<p>Alright, lets just say one gets accepted into an Ivy League school, but currently one's parents are making under 100,000. I have heard that the Ivy's have great financial aid initiatives, but what I don't understand is; how do they actually help you pay for college?</p>
<p>Example
Harvard is about 55,000 including room and board plus maybe 2000 for food and additional fees. When one applies to FAFSA, what happens? How does one qualify and does it cover up to the whole price, or is it just a myth?</p>
<p>I also want to know what a FAFSA loan, grant and work program encompasses if anyone knows? Right now, I am very confused, but I am working towards Ivy League schools.....yet, the financial resources aren't too great. </p>
<p>FAFSA is not an institution that grants or loans any money. It is an APPLICATION that puts all of the financial info from a family in one place; the schools that you enter into the spaces at the end of the FAFSA receive this info electronically, and they use that info to decide how much money and in what manner to give you. Many schools, mostly private, maybe only private, ALSO require you to fill out College Board's CSS Profile, available on the College Board site. For instance. If FAFSA reaches the conclusion, using their mysterious (to me anyway) calculations that your family's EFC (Estimated Family Contribution-- emphasis on Estimated) is $5000, then you have a rough idea of how much your family might have to come up with. If the cost of attendance is $50,000, then there are a bunch of scenarios which could include merit aid, school or outside scholarships, loans, work study expectations, and the terrifying "gap." That gap is where many families have a very difficult time, in the instance of schools that do not meet 100% of demonstrated need. That is where extra loans, mortgages, cashing out savings, etc. come in, to pay the differences. Most schools do not guarantee meeting 100% of need. You need to research each school to find out their individual policy. The thing about the EFC is that often it seems to have little to do with the actual amount of the bill. Harvard's policies, as well as many other Ivies and top tier schools, are wonderful, but they are the most difficult to get into, so be careful.</p>
<p>I strongly urge you to purchase "How to Pay For College Without Going Broke" by Kalman Chany, Princeton Review. The 2009 Edition should be out in October & your parents can review exactly how the EFC is calculated. The 2009 Edition should be used with their 2008 Tax Return, however, they can use their 2007 Tax Returns for an estimate. </p>
<p>I have used this book for years as we are putting 4 children through college for the years 2003-2014. One has graduated, the second is in her senior year & two more are at home, a high school senior & a high school junior. </p>
<p>The more you know about financial aid, the better off you are. Of course, the financial aid personnel don't want you to be an educated consumer! I would say this book has saved my family 1,000's of dollars over the years!</p>
<p>+1 on Paying for College Without Going Broke.</p>
<p>Also, click the blue Paying for College link to the left under Main CC Site.</p>
<p>In a nutshell:</p>
<p>Ivy's take the information from FAFSA and Profile and figure out how much you and your parents can afford to pay. This is your expected family contribution (EFC).</p>
<p>If Cost of Attendance (COA) = $55,000 and EFC = $10,000, then they will give you a grant of $45,000.</p>
<p>Some schools will require a student loan (subsidized Stafford) of about $4,000/year, and some will require a work study contribution of about $2,500/year. </p>
<p>If they do, then it looks like this:
COA = $55,000
subtract EFC = $10,000
subtract student loan = $4,000
subtract work study = $2,500</p>
<p>Grant = $38,500.</p>
<p>Generally, that's how it works...grants, loans, work study. They give you a grant from their endowment to pay for what you and your family can't afford.</p>
<p>Ah but first you have to get accepted into one of the Ivies. No matter how fabulous their financial aid is (and it IS terrific), it is of no use to the 90% or so of the applicants who apply each year and are not admitted.</p>
<p>Big Wt,
There are general procedures and rules of thumb about FinAid, but in the end, it requires applying the details of the FinAid program at the specific schools you are interested in. Some schools provide pretty good estimates and others don't. It takes time to come up with a good estimate on your own. And just when you think you've got it figured out, then try projecting income, savings, and college costs over years 2-4 and coming up with an estimate for 4 years. Knowing what will happen with FinAid as your assets are depleted and/or additional siblings go to college is important for getting a complete picture. Just take it a step at a time.</p>