OP, some schools factor in the value of your house and others don't.

Most schools seem to expect roughly this formula:

1/3 past (savings)
1/3 present (income)
1/3 future (student loans, parent loans)

So if the NPC is saying they think you can afford $45,000 a year they are expecting 1/3 of that to come from your savings. $15,000 a year x 4 = $60,000 is what you should have saved up for college for your child.

They think you can find $15,000 a year out of cash flow from your $130,000 a year income which seems OK.

They think your child can take on $15,000 a year of student loan... can reduce that with summer income etc. Or you as a parent can come up with that money through loans or cashflow.

The bulk of the aid at elite schools goes to families with incomes less than 100k (as it should).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, how much is your house worth?

About 850k

Sell the house and move into something more affordable. That's a huge mortgage for your income and use the extra money to pay for college. I don't get complaining on how to pay for college when you made yourself house poor.

Anonymous wrote:And, how much is your house worth?

About 850k

It’s your cash investments. That’s $100,000 that you have to give to yale. You’d be better off having that invested in your house or retirement accounts. also, yale is stingier than some of the other Ivies. Try Grinnell for merit!!!

Ask Yale admissions how accurate their NPC is. The $21K poster seems low.

And, how much is your house worth?

Anonymous wrote:Use the net price calculators. We were surprised at how little aid ivies offered us at $160K with three kids (but no others in college) in Fairfax. Harvard was the exception.

We used the net price calculators. Like you, I was surprised at how little they helped. I was hoping to hear from someone who is sending their child to Yale that the reality is better than the estimator.

Use the net price calculators. We were surprised at how little aid ivies offered us at $160K with three kids (but no others in college) in Fairfax. Harvard was the exception.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That doesn’t sound right. You must have some sort of extenuating circumstance — insanely high amount of investments, or something? We are at $175K and pay $21K/year for our kid at Yale. Less than what we’d pay at our state school.

I do not have high amount of investments. home equity around 150k and cash investments around 100k (not including retirement). You are giving me some hope. Does your situation sound remotely close to mine? I would really appreciate your feedback. You are giving me a little optimism!

Also, is your residence Fairfax County. Just trying to get an accurate picture.

Sorry, one more thing, do you have any other kids in college? We do not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That doesn’t sound right. You must have some sort of extenuating circumstance — insanely high amount of investments, or something? We are at $175K and pay $21K/year for our kid at Yale. Less than what we’d pay at our state school.

I do not have high amount of investments. home equity around 150k and cash investments around 100k (not including retirement). You are giving me some hope. Does your situation sound remotely close to mine? I would really appreciate your feedback. You are giving me a little optimism!

Also, is your residence Fairfax County. Just trying to get an accurate picture.

Anonymous wrote:That doesn’t sound right. You must have some sort of extenuating circumstance — insanely high amount of investments, or something? We are at $175K and pay $21K/year for our kid at Yale. Less than what we’d pay at our state school.

I do not have high amount of investments. home equity around 150k and cash investments around 100k (not including retirement). You are giving me some hope. Does your situation sound remotely close to mine? I would really appreciate your feedback. You are giving me a little optimism!

That doesn’t sound right. You must have some sort of extenuating circumstance — insanely high amount of investments, or something? We are at $175K and pay $21K/year for our kid at Yale. Less than what we’d pay at our state school.

Cost of living is not a factor. You think you should get a break when you live in an $800K house vs. someone with the same income who saved more living in a $400K house?

My daughter is a junior in high school, and has her eyes set on Yale. I was doing some research on the cost of attending and, although they say their goal is not to make families take out loans, I just don't think that is possible. We live in Fairfax County, as most of you know, the cost of living is very high. We make a good salary, but not anything special for this area - above $150,000 but less than $180,000. When I did the net price calculator at Yale, the amount we would pay is around $45,000.

I was wondering if someone who has sent their child to Yale or a similar Ivy League school could provide information on financial aid packages at these schools. I would have to believe they would take the area we live in into consideration as the income we make here is not really that high when factoring in housing and cost of living.

Thank you.