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forget pell, your not even in the ballpark. The schools with institutional aid at a high income level - mostly the Ivys- use css.
I think your best bet is going to be merit. Did you mention what your state is? Some have scholarships for high high school rank.
Thanks. We are in Illinois. We are in a competitive public high school, but they do not officially rank.
Do all Ivies use CSS? I think Princeton does not?
I will keep income low. Do you know what CSS looks at? All current C-Corp assets, profit & loss? How many years tax returns are reported? I'll look for the CSS form to review.
Princeton has their own, probably closer to css They also require the FAFSA. They require FAFSA because they want to get any federal funds - or TAG- if a NJ resident- if eligible.
Sounds like your DD might have options for merit money with her stats. Only a few good schools offer guarantee merit based on stats - I think the best deal is U of Alabama. Other schools have competitive merit for very high stats students - examples are: UVA, Emory but they are tough to get. FYI, U of Chicago is very generous with institutional financial aid and has been known to give FA for families in to the 6 figures - I'd run the NPC for that school.
Federal financial aid is really meant for the very poor. Some schools have large endowments and choose to use them for institutional financial aid and/or merit scholarships. Some schools have large endowments and choose to use them for other expenses.
Sounds like your DD might have options for merit money with her stats. Only a few good schools offer guarantee merit based on stats - I think the best deal is U of Alabama. Other schools have competitive merit for very high stats students - examples are: UVA, Emory but they are tough to get. FYI, U of Chicago is very generous with institutional financial aid and has been known to give FA for families in to the 6 figures - I'd run the NPC for that school.
Federal financial aid is really meant for the very poor. Some schools have large endowments and choose to use them for institutional financial aid and/or merit scholarships. Some schools have large endowments and choose to use them for other expenses.
Thank you for this info. Yes, of my kids, DD will have best merit options. She will likely consider the Ivies/highly selective schools and probably an Early Decision option, but she is a freshman and has a few years to go. U of Chicago is on her radar, but not a big fan of the neighborhood. She also liked UVA (actually toured there with her brother), so that is interesting they have competitive merit.
Will start running NPC. Is there any site you can recommend that list schools/% merit for very high stat students? She is also getting some positive feedback from college coaches/college music directors on her sport and instrument. Not sure if she will pursue scholarship in those areas also. Not counting on anything, but it will be part of her overall student resume. An orchestra did give her $1200 last summer to go to Europe based on a 5 minute video she uploaded to them. Her first merit scholarship, which I didn't even know existed. Trying to figure this all out.
I've seen this mentioned a couple times here, but I don't believe this is correct. It's my understanding that for a dependent student, FAFSA/FM includes 20% of student assets and 50% of student income (after allowances) in the EFC calculation.
It is true that the FAFSA formula considers a higher percentage of student income/assets to be available than it does parental income/assets, but it does not count 100% of either student OR parent assets as "available."
In fact, FAFSA shields approximately the first $6500 of student assets (number changes slightly each year). Then, about 50% (again number changes each year) of student income/assets is treated as "available."
The percentage is much lower for parents.
And, any money held in a 529 account by parents for the student is considered a parental asset, not a student asset.
It is always smart to keep college savings in parent names, but if a student does have income or assets, they will not be considered 100% available under the FAFSA formula.
Now, there is a caveat. Approximately 380 colleges and scholarship programs ask for the CSS Profile, which is a supplement to FAFSA. These colleges use their own "institutional formulas" in addition to the FAFSA forumula to determine a family's ability to pay for college. The CSS Profile asks for information about assets and income that the FAFSA does not. In some cases, this may help a family; in others, it may hurt the family.
And, of course, every college --- including those who only use FAFSA -- is free to award whatever aid they want to award in what ever form they choose. There are only a small handful of schools that guarantee to meet 100% of "demonstrated need" based on the family's Expected Family Contribution.
Luckily, every college is required by law to provide what is called a Net Price Calculator on their website that will allow you to run the numbers and get an estimate of how things might look for your child's first year of college. It's also never a bad idea to contact the financial aid office directly if you have specific questions about how your (parent) or your child's (student) assets and income might be treated. Each college really does handle things a little differently, so it never hurts to ask before your child applies (or afterwards if you don't think your family situation was fully considered).
