What income threshold is there for private high school financial aid?
December 25, 2008
Andrea B asked:
Our son is applying to private high schools in our city, which has a very high cost of living. The private school that he attends now has families who appear to be pretty well off who are receiving financial aid. Is there an income level above which you just shouldn’t bother applying? The whole process is mystifying, but with high school tuition here nearing $30k per year, we feel like we need help even with our relatively high income.
Our son is applying to private high schools in our city, which has a very high cost of living. The private school that he attends now has families who appear to be pretty well off who are receiving financial aid. Is there an income level above which you just shouldn’t bother applying? The whole process is mystifying, but with high school tuition here nearing $30k per year, we feel like we need help even with our relatively high income.
December 28th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Each school will be different – they determine their own thresholds. My advice is to contact the schools he is applying to and ask them.
Oh, one other thing – sometimes students get financial aid for reasons like sports scholarships, which do not depend on parent income.
December 30th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Each school will be different on their need-based financial aid guidelines. It goes beyond income, the clearing house, or school, takes into consideration other issues, like illness paid out of pocket, elderly care, home equity, college tuition being paid for siblings. Also, some people appear to have more money than they actually have.
If you’re up over about $200,000 – 250,000 you might not bother applying unless you have unusual expenses, very large family, plus no home equity, no vacations, etc. Some schools will give limited financial aid above about $150,000 but typically only under unusual circumstances. (FYI; for Harvard, at $180,000 is where the need-based financial aid drops off in most circumstances, so you can imagine it would be less for most elem and high schools.)
Financial aid isn’t usually supposed to affect admissions, but right now, I don’t know if that’s as true as they’d like it to be…… So if you’re really into the school, think you likely wouldn’t qualify for aid, you might think twice before applying for financial aid. But, if that’s the only way you can afford it, go for it. Call the financial-aid person and ask questions. They can’t give you a definite answer, but maybe you’ll learn something useful. Also, scour their website.
This is going to be a tough year from what I’ve been hearing, especially in NY, where there are families not returning for next year to schools that usually have far too many qualified applicants. Usually in tough times schools prefer first to give aid first to those families who have been in the school and paid tuition in the past and who have fallen on hard times. Lower donations and bad investments means aid might be tighter. (I’m in LA and it seems applications are just as high as usual and families are staying in their schools.)
Even the schools I’ve looked at with the biggest endowments make it very clear that they differentiate between necessary expenses and “lifestyle choices” and will not offer financial aid where they believe money could be spent for education and isn’t. They say things like they expect you to sacrifice and will help you decide where you can cut back on expenses.
I really wish there was more merit-based aid, it tends to be only at the Catholic schools in my area. After all, the kids with the top scores and grades and thus typically top college matriculation are often what makes the school desirable, yet many of those families don’t qualify for aid, but the difference in income isn’t that great when you really consider taxes, hours worked, and paying tuition!
Believe me, I feel your pain! We’re doing the high school applications now and tuition will likely be around $30,000 next year, which is more than K – 8. It’s surreal, isn’t it?