<p>Is this typical and to be expected over the course of a college career?</p>
<p>I finally logged into my daughter's account info from school yesterday and found - for the first time -- an increase in amounts due - to the tune of $1587 over the year ($529 per quarter) and a deficit in the aid we're getting of $2976 over the year ($992 per quarter)!!!</p>
<p>That's over $4500 more out of our pockets that we had our first year -- AND I RECEIVED NO NOTIFICATION OF THIS.</p>
<p>The tap, pell grant, perkins loan -- are all reduced. Housing, meals, tuition all increased.</p>
<p>The first year we were granted $3K more by asking .. and then this.</p>
<p>I'm literally dumbfounded and wonder if this is the norm.</p>
<p>Ours changed, also, but not by that much. My son’s school sends the info via snail mail so we had a few weeks notice and time to adjust our budget to accommodate increase. Our biggest change was to what his school calls student’s contribution. Of course, we pay that so.</p>
<p>Yes, costs go up yearly at almost all schools. It’s something that has to be planned for when choosing a school. Only a few keep costs at the same level as freshman year.</p>
<p>Did your or your student’s income and/or assets go up in 2011 vs. 2010. Is this a FAFSA only school or does it use CSS profile too? Increased income/assets means less aid in a particular year.</p>
<p>Rachel…I’m responding on this thread also. You say that your Pell Grant decreased. If that is the case, it is ONLY because your FAFSA EFC went UP. The Pell is solely based on the FAFSA EFC. If your EFC increased, it is likely that all of your aid was adjusted to reflect this increase. The Perkins loans are given by the schools to students who they determine are lowe income. It is possible that your new higher EFC resulted in a reduction to the Perkins loan as well.</p>
<p>Your school doesn’t look like it meets full need for all accepted students. The awards you are posting are state grants (TAP) and federally funded need based aid…no institutional aid.</p>
<p>I would guess that the increase in your EFC (as indicated by a reduction in your PELL) resulted in you being in a different income level at the school for need based aid purposes.</p>
<p>Schools do not “notify” you that there will be a change in your aid other than to send the new financial aid package for the upcoming year. That IS your notification.</p>
<p>The family income cut-off for a zero Expected Family Contribution (EFC) has been lowered from $30,000 to $23,000. This will reduce the amount of the Pell Grant for some students by up to $1,500, not to mention basically raising everyone elses EFC. I would think this would effect any federal aid.</p>
<p>Well, this is hard for me to respond to, but my daughter is attending a UC this fall, and was given a $307 scholarship. This will buy her chemistry book. </p>
<p>My husband and I are native Californians, not rich, 3 kids, driving old cars (13+ yrs), old house, and have paid taxes for 30 years. Total tuition and room and board will be around $32K. Because we scrimped and saved money for all 3 of our children, these funds are considered assets with an EFC of $23K per kid. Yet our neighbor, with 2 kids, a lexus and mercedes, bigger newer home, was funded for half-tuition, (lower student gpa). It doesn’t make sense. I have to take on a 2nd job to pay for tuitions. I would gladly switch anytime with your cost of $3000.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies here … I didn’t receive any notification despite my posting for instant email notification of messages – </p>
<p>Regardless - yes - I imagine these changes are due to changes in the EFC - which I had not check. I think the FAFSA application went through automatically and I never looked at it. Fortunately we did make more $$ last year than the year before and I guess that is to blame, here.</p>
<p>I never did get an answer from the school about the increases in tuition, housing & food and that those were never advised to us ahead of time.</p>
<p>^^^Isn’t it disgusting? Why we had to turn down schools that gave son generous scholarships, but would still be a stretch for us. We knew we’d barely make it for freshman year, and surely, second year, tuition would go up. In fact, one school awarded a half tuition, which we hoped to get, or the scholarship he did get, which was half the tuition amount THAT year, but would not go up the following year, when tuition and housing would undoubtedly rise. I remember working three jobs to pay my college tuition because my parents were viewed as too rich, where I saw kids with lots of financial aid who had their own car, high paying work study jobs, had their weekends off, and got to actually enjoy college. Our local private institution gives their full merit scholarships to the wealthiest kids from the local graduating class, yet gives a pittance to middle class kids, as it’s clear they don’t want “our kind” attending their school. Okay. Enough vent.</p>
<p>Federal financial aid changes often, however, in our experience, merit aid remains the same or gets better as the years go on, but, they have to spend some time applying for scholarships, making sure their grades stay up to keep the scholarships they have, etc.</p>
