<p>Get familiar with the on line estimators for FAFSA and for institutional methodology (a generic PROFILE estimator). Here is how it works:</p>
<p>Almost all schools require that you complete a FAFSA so that you are eligible for the maximum government aid. FAFSA calculates something called the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) which will determine eligibility for the PELL grant. Your custodial parent and spouse’s 2011, and your income will go on that form along with the assets you all own as of the date you complete the form. Given that you are middle class, it is doubtful that you will qualify for the PELL. The other guaranteed benefit from FAFSA is the Stafford loan in the amount of $5500 that you can take out in your own name with no co signers. No income or asset limits on that. </p>
<p>Some schools, including most state schools will use FAFSA only in determining need, but very few, if any schools that do so, guarantee to meet need as established by FAFSA. However if your test scores and class rank are high, the chances that more need is met is greater.</p>
<p>To get need from schools like Rice, the Ivys, and many other of the more generous private schools, you have to fill out PROFILE. If you apply early to a PROFILE school, that is often the first form you will complete. PROFILE nearly always wants both parents’ and their spouses’ financial info along with yours. It is also more thorough than FAFSA in that it often asks for home equity amounts and sometimes even information on the cars you own. The PROFILE numbers are what these colleges use in giving out their own money.</p>
<p>Frankly, from your post, you are not likely to get much or any financial aid, other than eligibility to borrow the $5500 personally through the Stafford program. Your parents will be permitted to borrow from PLUS, a parent loan program, however, up to the Cost of Attendance at your college. </p>
<p>So merit awards are something you need to seek, as well as low sticker price colleges. Look at what you may get from your state in terms of such awards. The above link is also helpful</p>
<p>You might want to sit with your parents and explain this to them and get the income and asset numbers you need to run them through the estimators. If it turns out that you are not going to get much in aid, they should be aware of that and some realistic number crunching should be done. Truly how much can they pay and will pay? Will they borrow for you? If the amounts are that small, you need to look primarily at those schools with merit scholarships where you have a good chance of getting something, along with the state schools.</p>
<p>What I tell everyone, and what my son did, was cover the base by making sure he applied to some schools where he was pretty much guaranteed to be accepted and that he knew we could afford. A local state school fit that description. If he commuted, he could easily pay for college on his own with his summer earnings and all we would have to do is provide the 3 squares and cot. It looked like he would be highly likely to get some local private school scholarships too, given experiences from prior classmates, so he applied to a couple of those as well. And they did come through. He could even afford to go those schools if he lived at home. State school away, would mean we would have to pay too, but affordable for us. </p>
<p>In our case, we told him we would pay $35K. It was a stretch for us–$30K was really more what we should have said, but we gave him the absolute max. Which meant he could easily go to state school away and not have to pay a dime out his own money; the same with those local safety privates… With some summer earnings and his own savings, he could also commute to some more pricey privates that were not likely to give him any scholarships. He could also go to some OOS publics and low sticker priced privates or privates that gave him enough merit money. So he applied to a number of those. He applied to some lottery ticket schools as well, and one actually came up with enough merit money so that he could make it work, though it would have been tight. He ended up picking an OOS public at full pay which is going to mean that we will contribute the full amount we said we would, and he would have to come up with the rest. It looks like $35K just about covers tuition & fees, room and board for that school. He’ll have to pay for his own books, supplies, extra living and fun expenses. He doesn’t think he’ll need that Stafford money, but the loan is there for him to take, if he feels he wants to do so He expects to find a job for 10-15 hours a week there, (already has a line on several jobs there) which he figures will take care of his pocket money, and his summer job will easily take care of books and supplies. Actually, we’ll probably pay for a lot of the first year supplies, as we tend to do so with our kids. That and the transportation as we will be going there to drop him off and pick him up.</p>