My daughter was accepted to her non-ivy “top” schools and we put down that we would pay $20,000 a year. Putting down that number did not seem to matter.
Most elite schools are need blond for admissions. This means the admissions department doesn’t know a thing about your financial aid application or need.
Even at need aware schools, admissions doesn’t see your Profile form they simply know your financial need as calculated by the financial aid department.
The answer to the question has no bearing at all on admission decisions.
Why not run the net price calculator for each college and then put an amount that is the equal to or slightly less than the lower of (a) what you are actually willing to contribute, or (b) the lowest expected parent/family contribution* listed on any of the net price calculators?
*Not the net price, since the net price includes student contribution (student loans and student work).
I’m struggling with this as well. Taking everything into account, my gut keeps pointing me toward an entry of around 20K, maybe 25K. No higher.
Right now in D’s portfolio of applications, there are 3 that we know would have a COA less than 20K (one is in-state, two are automatic full tuition based on her stats), 3 that NPC’s say would be between 25K and 30K, and 3 (including the one school that wants the CSS profile) where the COA could be anywhere from 30K to 60K+, almost entirely dependent on merit aid.
In the NPC’s I ignore the student contribution part. We’ll factor that in later.
Would we LIKE to pay less than 25K? Of course. A full ride would be lovely, thanks!
Re: #23
You may want to ask yourself these questions:
What are the EFCs shown by the NPCs of the CSS Profile using schools?
What amount can you comfortably pay per year (and if your student is not a top-end one, consider the possibility of an extra semester or two)?