Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 12:22     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
I'm not sure what you're proposing, OP. That colleges eliminate financial aid? They already require tax returns. Evading taxes is already a felony. There will always be a small number of people cheat any system devised. We need to be on the lookout for these people and try to catch them, for sure. However most people do not cheat. Quit becoming a paranoid lunatic, OP. This will cause you to either to become dishonest yourself to to ruin a system that benefits many honest people.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 12:11     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
it's very easy to cheat. they dont ask for much proof beyond taxes. you could EASILY have accounts you just dont list on any forms.

even if you get audited, they'd really need to look hard.

I knew people who cheat when I was in college, I know parents who cheat now, my kids know people who have cheating parents.

I feel like colleges have made a risk/reward chart about how much to go after people outside the industry norm. It's annoying to those of us who don't cheat (full pay for TWO here!). I think this might be a thing AI fixes!
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 11:59     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Wealthy families are probably the most skilled at hiding
assets and minimizing income. How will schools know if they answer "no" they aren't the beneficiary of a trust? The wealthiest households have many strategies here and mc (and even upper mc) are pretty much always in a tough spo regarding college affordability. Even for upper middle class families with income ranges in $200'sk to $400k, $70k is unaffordable.


70-90k per year is affordable for the 300k+, you could easily have saved enough for 1/3 of it and can pay the rest from your paycheck. It is a choice to make 300-400k and "not be able to afford" 90k. Below 300k there is at least some need based aid at T25, more at the top schools where COA at ivy or JHU can be 40k instead of 90k for incomes in the 250k range. We make 550k, live in the DMV with a 4k monthly mortgage, and are paying for TWO at ivies (93k+ 91k all in)concurrently despite not being able to get much into a 529 due to choosing K-12. It is called budgeting and planning, forgoing the 15k vacations for a cheap beach trip, driving old cars, cooking at home. Our good friends chose parochial school then governors school(free), and are also paying out of pocket for two at T15/ivy, third will likely end up at similar. They had more 529 and make a little less but have a bigger house because they save on k-12.


You make nearly double that and appear to have either bought a while ago, got COVID era interest rate, and/or had enough for a massive down payment.

Income alone is not enough to tell the full story. You have to look at income history, assets, and reasonable debts. For instance, high earning families with a physician can have over 500k in student loans and get a late start to high earnings depending on the length of the residency.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 11:50     Subject: Re:Falsifying Financial Status
My DC would have qualified for QB based on my current income and assets. My family is wealthy, however -- and even though it technically would not have been dishonest to try for QB, it *felt* dishonest, and I talked DC out of it. While my family doesn't support us financially, I know that if I ever called and said, "this is an emergency" they'd help -- and I walked away from a lucrative career, which is different from never having had such an opportunity.

Life and circumstances and bad choices on my part led to financial ruin, but I didn't think my DC's name belonged in press releases as being a QB recipient, yk?

Anyway, Pell-eligible kid with high stats, and I'm pretty sure we'll be ok one way or another. But if they'd been QB matched the anxiety would have done me in.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 11:16     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Anonymous wrote:Wealthy families are probably the most skilled at hiding
assets and minimizing income. How will schools know if they answer "no" they aren't the beneficiary of a trust? The wealthiest households have many strategies here and mc (and even upper mc) are pretty much always in a tough spo regarding college affordability. Even for upper middle class families with income ranges in $200'sk to $400k, $70k is unaffordable.


70-90k per year is affordable for the 300k+, you could easily have saved enough for 1/3 of it and can pay the rest from your paycheck. It is a choice to make 300-400k and "not be able to afford" 90k. Below 300k there is at least some need based aid at T25, more at the top schools where COA at ivy or JHU can be 40k instead of 90k for incomes in the 250k range. We make 550k, live in the DMV with a 4k monthly mortgage, and are paying for TWO at ivies (93k+ 91k all in)concurrently despite not being able to get much into a 529 due to choosing K-12. It is called budgeting and planning, forgoing the 15k vacations for a cheap beach trip, driving old cars, cooking at home. Our good friends chose parochial school then governors school(free), and are also paying out of pocket for two at T15/ivy, third will likely end up at similar. They had more 529 and make a little less but have a bigger house because they save on k-12.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 10:47     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Anonymous wrote:Wealthy families are probably the most skilled at hiding
assets and minimizing income. How will schools know if they answer "no" they aren't the beneficiary of a trust? The wealthiest households have many strategies here and mc (and even upper mc) are pretty much always in a tough spo regarding college affordability. Even for upper middle class families with income ranges in $200'sk to $400k, $70k is unaffordable.