All families who needs financial aid should NOT finalize their child's college list without doing the Net Price Calculator for each college first, and, if necessary, following up directly with the financial aid office to ask questions.
Thanks. We are in Illinois. We are in a competitive public high school, but they do not officially rank.
Do all Ivies use CSS? I think Princeton does not?
I will keep income low. Do you know what CSS looks at? All current C-Corp assets, profit & loss? How many years tax returns are reported? I'll look for the CSS form to review.
Again, although the CSS Profile is standardized, each college using institutional methodology has their own way of using the information.
One key difference between CSS Profile info and FAFSA is home equity and business assets are considered on the Profile.
But the BEST way to get an idea of how the college's that interest your daughter might view YOUR family situation is to go to each college's website and do a search for Net Price Calculator. Enter in all of the information the calculator asks for, and it will show you what your family *may* receive in terms of scholarships, grants, loans, and work study from that particular college.
After you do the Net Price Calculator, call the colleges directly to ask further questions.
Don't assume that income is the be-all with financial aid eligibility. Even the FAFSA looks at much more than just family income in its formula, such as family size, state of residence, age of parents, etc. If you own your own business, some institutional methodology colleges won't just look at business income, but also business assets.
And, the truth is that the more desirable your child is to a college, the better the need-based financial aid package they are likely to offer.
So, rather than try to "Guess" how to get the most money, use the Net Price Calculators and then follow up with questions directly to the financial aid offices. The Net Price Calculators build in the college's individual formulas, and will give you a much more accurate picture than advice from anyone on the internet, since each college does things their own way.
And, the truth is that the more desirable your child is to a college, the better the need-based financial aid package they are likely to offer.
So, the best way to get money for college is to have your daughter apply to a well-rounded list of colleges that the Net Price Calculators seem to indicate will give you the best chance of realistically paying for school.
Note, a "well rounded list" does not mean applying only to colleges that reject 80% or more of applicants. It also means helping your daughter fall in love with colleges you are likely to be able to afford and where she is likely to be a highly desired applicant. Highly desirable means her grades and test scores put her in the top end of the applicant class, not just among thousands of other "top" students.
also post questions on college confidential but be aware they will not be sympathetic if you ask for ways to hide assets to get more financial aid.
Thanks... Lol - I know many are not sympathetic to the situation, and I won't go into some long defense on how any saved money will likely be spent, not on fancy cars and toys, but on growing a business, employing people/providing benefits, so that they may also save to send their kids to college... There is nothing wrong with legally trying to cut costs, especially if you choose to apply it to other socially productive areas.
The worst source of advice is College Confidential. It is filled with misinformation posted by strangers who don't know any more than you do.
Unless the strangers are willing to send you a copy of their child's transcript, test scores, recommendations, and financial aid applications for each school, their advice is meaningless. Just because one student got a good package at a particular school last year (or five years ago), doesn't mean your child will this year.
Use the Net Price Calculators on each college's website. While they aren't going to be 100%, they are trustworthy enough that they will help you plan a realistic list for your child.
As a retired college counselor, I can tell you that one of the most heart-breaking things was when parents called me in April to say that they let their kids apply to expensive colleges hoping things would work out with financial aid, and then discovered that their child only got into colleges that expect the family to pay much more than they can realistically afford. But because they "hoped for the best" they never helped their kids learn enough about those schools to be excited and happy with their choices so now everyone is unhappy (and poor!).
Don't let that be you. Run the numbers on the Net Price Calculators, call the colleges to ask questions you may have, and make sure your daughter has several schools on her list that she would be thrilled to attend which are both admission AND financial safe bets. No school that rejects 80% of applicants is an admission safe bet, even for the most talented kids. Good luck!
The worst source of advice is College Confidential. It is filled with misinformation posted by strangers who don't know any more than you do.
Thank you.... The best advice I'm finding is from directly talking to the students and admissions reps on our college visits. I guess we have a lot more college tours to go...
I also plan on becoming very familiar with the Net Price Calculators!
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