Determining Federal Need

Paying for College
1

<p>Is there a standard way that schools determine federal need? Is it always calculated from the school's figure for COA,or just from tuition/room/board, or some other way? I am trying to determine what my need is, but I can't find it on any of the paperwork. I'm assuming it is the COA minus my EFC, but you know what they say about assuming.</p>

<p>ETA:Ugh. I just realized our school is kind of unique. I did have to file the Profile form, but only for me, not my ex, which is one of the reasons this school appealed to me, since my ex would not have cooperated, nor is he contributing anything. However, I will not have to do the Profile form again; it is a one time deal. Anyhow, my EFC from FAFSA may not be what the college considers to be my EFC.</p>

2

<p>Does this school meet need 100% without large loans? </p>

<p>If not, then it may be hard to determine what your “family contribution” might be.</p>

<p>Is this school for you or for your child? It’s hard to tell from how you’ve worded your post?</p>

3

<p>Sorry, It’s my daughter’s school. </p>

<p>No, I don’t think they meet full need. They came pretty close if it is based on just tuition/room/board— the gap was very small, whereas at some other schools my d applied to, the gap was over ten thousand dollars. If it is based on coa, the gap is a bit larger. I’m just curious if there is a way to know what the school itself considers to be our need. Maybe the school considers they met our full need since Profile comes into play; I just don’t know. Who knows? Maybe the schools with the big gaps considered that they were meeting our need, based on their interpretation of our Profile form. I hope I’ve made my question a little clearer–I know what I want to say, just not sure I’m saying it correctly. I guess there really is no place on all the paperwork/emails , etc. that will say what her calculated need is.</p>

4

<p>Cost of attendance (tuition, room, board, books, transportation and various other sundry items)- EFC (parent contribution + student Contribution) = demonstrated need.</p>

<p>The FAFSA is the free application for federal student aid.</p>

<p>To apply for student financial aid from the federal government based on the information submitted by the student and their parent(s). The FAFSA determines your eligiblity to receive federal aid : pell grants, seog grants (if applicable to your school) federal work study and federal student loans (subsidized/unsubsidized stafford loans and perkins loans). The FAFSA is required by all public colleges and universities and an overwhelming number of private schools require the FAFSA (some in addition to other FA forms).</p>

<p>There will be a big difference between the EFC numbers your get for the FAFSA which only determines your eligibility for federal aid (pell grants and loans) and the CSS profile which is what the college uses to determine how they are going to distribute their institutional funds .</p>

<p>If your child attends a profile school, they use a combination of both the federal and institutional methodologies. </p>

<p>The fafsa only determines determines your eligibility for federal aid and uses a federal methodology to determine this . Most schools that give their own monies (grants/scholarshsip) to meet your demonstrated need (institutional methodology) may require additional forms (the CSS profile or their own financial aid forms) </p>

<p>Differences between the IM and FM models are</p>

<p>IM collects information on estimated academic year family income, medical expenses, elementary and secondary school tuition and unusual circumstances. FM omits these questions.</p>

<p>IM considers a fuller range of family asset information, while FM ignores assets of siblings, all assets of certain families with less than $50,000 of income, and both home and family farm equity.</p>

<p>FM defines income as the “adjusted gross income” on federal tax returns, plus various categories of untaxed income. IM includes in total income any paper depreciation, business, rental or capital losses which artificially reduce adjusted gross income.</p>

<p>FM does not assume a minimum student contribution to education; IM expects the student, as primary beneficiary of the education, to devote some time each year to earning money to pay for education.</p>

<p>FM ignores the noncustodial parent in cases of divorce or separation; IM expects parents to help pay for education, regardless of current marital status.</p>

<p>FM and IM apply different percentages to adjust the parental contribution when multiple siblings are simultaneously enrolled in college, and IM considers only siblings enrolled in undergraduate programs.</p>

<p>The IM expected family share represents a best estimate of a family’s capacity (relative to other families) to absorb, over time, the costs of education. It is not an assessment of cash on hand, a value judgment about how much a family should be able to use current income, or a measure of liquidity. The final determinations of demonstrated need and awards rest with the University and are based upon a uniform and consistent treatment of family circumstances.</p>

<p>Except in the most extraordinary circumstances, Colleges classifies incoming students as dependent upon parents for institutional aid purposes, even though some students may meet the federal definition of “independence.”</p>

<p>Students enrolling as dependent students are considered dependent throughout their undergraduate years when need for institutional scholarships is determined.</p>

<p>For institutional aid purposes a student may not “declare” independence due to attainment of legal age, internal family arrangements, marriage or family disagreements.</p>

5

<p>In addition, schools that use the CSS Profile use it to determine how they are going to distribute their own institutional funds. You may find that no two schools will calculate your need to same. This can happen simply because one school may not have as much money as another school. </p>

<p>For example HYP have multi billion dollar endowments, where some admitted students receive very generous financial aid packages, where a school that is not as “rich” ay give that same family, essentially nothing. </p>

<p>Some schools have low income initiatives, where if the family makes below a certain amount of money, they will get free tuition, they may end up getting no loans in their financial aid package, or they end up paying nothing. </p>

<p>Some schools, no not count the equity in your primary home, some schools cap home equity as a percentage of income, while others say that every penny of home equity is up for grabs when it comes to paying for your child’s education.</p>

<p>We have been there, D was accepted to 7 meet 10% demonstrated need profile schools and there was a 12k “gap” between, the “best” and the “worse” package.</p>