Hi! I have applied and gotten into BC for Class of 2019 and I’m very excited as it was my top choice. But, now I am worried about my chance of going there due to how expensive it is and the aid I may or may not get. My EFC is 126K and we don’t have many other assets. But, due to home equity (we think) the estimated EFC that BC reported is much higher. I am wondering if anyone has any input and if the estimated aid may be able to go up? I really want to go there but I don’t know that we can swing it financially.
Your EFC is $126,000?
woops sorry 26!
Did you run BC’s Net Price Calculator before applying, to get an idea of what this school will cost you?
Yes, but they gave me a different efc that was higher than what our fafsa said so it would be much more money
The FAFSA EFC really only matters for the disbursement of federal dollars. An EFC from a college’s own Net Price Calculator will give you a much better idea of the overall financial aid that you will be offered (government dollars plus institutional dollars). The EFC you should have been paying attention to was the EFC from BC’s NPC. Was the aid package you ended up getting offered close to what the BC NPC predicted?
The above advice is correct - the number that you needed to look at when you applied was the number from the NPC. If the final award is close to what the NPC predicted, there is probably no error.
But you should still contact BC and ASK!!! Call, ask to speak with a financial aid counselor, and then ask him or her to please explain how they came up with the numbers they did. It’s possible there’s a reasonable explanation, and it’s also possible they made a mistake.
For example, if they used home equity, HOW did they calculate the value of your home? You may be able to challenge that valuation by offering proof that your home isn’t worth that much. (Even one of the free online “how much is your home worth?” calculations may be enough to persuade them to reduce the figure they used.)
And even if the college’s explanation is reasonable, you can still explain why it’s unaffordable and appeal for more aid. Give them specific facts to support your claim that the amount they expect you to pay is unaffordable.
Is your FAFSA EFC $26 or $26,000?