After speaking to dozens of parents, a principal a couple of times, and a financial aid officer, I've determined the biggest financial misconception about applying to college is that you have to be poor or middle class to receive financial aid. The feedback I've received from everybody is that you can earn a multiple-six figure income and still receive free money for college.
For proof not based on my conversations, MIT announced on November 20, 2024,
“Undergraduates with family income below $200,000 can expect to attend MIT tuition-free starting next fall, thanks to newly expanded financial aid. Eighty percent of American households meet this income threshold.
As for the 50 percent of American families with income below $100,000, parents can expect to pay nothing at all toward the full cost of their students’ MIT education, which includes tuition as well as housing, dining, fees, and an allowance for books and personal expenses.
This $100,000 threshold is up from $75,000 this year, while next year’s $200,000 threshold for tuition-free attendance will increase from its current level of $140,000.”
$200,000 Is Now Considered “Poor Enough” for Free Financial Aid
A household income of $200,000 is undoubtedly substantial compared to the U.S. median household income of about $80,000. Families earning this much can generally maintain a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, especially in non-coastal cities.
However, in cities with a high cost of living and multiple children, $200,000 doesn’t stretch as far as one might expect. This financial strain is increasingly recognized by elite colleges like MIT, which now offer tuition-free attendance for families earning under $200,000. Other institutions may soon follow suit.
The natural question then arises: how much over $200,000 can you earn and still qualify for aid? Surprisingly, the answer is much more than expected. But the other variable is the amount of non-retirement assets you own as well, that will be reviewed in the FAFSA and CSS Profile.
To clarify, when I refer to free financial aid, I mean grants and scholarships—free money for college—not loans. Anyone can take out a loan.
My Dentist’s Daughter Receives Grants
During a routine teeth cleaning, my dentist shared an unexpected insight about financial aid. Her daughter received $20,000 annually in grants to help cover her $38,000 private high school tuition for four years, despite their high income.
My dentist likely earns at least $200,000, and her husband, who works in tech, likely earns a similar amount. Even with a combined income of $400,000 or more, they qualified for aid.
Her daughter now attends the University of Southern California (USC), where tuition for the 2025 school year is $69,904, with total annual costs estimated at $95,225. Luckily, the family still receives financial aid. However, my dentist noted that rising home equity negatively impacted their ability to secure additional grants.
Perhaps you also have this financial misconception that a dentist and a tech worker are rich enough to pay 100% for private university on their own. With the average cost of dental school at over $125,000 a year in tuition at some places, perhaps the return is not as high as one might think.
A Couple Making Close to $1 Million a Year Receives Financial Aid
While playing pickleball, a conversation with a fellow player took an interesting turn. His kids attend an expensive private school in San Francisco with tuition costs of $59,000 per year. He shared that his wife’s best friend, the school’s head of financial aid, revealed that families earning up to $500,000 per child can still qualify for financial aid.
This revelation might seem shocking—earning $500,000 per child and receiving financial aid feels almost surreal. However, it aligns with prior insights I’ve explored, such as in a post profiling a family earning $500,000 but with four children. Below is their expense profile. Inflation is helpful as it raises the income threshold for financial aid determination!
In this latest example, my pickleball partner described a household where the husband works in finance and the wife works in tech, both holding upper-middle management positions. Combined, they earn close to $1 million annually, yet they still receive financial aid.
Applying for financial aid with such a high income might seem audacious. But as the saying goes, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Their success underscores the importance of understanding how financial aid formulas take into account not just income but also expenses, family size, assets and other factors.
Swallow Your Pride And Apply For Financial Aid
If you’ve been a long-time reader of Financial Samurai, you may have adopted a mindset of achieving financial independence without relying on anyone but yourself. This philosophy aligns with my new three-legged stool for retirement, which is centered on self-reliance. Here’s why I’ve embraced this mindset.
Growing up in developing countries, I witnessed firsthand how those who depended on government support remained trapped in poverty. In contrast, individuals who took risks and pursued entrepreneurship often became successful.
My personal journey brought me to America for high school and college, where navigating challenges as a minority further ingrained my belief in self-reliance. People naturally are biased to help those who look more like them. Therefore, you are at a distinct disadvantage when fewer people with your background are in leadership roles.
