<p>So I finally convinced my parents to find about about Financial Aid, and I was absolutely stunned about how much I actually qualified for. I did the calculator at <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com%5B/url%5D">www.collegeboard.com</a>, entered in some information, and got some values. But there were a few questions</p>
<p>1) Does anyone have links to other EFC Calculators?</p>
<p>2) On the collegeboard one, it asks to let them know if another sibling is attending college. If I have one that will be attending next year like me, do I include them? What about one that will graduate as I enter?</p>
<p>3) What is FM and IM, and what are the differences? Which one will colleges use?</p>
<p>4) How accurate is this collegeboard calculator? Can I count on possibly receiving the amount of money they say I could?</p>
<p>many colleges have FA calculators on their websites, but Princeton, Dartmouth, Williams all have FA calculators which are pretty good.</p>
<p>If you use the Federal methodology- most likely only use the FAFSA in determining your EFC (also determines your eligibility for Pell, subsidized loans) a large number of schools use the federal methodology in determining your financial aid. Ususally they only ask you to submit the fafsa</p>
<p>Inistitutional methodology- the college it self has a method of determining financial aid . Most will either request that the student submit a CSS profile or the college's own FA form. </p>
<p>IM varies from school to school as your package may be different from elite schools such as harvard, amherst, yale, dartmouth, williams etc which may have thresholds for low income students with incomes ranging anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 and the family may have no loans or reduced EFCs. Princeton as you already know basically has no debt- you have your EFC, some work study, a student contibution and the rest of your aid in grants.</p>
<p>However the FM and IM are usually used together.</p>
<p>I don't think that you should "count" on recieving the amount of money and calculator says that you should because the information on the calculators are very limited . But by the same token, they give you a ball park figure.</p>
<p>Correct -- don't 'count' on anything. And remember, an aid package may make up most of the difference between the cost of attending college (tuition, room, board, books, misc expenses), BUT each aid offer will have a different ratio of grants or scholarships to loans. So when you say:</p>
<p>"Can I count on possibly receiving the amount of money they say I could?"</p>
<p>you imply that the calculator says you'll get money, when in fact, the caluclator just estimates the family contribution you might be expected to make toward college. The balance may be mostly loans.</p>
<p>How accurate is the Princeton calculator? Is it a good estimator for the other Ivy colleges or is it more generous?</p>
<p>Princeton's might be slightly different because they don't give loans.
It's on the generous side...</p>
<p>I think they ask you to list the number of siblings who will be in college in the term 2006-2007 when you enter school? Then you should put the one that is going the same time as you, not the one that has graduated.</p>
<p>I agree with Blake that most calculators calculate your EFC. They do not calculate how your aid will be packaged because theoretically a school can offer your parents a plus loan and will have met 100% of your demonstrated need.</p>
<p>Some schools with deep pockets, (the ivies, elite lacs) may give you a package that is heavy on grant scholarship aid. A school like BU saves their big money for the students at the top of the admissions pool whom they want to woo. Cornell calculates a cornell loan to everyone as part of their aid package. Some schools have reduced EFC or no loans for students and families under a certain income threshold.</p>
<p>Some schools (tulane) give generous merit aid and also meets one's demonstrated need. There are just so many variables for financial aid</p>