<p>Rachel, I’ll reply here too. Schools typically do not send out “notification” that fees are increasing until about now…when their budgets are set and they are sending out awards for returning students. </p>
<p>Most colleges increase costs between 3% and 5% a year. </p>
<p>The Pell grant, for example, is based SOLELY on your FAFSA EFC. The cost of the college is not taken into consideration at all. I believe TAP is the same in that the cost of the colleg is not a factor in determining the award…your income level is used. Your students Pell and TAP were reduced because your EFC was higher…due to higher income.</p>
<p>The Perkins loan is awarded by the school to students the SCHOOL determines to be low income in their students. The increase in your income likely caused the reduction in THAT too.</p>
<p>Your Stafford loan should be $1000 more per year.</p>
<p>You are fortunate that SEOG didn’t get reduced also as that is also for low income students.</p>
<p>The good news is that your income increased…and someday you won’t be paying for college with it!</p>
<p>Re the FAFSA, you should have received an SAR that gave you the FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>We had 2 kids in 2 different colleges and the first and only official notice we received on rising costs was when the tuition bill showed up. However, I used to read the student newspapers online and there was usually an article every spring about anticipated tuition/housing costs. Perhaps you could do this so you won’t be as surprised next year.</p>
<p>Aunt Bea, MOST grant funding in CA is done via the Cal Grant which is based on family income (must be less than $80,000, I believe…although there IS another program at CAL that is for middle income earners with higher incomes). It sounds like your neighbor’s kiddo got a Cal Grant…GPA doesn’t factor into this award…family income does. And they don’t factor in comsumer items like cars, and bigger homes.</p>
<p>Please be proud that you saved and are able to help your kids with college costs. It makes no sense to be jealous of someone else who you perceive to have gotten better aid. Your neighbors could be in HUGE debt for all of these items…and that is a problem they will have to deal with too.</p>
<p>When comparing aid offers from various schools, if you think your family income will increase, it is better to pick a school that emphasizes merit aid. If you think your family’s financial situation could get worse, it is better to pick a college that meets a very high percentage of demonstrated need. Typically, merit aid does not increase as costs increase. </p>
<p>If a college commits to meet 100% of need, then if your family income and assets stay about the same, the aid should increase to make up for the increased costs. For example, I know of one university that said that 50% of the money that they raised from increased tuition ended up going out for increased need-based aid. That is a trend of diminishing returns.</p>
<p>Aunt Bea, CA resident here, and all I can say is I identify and sympathize with what you’re saying. At times it does feel like one is punished for saving for college rather than spending your money as quickly as it comes in. As long as your income is below a certain level, if you have no assets to speak of, you’re eligible for aid. What a screwy system…</p>
<p>Not expecting or needing any sympathy here, but I think we also paid our share of taxes in California over the last twenty plus years, and neither kid directly benefited from our California public schools. I, and the hubs had some opportunities/luck/blessings, and made some choices that put us here. Hope it helps all of us.</p>
<p>I was very surprised to find out that families of 5 making under 83K qualify for a Cal Grant A. My son qualified for the Cal Grant A but is attending school out of state. I believe my son just got an email from Cal Grant saying the amount was cut by 5%. The original amount was something like $9,800, which seems really generous, to be honest. I had figured with the budget crisis here, it would be cut by a lot more than that.</p>
<p>I sympathize with the UC parent. We definitely are getting a good deal at a private out of state school, but my son is also bringing in hefty scholarships to alleviate the cost. He was never interested in the UCs-too big and unappealing in many ways.</p>
<p>Schools don’t send out “notifications” of price increases. Read their web site. If you did not plan on at least 5% per year you made a serious mistake. Don’t expect aid to go up accordingly.</p>
<p>I don’t get this. If you make more money, isn’t it reasonable to pay a percentage of that salary increase to college costs? You are still just as well, or better off than you were at kiddo’s Freshman year. have 2 kids at 100% need met schools, 1 a public (with loans) and one a private (no loans). My income did go up and therefore, I’m expected to pay more. But the amount I’m expected to pay is commensurate with my salary increase and I don’t think such an increase is unfair or unreasonable. On the other hand, the merit money that D got would have stayed the same while school costs went up.</p>