<p>mamabear2, just because a school meets 100% of need doesn’t mean you have no contribution. At my son’s school all students have an expected contribution and depending on parent income (each school has their own minimum for contribution) there is a parent EFC as well. The way it works is you start with COA (Cost of attendance) and the school subtracts the parent EFC (what it expects you to pay). What is left is met with scholarships/grants and student contribution. They only guarantee that loans are not a part of the need met, not that you or the student is not expected to pay anything.</p>
<p>From Columbia’s website:</p>
<p>Determining Your Financial Need</p>
<p>We evaluate your family’s ability to pay based on the information you provide us. We use this information to calculate your family contribution. Please refer to the How to Apply pages to learn more about the information we ask for.</p>
<p>Once we determine your family contribution, we are able to determine your eligibility for financial aid by using a simple methodology. Every year, we establish a standard cost of education, which includes tuition, mandatory fees, and estimated room and board. The formula for determining how much financial aid you are eligible for is:</p>
<p>Cost of Attendance - Family Contribution = Financial Aid Eligibility</p>