Once I started earning, I became accustomed to paying significant taxes and unsubsidized expenses. For example, paying $2,500 monthly for healthcare helps subsidize others who cannot afford it. Similarly, living healthily helps reduce my impact on the healthcare system to free up space for those who need more help. These habits foster a sense of independence, which can make it difficult to consider receiving assistance, even when eligible.
But be careful with adopting this philosophy of self-reliance so rigidly. Having too much pride may result in a more difficult life than necessary. Plenty of well-to-do families are receiving good financial aid for private grade school and college.
The Arrogance Of Believing That You Are Too Rich For Aid
Another “issue” with having the attitude of only relying on yourself to build wealth is that you might actually succeed! When your back is against the wall, you tend to do everything possible to survive and then thrive.
After making enough money and building enough wealth to feel comfortable, or even financially independent, you may arrogantly believe you're too rich to qualify for any aid. I say “arrogant” because you may mistakenly believe you are wealthier than the vast majority of your peers, when in reality, there is an even richer subset of parents who are far wealthier than you.
For example, let's say you make a top 1% income of about $650,000 and have two kids. You've got the fancy title with a dozen company reports. Most people wouldn't dare to apply for financial aid in such a circumstance. It would feel too embarrassing.
However, the reality is that there are parents at your grade school and college who make 10X to 50X your amount, or $6.5 million to $32.5 million every year for years. They are the ones donating the big bucks to help subsidize other families.
To them, your $650,000 annual income is like pocket change. They and school financial aid officers would happily subsidize some of your tuition if you are a great family who might also fit a demographic they are especially lacking. In my podcast interview, this is referred to as “institutional needs.” Colleges will use merit aid as an incentive for you to join them.
Final Financial Misconception About Applying To College
After reading this article, you might feel tempted to game the financial aid system. At the very least, learn how the system works by clicking the post.
However, I want to leave you with one final financial misconception to consider when applying for college or private grade school: the notion that poorer applicants automatically have a greater chance of getting in than wealthier ones.
While there has been a strong and justified push toward socioeconomic diversity, this trend doesn’t always translate into a competitive advantage for families of less affluent students.
Whether non-profit or not, schools operate like businesses that need to generate enough revenue from tuition dollars and donations to fund operations. Therefore, if your family has the means to pay full tuition, your family may stand a better chance of getting in. Colleges need full-tuition payers to help subsidize non-full-tuition payers.
It's a similar concept to the government relying on 60% of working Americans to subsidize the 40% who do not pay income taxes. The same principle applies to healthcare, where working Americans earning more than 400% of the Federal Poverty Level must pay full price for health insurance, while those earning less receive subsidies. Someone has to pay full freight, otherwise, the system collapses.
Although schools claim your finances don't matter when applying (e.g. need blind), they often do. They just can't publicly say so out of fear of receiving too much backlash.
Free Money For College As A High-Income Earner
So I say if you're making less than $500,000 a year per child and have less than $1.5 million in household assets per adult, it's worth applying for financial aid if you want a chance at free money. You never know.
If you make less than $300,000 per child and have less than $500,000 in non-retirement assets per child, you will most likely get some type of financial aid.
Let's say the school is located in New York City. They could accept another family whose parents work in investment banking, which represents one of the largest industries parents hail from. Or, they might decide to choose a family whose mother is an accomplished artist. Although she's earning $600,000 a year, the school might offer a 20% discount in the form of aid to entice the family to join.
Applying for financial aid as a moderately-high-income family will not hurt you. The only thing it will cost is your time and perhaps an application fee. If there is free money for private grade school or college, you might as well try and qualify.
Related: The Different Ways To Pay For College
Readers, have you heard of any case studies where high-income-earning families received financial aid? Are you a high-income-earning family applying for financial aid? Do you think it's morally OK to be earning a top 10% income and still receiving free money for school? What are some other financial misconceptions about applying to college or private grade school that people should be aware of?
Conversation With John Durante, High School Principal About Applying To College
You can learn more about John and his podcast and book here.
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Boldin takes a comprehensive approach to financial management. Instead of solely concentrating on stock and bond investments, Boldin tackles a wide range of real-life financial scenarios we all encounter. One of the biggest challenges families face today is finding the best way to save and pay for college without jeopardizing their retirement plans.
