Are finaid calculators accurate?

Paying for College
1

<p>How accurate are calculators (such as princetonreview, FinAid) in predicting EFC on the FAFSA.</p>

2

<p>The important thing to keep in mind about the calculators is that they provide estimates. You will not have an exact number until you complete the forms.</p>

<p>I prefer using the estimator at collegeboard.com.</p>

3

<p>I've used one of these a couple times-- and the calculator came up with the exact EFC that FAFSA calculated-- to the dollar. I used the finaid.org calculator:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.finaid.org/calculators/scripts/estimate.cgi%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.finaid.org/calculators/scripts/estimate.cgi&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>The calculator is very helpful to help you evaluate different scenarios-- crunch the numbers one way, then change one variable, and recompute to see how it effects the EFC. Some changes make no difference, some make a big difference.</p>