<p>I want to apply early to Duke. My family's income is over 200k and I filled out the expected contribution calculator and it put it at about 30,000. If the school I am applying to meets 100% demonstrated need, would they come up the difference? I know that Duke caps loans at 20,000 for 4 years and offers work studies for 5,000/year. My confusion is, where do I get the rest of the money?</p>
<p>My family’s income is over 200k and I filled out the expected contribution calculator and it put it at about 30,000</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>Unless you have a sibling in college or you have a very large family, your EFC should be higher than that.</p>
<p>For instance…if income is $225k, small amount of assets, family size is 4, and only 1 child will be in college, no kid income/assets…Then EFC will be about…$57,000 (but if you’ll have a sibling in undergrad next year, that number would be about $35k for each child for a CSS school.)</p>
<p>Back to your question…</p>
<p>I know that Duke caps loans at 20,000 for 4 years and offers work studies for 5,000/year. My confusion is, where do I get the rest of the money?</p>
<p>What are you asking? If Duke says that your “need” is $25k, then they will probably give you a $5000 loan, about $2000 in work-study, and about an $18k grant.</p>
<p>But, are you asking about how your family will pay its share? Has your family told you how much they will spend each year? If you have a sibling in college, will your parents pay for both kids’ “family contribution”?</p>
<p>Unless you have a sibling in undergrad, your family contribution will likely be much higher than $30k.</p>
<p>What is your situation?</p>
<p>If Duke does say that your family contribution is $30k</p>
<p>That’s the part that is sorta of confusing for me. I expected a lot higher efc than what the calculator gave me. I have a brother who is currently a junior at the state university but he will be transferring to a private college. He messed up sophomore year so he will require 5 years to graduate so we would overlap for 2 years instead of 1</p>
<p>That 30k is likely just for you.
Assuming your own income/assets and his are equal, his EFC would also be 30k. Or whatever. That’s 60k from your parents.
Try the FafsaForecaster- it’s more detailed but can give a better view in a case like yours.</p>
<p>It doesn’t work like the above explanation. If he brother “messed up”, he’s not likely attending a college that meets need. Good chance the family would have to pay in full there.</p>
<p>At Duke and schools that meet need, you will get a grant to cover the rest after EFC, loans and work study.</p>
<p>^ If parents’ income/assets yield an expectation they can contribute 60k, and they have two in college, that would explain why OP seems to have a quick EFC calculation of 30k for his costs. True, older brother may end up costing the parents more. Again, this may need a more detailed calculator.</p>
<p>Ok things are starting to make more sense. My parents are willing to pay full tuition for my brother’s private school and you guys are right, he doesn’t qualify for any scholarships or merit. I just looked over the calculator I used and my dad didn’t put in the value of our house. My parents also own a home that my grandpa lives in so would these two factors make my EFC go up?</p>
<p>Yes, the home is an asset that also would be considered by the colleges.</p>
<p>Probably in your income range you should assume that you will not be eligible for need-based aid. Somewhere along the line, with your brother in college, you might end up qualifying for a student loan or something along those lines, but you really should act on the assumption that you won’t qualify for aid.</p>
<p>You can still apply for financial aid… just to see what happens … but my point is that whatever need-based aid you do get will probably be trivial in comparison to the overall costs of college.</p>
<p>*My parents also own a home that my grandpa lives in so would these two factors make my EFC go up? *</p>
<p>Yes…That second home is a big asset. And, if grandpa pays any rent to your parents, that also counts.</p>
<p>and…did you just do a FAFSA estimate? Because if you didn’t do a CSS estimate, then that will also be higher.</p>
<p>You need to ask your parents how much they’ll spend each year to have two kids in college. If they can pay for ALL of your brother’s costs and most/all of your costs, then fine! </p>
<p>However, if your parents say that they can afford to pay $50k per year for your brother, but not much more for you, then that will be a problem.</p>
<p>Remember too, when your brother is NO LONGER in college YOUR EFC will just about double. Don’t just think about this year, think about all four years.</p>
<p>“if your parents say that they can afford to pay $50k per year for your brother, but not much more for you, then that will be a problem.”</p>
<p>A nice, fair picture might be that your bro makes up some of his costs with student loans, job, etc- not that he gets all the resources and you’re sunk. Especially when the “messing up” leads to the higher costs of a private.</p>
<p>You might seriosuly have to consider seeking merit aid based opportunities to help make up part of your or your brothers costs of attendance at whatever schools you consider. Comparatively,. you can just attend a chepaer school. Its unreasonable to demand or comand that your parents mortgage tehir retirements so that you dont have to slum it with the poor kids for 4 years (gasp!)</p>
<p>Thank you for all the responses. I’ve re-evaluated my situation and decided not to apply early. My parents have always been conservative with their savings and we live off of one paycheck just in case of any unexpected events. I know that my parents will pay the full price tag for my brother because they value an engineering degree for him so I will just delay it until regular decision and so I can compare financial/merit packages from each school.</p>