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As an FI doc, I don’t expect any need-based financial aid. And FWIW I don’t know any of my buds that got need-based financial aid (merit based is another issue). It’s simple to look at the FAFSA and see that a good sized taxable brokerage and/or income excludes [real] help.
Good for your dentist and pickleball buddy. Financial aid for private grade school vs college are obviously two different things. Also, as you point out, a grant and a loan are both considered “aid” so who knows what they’re actually getting when they say they qualified for financial aid.
I appreciate the article and viewpoint, but I’m looking forward to you revisiting this post in a couple years. Time flies–it’ll be here before you know it!
Your children are not in 10th+ grade so this article is not written from personal experience. We submitted FAFSAs for the 2024-2025 school year and were only offered $5,500 in non-subsidized loans per child (that means interest starts accruing from when the loan is taken out). That magic non-subsidized number means you’ve earned too much to qualify for aid. We declined the loans as we’ve saved enough in our children’s 529s to cover 3 to 3.5 years of university already. I’m in a Facebook group for high income earning parents paying for university ($150K+/year), and it’s the same story over and over again – in most situations, particularly for W-2 wage earners with 1-2 children under 24 years old studying in public universities, there’s almost no point in completing the FAFSA unless the university requires it to receive merit scholarships.
Does sharing the experiences of others not count or matter? I think everybody’s experiences matter and I trust what they’ve told me.
Maybe I can get them on my podcast so they can share their stories anonymously on how they made $500,000 and above and still got grant scholarships. Would that help you feel better or worse?
Sorry you did not get any unsubsidized aid. How about merit aid? What is your income, net worth and the number of children you have? Maybe they can provide some perspective as to why
If you get subsidies for ACA marketplace insurance, FAFSA skips all the questions about assets. Meaning you don’t have to report your assets….brokerage, real estate investments, business, etc. Just a little tip.
Fascinating! I’m assuming the CSS profile doesn’t do that, though. And all the top schools use the CSS profile.
Good article on podcast. One of the things private colleges are doing more aggressively now and dueling out “merit aid” To attract students, regardless, if they need the money or not. You mentioned this in the podcast and John talked about it as colleges providing “coupons.”
I need the best strategy maybe to go to a tier 2 private university that offers a lot of merit aid scholarship. Great schools, great facilities, smaller classrooms, and easier to get into. The quality of the education is the same or better.
Think about school, such as Boston University, Boston College, Emory University, Washington University, USC, George Washington, American, NYU.
Those schools are also now so hard to get into as well!
Another good article, Sam. While I don’t have kids and this article won’t really pertain to me, still an interesting read. One note: I’ve noticed you’ve really started advocating for Boldin a lot (in your past article, an entire Q&A podcast and now an entire section here). It looks like you are getting affiliate commission from this – to be transparent with your readers, you should disclose if you are (or not).
Thanks. Do you plan to have kids? Given you commented on this article, I presume you and your partner may be thinking about them. What are some of the things holding you back?
Boldin is an affiliate partner and I’m a user. It’s in the article and mentioned in my newsletter. Does Boldin being an affiliate partner affect you or your views of Boldin? Always welcome feedback bc I’m inundated with potential partnerships and only try and choose the most relevant and helpful products, especially the ones I use.
What is it that you do for a living and how are you compensated? I think you’ll enjoy this post on Wealth vs Morality. I always encourage readers to try and work for free too. Thanks
Thanks for the feedback. No I don’t plan to have kids. In my humble opinion, I think it would be difficult and almost irresponsible to have kids in a world of ever scarce resources, climate change and significantly fewer job opportunities. i believe the earth is already overpopulated and has passed the tipping point of sustainability.
Re: my views on Boldin, I think it depends on your financial arrangement with them. If it’s just affiliate links, probably not a lot. But I think being overly transparent that they are a sponsor can never hurt as I think there can be perceptions of conflicts of interest.
Got it. Actually, America is below its replacement rate which could pose economic problems down the road, as we are seeing in China. So I think it’s responsible to have children in America.
Given you feel so strongly about saving/protecting the world, what do you think about moving on from your advertising sales job and doing something directly that can help the world?
