for anything close to 50%--that was a PP who shared that she had received that much aid in a similar situation. I don't think our school offers anything close to that to anyone, though I know they do provide aid to multiple families.)

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar HHI. I applied for FA when I had a 4 and 2 yr old. Tuition was similar to yours. I was awarded 50%.

What kind of school was this?

I would think that most places that have FA fund raise to bring in social economic diversity. I don't think the intention is to help people when money is tight. I know several people who have used savings to cover the years where two kids were in daycare. With all the competition in this area, it's not like they are hurting to get people to pay full rate, so why would they discount?

I would be shocked if any aid was offered, but maybe I am missing something.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess you could ask for 25% off the lowest tuition and see what they say. Our school routinely offers 10% off the lower tuition - but we couldn't go more than that. However, given you're applying for financial aid, not a sibling discount, I think you go for the 25%.

I guess you could ask for 50%, but if it's full day, year round care I REALLY think the school won't be able to swing that. A 1/2 day preschool that is school year? Perhaps. But that's my bias as a director who offers a sibling discount of 10% (and could NEVER swing offering 50% off one of the children's tuitions!)

She is filing an aid request. Not asking for a sibling discount. Do you really not see the difference?

Actually, I do, but how can a program offer such a huge financial aid package and still pay its bills? I guess the answer is they accept only ONE financial aid package, rather than a sibling discount for a few families. But to each their own, I guess.

Anonymous wrote:130k? You are taking this away from people who actually need it. You won't be able to save? Most people who actually need this can barely feed their children. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Oh, good grief. If the school is collecting applications documenting the incomes of families applying for aid, they are the ones making decisions about how to allocate it. Would it be crazy for them to discount tuition for a family making $130K and not for a family making $50K? Sure. But who knows who the other applicants are, or what the school's criteria are for making those decisions? It's not at all unheard of for families making in the low-to-mid $100s to be offered aid at private schools for a multitude of reasons.

130k? You are taking this away from people who actually need it. You won't be able to save? Most people who actually need this can barely feed their children. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Are there really schools that will do this? Especially with a HHI of 130K. I can't imagine our school would do that - it is at then end if the day a business. Maybe if they had trouble filling spots - or if they wanted SES diversity by offering to a low income family, not over 100k

Why should others pay for their tuition because you keep having kids? I really don't underatand this.

Wait - what? On $130K you were able to financial aid for preschool? I just assumed we were too "wealthy".

Anonymous wrote:I guess you could ask for 25% off the lowest tuition and see what they say. Our school routinely offers 10% off the lower tuition - but we couldn't go more than that. However, given you're applying for financial aid, not a sibling discount, I think you go for the 25%.

I guess you could ask for 50%, but if it's full day, year round care I REALLY think the school won't be able to swing that. A 1/2 day preschool that is school year? Perhaps. But that's my bias as a director who offers a sibling discount of 10% (and could NEVER swing offering 50% off one of the children's tuitions!)

She is filing an aid request. Not asking for a sibling discount. Do you really not see the difference?

I guess you could ask for 25% off the lowest tuition and see what they say. Our school routinely offers 10% off the lower tuition - but we couldn't go more than that. However, given you're applying for financial aid, not a sibling discount, I think you go for the 25%.

I guess you could ask for 50%, but if it's full day, year round care I REALLY think the school won't be able to swing that. A 1/2 day preschool that is school year? Perhaps. But that's my bias as a director who offers a sibling discount of 10% (and could NEVER swing offering 50% off one of the children's tuitions!)

I have a similar HHI. I applied for FA when I had a 4 and 2 yr old. Tuition was similar to yours. I was awarded 50%.

Currently cash-flow negative (I know, I know!) paying for infant care, so not currently saving. (We are using some earmarked savings for this, knowing that it was time-limited.) We will have a one-month emergency fund left by the time DC2 starts preschool but would like to build this back to a three-month fund. Tuition is $20K/kid for full-time, year-round care. (Average cost for our area.) HHI is $130K but will go up slightly (hopefully) next year.

How much do you currently put in savings each month?
What is the tuition for each kid?

We have to write a formal aid request for our preschool for next year since our second child is starting, and I'm not sure how much is a reasonable amount to request. (They will be reviewing our income too but want us to identify an amount we feel comfortable paying first.) I'd love to hear thoughts on how others have handled this type of situation. We have been crunching numbers for the last two days and have a very solid budget. We don't have much wiggle room to cut back further (already have only one car, small 2BR house with a modest mortgage, don't have cable, don't eat out much, don't take big vacations, etc., etc.) With the budget as is, we could pay both tuitions and have $20 left a month, but would not have an emergency fund, which we're not comfortable with. (In that scenario, we have a backup option for the younger child that costs less, but we would love to have both kids at the same place and the school seems to want the same.) How much is a reasonable amount to expect to have leftover each month in discretionary income for savings, etc. in this context? We'd like to make a request that's realistic and that they're likely to say yes to, but we also don't want to ask for so little that we do not have a buffer in an emergency even if it's technically doable. I know the top and bottom of the range (25% or more and it's a no-brainer since cost is the same as having DC2 in the cheaper place; 10% or less and we would not send DC2) but there is a big gray area in between that spans several thousand dollars. What have other middle-income households done in similar situations (and what has the outcome been?) Thanks!