Curious whether others are having a similar experience? Schools see to be going with our EFC and not considering CSS. The CSS calculator couldn’t have been more wrong. Off by $35k
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Kind of wondering the same, because previously my financial aid portal said needed info from the non-custodial parent. But not the request for that info is gone, so wondering if they just aren’t using it?
I wonder if they are holding onto endowment funds to recoup from the pandemic.
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I’ve had more than one school list our EFC in our financial aid award and they are citing the FAFSA EFC despite that they are CSS Profile schools. Interesting.
Although I know one school for sure - Stevens - did consider it.
When you say “CSS calculator” do you mean a college net price calculator that is on the College Board site?
Do your colleges meet full need for all accepted students?
How do I see my expected cost from the css? Ik my FAFSA one but not from css
Colleges calculate their own EFC for you however they want based on information from the CSS Profile and FAFSA.
The FAFSA EFC is used only to determine federal aid, unless a specific college chooses to use it for the purpose of calculating its own aid.
No I’m wondering if I can login to see my Efc for css. Ik the difference and FAFSA already told me my efc
You can’t, because each college will calculate that differently based on their institutional methodologies.
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The NPC for each school is the best estimate unless you have a more complicated financial situation such as divorce, a business or multiple properties for example.
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Yes, although there are colleges where the NPCs are not very good, so that the best estimate for those colleges may not be a good estimate.
The NPC would still be the best estimate, because any other means of getting an estimate will be worse. However, this could mean that the best estimate (from the NPC) is still not a very good estimate, so you would be applying almost blindly at that college.
With divorced parents and a college that requires both of their financials, follow the college’s instructions for that situation. If there are no instructions, be sure to include both of their income and assets in the NPC if you want to have any possibility of the result being close.
The calculator came up once we submitted the CSS profile to 7 schools. We also applied to 2 state schools - with no CSS (Pitt, OOS is almost $50k and UMass Amherst in state almost $35k). One private has come back spot on with CSS estimate. The other (Syracuse) came at EFC only $60k+. We do have special circumstances. Unfortunately Syracuse was my daughters top choice. I don’t think Syracuse promises to meet 100% of need - which someone asked but we will hear from a few more this week and next who do support 100% of need.
It’s just sad that these schools have become so out of control with cost. It’s hard to justify!
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There is no calculated EFC done by the college board using the data from your Profile form. Each college uses the financial info on the Profile in their own way.
The closest thing would be for you to run a net price calculator which you will find on each college website.
Are your parents divorced? Do they own a business or are they self employed? Do they own real estate in addition to your primary residence? If NO to all of these questions, the NPC could be accurate.
Is the answer yes to any of those questions for you?
Also, what is your issue? Did you get far less aid than you thought you would get? Please explain.
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I’ve only been getting loans which is a definite no for my family. I received scholarships from every school besides Purdue and uiuc.
Are you the student or the parent?
What CSS calculator are you talking about??
Scholarships are merit aid…not need based aid. And they have NOTHING to do with the financial aid application forms.
It sounds like your family income was too high to qualify for need based grant aid. Is that right? What was your Fafsa EFC?
Syracuse does not guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students. Out of State Public universities are usually very costly for OOS students…Pitt doesnt meet full need for all either.
Did you run the net price calculators for each college
@thumper1 No need to get worked up. This is a learning processes for most.
I’m trying to help…not worked up at all.
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Colleges calculate their own EFC for you however they want based on information from the CSS Profile and FAFSA.
The FAFSA EFC is used only to determine federal aid, unless a specific college chooses to use it for the purpose of calculating its own aid.
@avaw21, please start your own thread since asking questions for yourself is considered hijacking of the Original Post.
These are valid questions^. I don’t see them as getting “worked up”.
This is the time of year when CC tends to get a number of students who are realizing that they don’t qualify for neither merit, nor need-based aid.
What I’ve found is that most of the students, as well as their families, presume that all of their high stats and coursework will qualify them for scholarships and grants, regardless of CSS profile info.
The financial aid pages on the websites, and the NPC’s are really good estimators of costs.
Out of State students at public universities are almost always full pay with the exception of military dependents.
The first in line for paying tuition and fees is the Bank of Mom and Dad.
I’m in California, and I am constantly surprised by the comments from students and their parents when they realize that no State aid is open to non-residents. The students decry: ~“but I’m a high stats student and I’m supposed to get a scholarship”. When you ask about the NPC, they have no idea what we are asking. They didn’t look at the cost of attendance and just applied with the assumption that aid would be given.
Yes, it’s a learning process, but there is a lot of information on the websites that gives direct information about costs.
We have to assume the entire cost is on us parents. If scholarships and grants are given, then that’s a bonus.
And good luck to your daughter with her regular decision applications. Hopefully one of them will come in at or near your price point.