Whether it’s an economic or environmental calamity, we will all have to pay the price collectively for our disregard of the planet in the relentless pursuit of profit.. probably imminently within the next generation (many experts predict the oceans will be depleted of all fish by 2050).
I appreciate your judo-style of putting questions back to your commenters lol. To answer your question, I have been a staunch advocate of reducing our footprint: one of the most effective ways to do this is to adopt a plant-based lifestyle – animal agriculture is very land-intensive, pollutes our waters, air and land, and is extremely cruel to animals. I’ve been an animal rights advocate for the past few years and thanks to your great financial advice and insights as an avid reader/listener, I’ve been able to give much more of my time and money to these causes, quit my job and will now be a much louder voice to bring greater awareness to this issue.
Thank you and good to hear! Reducing our footprint is a noble act.
Sad that you are using the goal of “saving the planet” as the reason to not have a family. Everyone can do what they want assuming they are not hurting others but I find your views pretty sad! Maybe they are the truth or maybe not…either way, you are better off (or more importantly the child) not being a parent.
Strange for me to read all this since I was raised by immigrant parents with 5 other siblings. Father a restaurant cook, mother full-time housewife.
Anyone with chlldren, for sure there will be some financial challenges. In Canada of course we have scholarships, bursaries and grants. For sure, if the student also qualifies because of required entrance marks at a certain level. Yes, we did qualify for each of some limited grants. I personally loaned some money to youngest sib. towards her medical education.
Canadians are lucky in that college is so affordable. It’s a different world, but there are plenty of smart Canadians who take advantage of the US job market, make their money, and go back to Canada. The pay here seems to be at least 50% more than comparable jobs. Have you considered working in America as well? Or are you already?
See: https://www.financialsamurai.com/the-best-life-hack-for-americans-taking-advantage-of-canada/
Aid is predicated on the Cost of the school along with how much you and your child can contribute towards that based very heavily on income with considerations for liquid assets and even 529 assets. It scales so if you were able to retire early with lower AGI but a mountain of assets you’d be in a better position to get aid than someone who has few assets but bigger income. At say $60K of AGI your Effective Family Contribution is pegged at 10.47% but if you had double the AGI ($120K) you’d be responsible for 22.3% EFC. Liquid assets scale but tend to top out around 5-6ish%. If the school costs $70K per year and you have $120K AGI and say $40K liquid and $100K in 529 your EFC is ~$34,000 and you can qualify for aid of ~$36,000. This obviously only looks at Federal aid, private schools have completely different rules. Depending on those rules going to a cheap school may not be as cheap depending on aid policies. Great content Sam, its a complex game we play and information like this helps us try and win.
Looks like the game is stacked against the FIRE folks who have a significant amount in investment, 401k, and IRA accounts. You are still expected to shell out your retirement money to pay for your kids’ college education.
For example, consider if you have $2 million in those accounts, the EFC is easily > $100,000.
EFC calculator:
https://finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate/
Luckily FAFSA doesn’t consider 401K, IRA, or similar retirement assets in calculating your EFC. The people who FIRE would run afoul with their after-tax brokerage-based assets.
Indeed. Thanks for sharing your insights. I wonder about the CSS Profile for financial aid though. I hear it is more rigorous than FAFSA and will more assets that will count against families applying for aid. Thoughts on this? All the top schools seem to use the CSS Profile application for aid.
*****
The CSS Profile evaluates a broader range of assets compared to the FAFSA, and certain assets like home equity and retirement accounts may affect financial aid eligibility. Here’s a breakdown:
Assets Considered by the CSS Profile
1. Parent Assets:
• Savings and Checking Accounts
• Investments: Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other non-retirement investments.
• Home Equity: The value of the home minus the mortgage balance is often considered, but schools vary in how they factor it in (some cap the percentage of equity counted, while others assess it fully).
• Other Real Estate: Rental properties, vacation homes, or land.
• Business Assets: For small business owners, some schools assess the value of the business.
2. Student Assets:
• Any savings or investments in the student’s name.
• Trust funds or custodial accounts.
