<p>Please weigh in on the consistency of a college's financial aid package after the initial award year. Let's say the college requires a family contribution of $5,000 on a total $50,000 bill. Does the college actually go through an entire re-evaluation in year 2, 3, 4? Or has the college accounted for and set aside the amount it will need to give to the student each year based on the initial award?</p>
<p>You have to reapply for FA every year. Some schools require everything - FAFSA, Profile, tax returns every year. Some require just the FAFSA - you have to check. Your FA award will be recalculated every year depending on your finances. If your income went up - your FA will go down - and so forth. If your income remains consistent - you will still generally see an increase in loans from one year to the next and a corresponding decrease in grant money.</p>
<p>If you read a lot of financial threads on CC - you will see quite a few stories of families who just barely made it work in year 1 - and the package for year 2 is worse and they are contemplating having student transfer to a less expensive school. Not telling you this to scare you - but it happens enough to be worth mentioning.</p>
<p>There are some awards that you only get for certain years so make sure you understand whether the components in the first year package are available through all 4 years.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Very true.</p>
<p>Also, if your school does not promise to meet need, then your FA package could change in future years even without a big change in income/assets.</p>
<p>It would seem to me that the college would want to keep the grant package relatively consistent in order to retain the student. As an example, if in year one the college required that the family contribute $5000 on a $50000 bill, and then, if their circumstances got somewhat better in year 2, asked them to contribute, say, $20000, that would be a huge burden on the family’s cash flow, perhaps triggering the student to transfer out. Doesn’t the college want to maintain the consistency of the student body year after year and therefore keep the grant money consistent and reliable?</p>
<p>Of course the college would like to keep consistent, but there are variables. Some kids needs may go up, some may go down. College endowment may go down. When the market first crashed, to the credit of many colleges, they said they would have to look after present studends first, and cut back on aid to freshamn.</p>
<p>I have heard of subsequent awards being much less if the student’s grades were less than expected - they still had a package that covered their costs, but there were significantly more loans if grades were shaky.</p>
<p>bayeleigh, this is a question that you should pose to each college you (or your child) is considering. The FA award letter and accompanying info should explain which awards are renewable, and what the terms for renewal are. For need-based aid, grants are generally given based on current year aid application data. A student could have a very high need in the first year due to a parent’s job loss and things could be back to normal by the next year. So, it’s fair that they look at the current picture each year. What I think you really want to know is, if our financial picture is essentially the same will we receive an equivalent package for all 4 years?</p>