Maybe to pay less in taxes- but wealthy families aren’t going to make themselves appear low income on paper.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 09:03     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Legally divorced
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 08:44     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
^
"divorced" or actually divorced?
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 08:18     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Anonymous wrote:Most (all?) public universities and many private college will only count one parent's income if parent's are divorced. So some families have the parent who doesn't make enough claim custody. Relative was telling me that she pays nothing for her 3 kids to go to college. She expects 4th child will be free as well. She is divorced and her ex and father of the kids is a doctor who makes over $400k. Mother works part-time and all their kids have gotten free rides to public universities because they list that mother has primary custody.

The other huge glitch is that if you can somehow hide active income to be under 60K which many people who own businesses can do, you do NOT have to compete the assets section thanks to the Simplified Needs Test (SNT). This means savings, investments, or business value aren't considered in aid calculations if you meet these income/benefit criteria, streamlining the form.


My kid’s father and I are divorced, with me having primary custody and both of us had to provide our income information on the FAFSA.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 07:29     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Anonymous wrote:Schools require a submission of two years of federal income taxes that they receive directly from the government. Unless someone is significantly cheating on their taxes, fraud isn’t happening. Also, colleges reserve the right to request more information if the college is providing their own scholarship funds.


LOL

There are plenty of ways to cheat for those without jobs in organized sectors with corporate pay checks - small business, parent wealth (student's grandparents), etc.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 06:48     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Schools require a submission of two years of federal income taxes that they receive directly from the government. Unless someone is significantly cheating on their taxes, fraud isn’t happening. Also, colleges reserve the right to request more information if the college is providing their own scholarship funds.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 05:04     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Anonymous wrote:Donut hole family, who's salaries combined were under $150k until very recently (now $190k, paying $90k per year, in full).


There is more to your finances if you can be full pay.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 03:17     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Most (all?) public universities and many private college will only count one parent's income if parent's are divorced. So some families have the parent who doesn't make enough claim custody. Relative was telling me that she pays nothing for her 3 kids to go to college. She expects 4th child will be free as well. She is divorced and her ex and father of the kids is a doctor who makes over $400k. Mother works part-time and all their kids have gotten free rides to public universities because they list that mother has primary custody.

The other huge glitch is that if you can somehow hide active income to be under 60K which many people who own businesses can do, you do NOT have to compete the assets section thanks to the Simplified Needs Test (SNT). This means savings, investments, or business value aren't considered in aid calculations if you meet these income/benefit criteria, streamlining the form.
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 03:11     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are many applicants misrepresenting financial aid or income information to gain an admissions advantage, particularly students who pretends poor or hide the tax records (case I heard is small family businesses that operate primarily in cash)? Is it true that schools find it nearly impossible to accurately assess a family’s ability to pay? If so, does this place full-pay students at a disadvantage in the admissions process or require them to shoulder an additional burden by subsidizing those who falsely claim financial need?



False for regular students who file through FAFSA, OP. Yes, some issues of fraud through Questbridge, which probably no one here qualifies for. Please provide cites for your assertions



+1. And no cites provided. This is an irresponsible post. Please read up fore believing anywhere here.


+1. Financial aid in America is controlled by initial filings to FAFSA run by the U.S. Dept of education. The results are set to the universities in America. Or the schools use another system, CSS, but neither allows for the misuse that OP is describing without any proof for her allegations. Talk to your high school advisor about this before believing anything here or read up on FAFSA and the CSS
Anonymous
Post 12/14/2025 02:51     Subject: Falsifying Financial Status
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are many applicants misrepresenting financial aid or income information to gain an admissions advantage, particularly students who pretends poor or hide the tax records (case I heard is small family businesses that operate primarily in cash)? Is it true that schools find it nearly impossible to accurately assess a family’s ability to pay? If so, does this place full-pay students at a disadvantage in the admissions process or require them to shoulder an additional burden by subsidizing those who falsely claim financial need?



False for regular students who file through FAFSA, OP. Yes, some issues of fraud through Questbridge, which probably no one here qualifies for. Please provide cites for your assertions



+1. And no cites provided. This is an irresponsible post. Please read up fore believing anywhere here.