3. Retirement Accounts:
• While the balances in retirement accounts (e.g., 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA) are not directly counted as assets, any withdrawals taken from these accounts (even for educational expenses) are considered income and could reduce aid eligibility.
Impact of Owning a Home and Retirement Assets
1. Home Equity:
• Yes, it can count against you, as the CSS Profile includes home equity as part of your financial picture.
• How much it affects aid depends on the college. Some schools calculate home equity at its full value, while others limit it to a percentage of your income (e.g., 1x-2x your annual income).
2. Retirement Assets:
• The value of retirement accounts (e.g., 401(k), IRA) is not considered directly, but contributions to these accounts may reduce your disposable income, and withdrawals are treated as income.
• Many schools acknowledge the importance of retirement savings and do not heavily penalize families for having robust retirement accounts.
Strategies to Minimize Impact
1. Home Equity:
• Research how specific colleges treat home equity; some are more lenient than others.
• Consider prioritizing paying down other debts if home equity is heavily penalized.
2. Retirement Assets:
• Avoid taking distributions from retirement accounts while your child is in college.
• Use savings or other non-retirement funds to cover education costs when possible.
3. Other Steps:
• Shift student assets to parental assets, as parent assets are assessed at a lower rate.
• Prepay large expenses, like medical bills or home repairs, before filing the CSS Profile.
Key Takeaway
Having a home and retirement savings can count against an applicant on the CSS Profile, but the impact varies by school. Families should investigate how individual colleges treat these assets and consider financial planning strategies to optimize aid eligibility.
It is my understanding that around 15% of schools use CSS. I honestly don’t know much more about it but from your info it appears the (mostly Private) schools that use it are likely to be much more tougher on considering assets that aren’t easily offloaded (home equity and retirement assets) to determine EFC. These schools may look towards more merit based aid instead of need based aid like you mentioned earlier. Appreciate the info and dialogue.
Yeah, all the top schools use CSS Profile.
Sam, don’t get sucked into referring to “the top schools.” What’s a top school anyway? It’s different for every student. For me, a top school is where a student can affordably get the best education they can while remaining mentally and physically health and out of debt and being employable after graduation.
It’s the top 100 ranked schools, the vast majority of which use CSS Profile. That’s a lot of schools.
No, that’s not correct. We don’t include 401K, IRA, or the like (403B, TSP) on the FAFSA. We do need to include post-tax brokerage accounts, CDs, checking and savings accounts, and investment real estate. We don’t include our primary residence or vehicles on the FAFSA.
Very helpful insights, thanks! I’m sharing this with my brother who has a high schooler. They’re just starting to do research for schools and will be deep in it next year. It really blows my mind how much the application process and tuition costs have changed since when I was in school. Some things have gotten better but a lot of it is way more complex and obviously significantly more expensive. Really takes a lot of research and prep on both the parents and students part to make it all work for the best. Great interview with Durante as well, thanks for sharing.
While this is an insightful article, a couple of questions arise.
One, in your MIT example, do they look at total family asset/net worth also, or just the annual income?
Two, the vast majority of students in this country will not be going to MIT. If someone is going to a middle tier school such as North Carlina State, University of Washington, etc., can they expect to see the same kind of financial support (that is, for example, family income below $200,000 can attend tuition-free)?
Are there studies that specifically look at how accessible these lesser notable schools (where 99.5% of U.S. college students are expected to enroll) are to middle class families?
Asset/net worth do count as well. But there is no set net worth limit, like the income limit. From MIT’s website.
Some standard factors calculated in the Institutional Methodology
Number of people in the family
Number of children currently attending college as an undergraduate
Country/state of primary residence
Total parent income04 from all sources, whether taxed or untaxed
Taxes paid
Unreimbursed medical expenses
Private school tuition for younger siblings
Total assets (Cash, non-retirement investments, real estate (other than your primary home), the value of businesses, etc.)
Some factors not in the Institutional Methodology, but that we consider
How your parents have prepared so far for retirement06
Financial support given to grandparents or other relatives
Other compulsory financial obligations, whether one-time or ongoing (excluding credit card debt)
If you have any questions about your financial aid, or if you need our help navigating a complicated situation, please contact us! We want to understand the complexities of your financial situation and do our best to make your MIT education affordable.
