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Old 12-10-2014, 09:43 PM
 
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Ok, my oldest is a junior...tons of extra curriculars...top 3 class rank (Good school 450ish in class), will be natl. merit finalist, taking SAT soon but PSAT equates to 1530ish. Solid extra curriculars etc. Caucasian from the state of KS, single parent family, family income 125k.

He's considering a couple of majors, one of which a public university in the area is as good as anybody in and that would likely be a full-ride (or close enough). It's also in a field where you don't go to gradschool so no concerns about that aspect.

I'm naive to what (if any financial help) you can get at some of the top private schools (very rough idea, ball-park) if he were to look at them for something like a business or finance major.

Normally I would think "not much" but the income level is pretty modest if not chump change by many dual-income standards in the higher cost northeast so I didn't know if that impacted anything.

I know there are many other variables but in a general case I looking for something rough like if Harvard is 65k a year would them maybe let him in for 1/2 price? 75%? Etc.

Sorry if this seems like a dumb question for you and yes I will be filling out the FAFSA and so forth but I just doing a quick "smell test" if anyone happens to be able to ballpark.
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Old 12-10-2014, 10:07 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
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Contact the Financial Aid office at Harvard. They can be pretty generous. Stanford University (CA) will pay for everything, if you qualify, and their standards are pretty loose, from what I understand. What state are you in? Try your state university. U Penn, for example, pays everything for in-state students.
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Old 12-10-2014, 10:17 PM
 
Location: Middle America
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I attended a good private college, and my degree was almost entirely paid for with grants and scholarships. It really just depends on the school, their endowment, what types of grants and scholarships are available, etc. If your child has a particular school in mind, contact their financial aid office, get literature on what sorts of aid he might qualify for, and look into it.
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Old 12-10-2014, 11:24 PM
 
Location: A coal patch in Pennsyltucky
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My son and his wife both graduated from UPenn. UPenn's financial aid was very generous at the time. In calculating their cost of attendance, they included miscellaneous expenses such as travel between home and campus and school supplies.

Sometime around the time my son was graduating, UPenn improved their financial aid to cover 100% of the financial need as determined by the FAFSA and their own financial aid form. I understand that Harvard also covers 100%, but I don't know if it is calculated in a similar method.

OTOH, at the time my son was applying to schools, Carnegie Mellon offered very little in financial aid. My son said their was a direct correlation between the financial aid that a school offered and the size of the school's endowment.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth View Post
Contact the Financial Aid office at Harvard. They can be pretty generous. Stanford University (CA) will pay for everything, if you qualify, and their standards are pretty loose, from what I understand. What state are you in? Try your state university. U Penn, for example, pays everything for in-state students.
Ruth,
UPenn is not a state university and I've never heard they make any distinction between in-state and out-state students in calculating financial aid.
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Old 12-11-2014, 12:34 AM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
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All of the Ivy Leagues offer need-based financial aid solely (of course, there are many more "elite" schools than just the Ivies, but I know the Ivy League best as I attended one for undergraduate study); though, if you earn under a certain amount, they will provide a very nice package. I really can't speak for non-Ivy schools except to say that they generally offer academic merit scholarships, which the Ivies don't do (that has to work well in your son's favor). My family income was about $40k less than yours and my school covered all but $3,000, which I took out Federal loans to cover as my parent's couldn't afford it (I come from a family of 8 and live in a high cost of living City, so money is always tight).

With that out of the way, how large is your family? Do you have a mortgage on your home? And does your family hold a lot of debt? Do you have any other children/dependents in school/college? Are you caring for extended family members, etc.? All of these questions will factor into how much money need-based aid schools will give you. Of course, the FAFSA is often a good indicator of how much the school will give you as it spits out an estimated family contribution. Note, if your EFA seems higher than what your family can afford (mine was around $13k, which my family couldn't afford and, as I mentioned above, the school made us pay far less), don't panic as the number is also a basic guide; also, you can always appeal a financial aid package.
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Old 12-11-2014, 07:52 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
37,737 posts, read 40,789,075 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathguy View Post
Ok, my oldest is a junior...tons of extra curriculars...top 3 class rank (Good school 450ish in class), will be natl. merit finalist, taking SAT soon but PSAT equates to 1530ish. Solid extra curriculars etc. Caucasian from the state of KS, single parent family, family income 125k.