To stay competitive in attracting students, all colleges will aim to be more competitive with financial aid. This is the beauty of a competitive market. Don’t just focus on MIT. Focus on what MIT’s decision may mean for hundreds of other colleges and students.
Are you currently saving for your children’s college? If so, how do you approach how much to save and earn?
No, a family earning $200,000 a year on a W-2 income can expect to get zero aid if they attend University of Washington as an in-state student, apart from a $5,500 non-subsidized loan per student (interest accrues immediately).
I think for me, from kindergarten up to high school, the most important thing to be teaching our kids is the ability to consume and organize information rather than getting high scores on tests. The argument is, if you have built a good habit on knowing how to consume and organize knowledge then getting high test scores should be normal. Then when we get to college, most kids fail miserably not because of their IQ, it’s more so related to their lack of organizational skills which in turn affects them in knowing how to interpret gathered information. I don’t think GPA is a good indicator but for certain faculties like Medicine, Dentistry, it is an academic game of how has the highest GPA but in terms of how much that high GPA can translate into a real world work environment there’s much more to be desired. This is all speaking from personal experience, I struggled in college because I never built a good habit on HOW to study and HOW to consume knowledge; let alone interpret it lol
“ability to consume and organize information interesting thought! What does that mean exactly? And can you provide a case on how having a high ability in this is helpful in getting a job, paid, promoted, building wealth etc?
Why did you struggle in college and how did you overcome it after? I think you’re doing alright now yeah? Thanks!
I have put three of my children through college over the last 12 years, and I have one more starting in Fall 2025. I applied for financial aid for each one and didn’t receive any in each case. It’s not just your annual income, the FAFSA aid process also evaluates the level of your financial assets, including retirement. You didn’t mention this in your article and I am wondering why?
What was your income and net worth over the last 12 years? That will provide tremendous insight on why you didn’t qualify for financial adi.
For more info, I’ve linked to my posts:
The Different Ways To Pay For College
How To Game The College Financial Aid System
Income was over $400K for the first eight years, then went down to $25K for 2-3 years. The last three years my average annual income was $180K. My investments are around $4M, net worth around $6M.
Thanks for sharing. Seems like $400,000 back then may have been too much combined with over $1.5 million in assets per parent, for assets that count.
At least you’re doing well! And it is also impressive that you had the confidence to apply for financial aid based on your income and net worth. What gave you the courage? So many parents I know with similar income fail to do so.
Pretty surprising information. We are currently applying to private high schools for my 8th grade daughter and have been filling out the aid applications. The application is a centralized website used my numerous schools in the area which is very easy; one application for as many schools as you like. While not very high income, my gross last year was $178k and 2 schools have already offered between $5-7k off of tuition that is in the $20k per year range. We’re in the midwest and have no debt (some rental property debt but no personal debt). I was convinced we’d be paying full freight but in speaking with friends apparently lots of families don’t even apply and/or grandparents just write the check. It seems as though $20k/year for tuition is an afterthought for many. I will add that I believe they will be hitting us up for years to come for donations. We are a family of 5, the interesting situation will be when all 3 kids are in private high school at the same time!
“It seems as though $20k/year for tuition is an afterthought for many.” This is exactly right. At private grade schools and colleges, families have more money than people realize. WAY more money.
On $175,000 income and 5 kids, what is your rationale for sending your kids to $20K/year private high school instead of public school? Thanks
We have 3 kids and my wife and I for a family of 5. We are actually in a good school district. Grade school was great, middle school has been meh. I believe they can get a great education at the public school, but I’m the main one pushing for the private school for the environment. It’s just different. Much more engaged with the kids, alot of academic/special project support, very community service based, very high academic standards, very high level sports, all girls, catholic, impressive campus and resources. We are also basing our decision on who our kids are and we feel they will thrive in the private school environment. Will it make a difference? Who knows. I just feel for our kids it’s an incredibly formidable time; my wife and I can always make more money but they can’t do high school over. We also spend quite a bit on tennis and elite soccer (travel) but we also still manage to max 457’s, save in after tax accounts, etc., etc. No personal debt (including mortgage) really does give you power and control.
Important to apply regardless of income/assets. Loans/grants/certain scholarships require you do such to be eligible.