He's considering a couple of majors, one of which a public university in the area is as good as anybody in and that would likely be a full-ride (or close enough). It's also in a field where you don't go to gradschool so no concerns about that aspect.

I'm naive to what (if any financial help) you can get at some of the top private schools (very rough idea, ball-park) if he were to look at them for something like a business or finance major.

Normally I would think "not much" but the income level is pretty modest if not chump change by many dual-income standards in the higher cost northeast so I didn't know if that impacted anything.

I know there are many other variables but in a general case I looking for something rough like if Harvard is 65k a year would them maybe let him in for 1/2 price? 75%? Etc.

Sorry if this seems like a dumb question for you and yes I will be filling out the FAFSA and so forth but I just doing a quick "smell test" if anyone happens to be able to ballpark.
You present something in your post that I'm curious about. Do universities/colleges weigh incomes from different parts of the country the same way? I'm retired but, for example, wages in my state are much lower than wages in NY/NJ but you can do really well here on less income because of a lower cost of living and no state income tax on wages. You know a household income of $80,000 may be barely existing NYC but here you can do really well on that much income.
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Old 12-11-2014, 09:33 AM
 
77,734 posts, read 59,870,178 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraC View Post
You present something in your post that I'm curious about. Do universities/colleges weigh incomes from different parts of the country the same way? I'm retired but, for example, wages in my state are much lower than wages in NY/NJ but you can do really well here on less income because of a lower cost of living and no state income tax on wages. You know a household income of $80,000 may be barely existing NYC but here you can do really well on that much income.
I added the state info as a catch-all in case instate\out of state or admission questions etc. came into play.
Also, I know (whether we agree with it or not) that state and ethnicity can impact admission so I included it because an asian kid from Massachusetts has a much much tougher time getting into some of the schools than my son with the same test scores just because they are trying to preserve diversity. (there are articles about this, just sharing info not debating the merits of it.)

I seriously doubt that they COLA your income so for that purpose state wouldn't matter (my opinion)
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Old 12-11-2014, 09:34 AM
 
77,734 posts, read 59,870,178 times
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Thankyou all for the many good responses.

I figured I would have to get down to the nitty gritty and talk to schools specifically but wanted to just get a general feasibility.
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Old 12-11-2014, 09:59 AM
 
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Default Endowments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathguy View Post
Thankyou all for the many good responses.

I figured I would have to get down to the nitty gritty and talk to schools specifically but wanted to just get a general feasibility.
A financial asset donation made to a non-profit group or institution in the form of investment funds or other property that has a stated purpose at the bequest of the donor. Most endowments are designed to keep the principal amount intact while using the investment income from dividends for charitable efforts.
Attached Thumbnails
Any "elite school" graduates care to provide some input?-endowment.jpg  
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Old 12-11-2014, 10:45 AM
 
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One of my nephews attended Columbia on a full academic scholarship even though his father makes a very good income. His major was in a language. Room and board in NYC was very expensive though, my brother said. (As you should know since you live in that area.)

Another nephew was offered a full ride academic scholarship to Northwestern, but turned it down in favor of attending his father's alma mater (a smaller private liberal arts college.)

Both have done VERY well after graduation - one got a Fulbright scholarship and went on to study at Oxford and seems to be having good success in starting his career, the other is at one of the elite law schools now.

The only negative to the above that I can think of is that I believe it is good for kids to work at least a little while attending college, and they didn't.

So I guess I'm saying that full ride scholarships are available at elite universities for the academically gifted.
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