<p>I worry in the other direction. I’m going to be completely and totally honest, exactly what I feel I can afford. BUT…it is going to be much less than my EFC, because I cannot afford my EFC.</p>
<p>So, since D is applying to some elite schools…and they like to guard their high yield, I worry that it can nudge her to the “no” pile JUST because of the number I put. Because, whether a college says they’re “need blind” or not - well, let’s just say I have NO faith in that statement.</p>
<p>As well, I would pay something different, depending on the school. If admitted to school A, where she might not want to go as much, and which might not give her as much education…I want to list exactly what I can truly afford to pay.</p>
<p>BUT…if she were to slip in under the radar to school B, a VERY different education…in my opinion…then I would be willing to pay more (taking loans, whatever needed to happen) than I would at the other school. But you can really only address this once and send to all schools, right?</p>
<p>So, since D is applying to some elite schools…and they like to guard their high yield, I worry that it can nudge her to the “no” pile JUST because of the number I put. Because, whether a college says they’re “need blind” or not - well, let’s just say I have NO faith in that statement.</p>
<p>I can understand that concern.</p>
<p>My concern is that such a student might get a “yes” to an acceptance, but the FA people have to divvy-up their limited funds the best way that gives THEM what they want. And, if they have Student A, whose family can pay their EFC, then the school might come up with all the need. But, if Student B’s family can’t even approach the EFC, then they might not bother putting together a fab FA package - unless the student has super stats or is a needed URM and is very much desired. </p>
<p>Schools do essentially reject some accepted students with their FA packages - it’s called accept/deny. </p>
<p>By definition, EFC is not the school’s responsibility, nor is it theirs to worry about. Since EFC tends to be shockingly high for almost everyone, I imagine most applicants’ answer to this question doesnt approach EFC. Yet the colleges do indeed put together good FA packages for such students. </p>
<p>BTW, my D’s sole admit*/deny came from a FAFSA school; FAFSA doesn’t ask this question.</p>
<p>I know that FAFSA doesn’t ask that question. And, I realize that FAFSA publics don’t care a wit about whether or not people can pay their EFC, hence the many lousy FA packages that people see from them.</p>
<p>But, a CSS school does know what the person’s EFC is, and if the family can’t come close to paying it, and the student is in the middle of the “mid 50s” range, the school may not bother putting together a great FA package. </p>
<p>These (non-elite) schools can’t give everyone a great package. They must use some system to decide who gets great aid and who doesn’t.</p>
<p>I agree with mom2collegekids. I think you need to be honest. You need to put what they can realistically pay out of their income and the money they have saved in your college fund. If the number is really zero (and that’s likely if your EFC is very low), then put zero.</p>
<p>However, if you have a sizable EFC, say $20,000, and then put down zero, then the school will think that you probably won’t go there no matter what because they won’t give you a free ride with a $20,000 EFC. This discrepancy between EFC and what you say you can pay might cause them to either reject you or to admit you but give you only loans, hence an accept/deny. As mom2collegekids said, some schools want to protect their yield and won’t accept kids that they don’t think have the means to pay their share.</p>
<p>We had a situation where our EFC was high for the year prior to when our child applied due to a one-time event, so I explained that on the Profile form and put a number that we were comfortable paying to answer that question (and it was quite a bit lower than our EFC). My child ended up getting several merit scholarships that reduced what we had to pay to slightly more than we said we could pay.</p>
<p>My S has been attending a private HS and he receives some FA from the school. Because we had to report on the CSS the amount we paid in 2009 and the amount of his 2009 grant, I thought it prudent to report a figure for what we can pay that matches fairly closely what we actuallly paid in 2009, assuming our financial circumstances will be about the same in 2010. I also ran some IM calculators. I kept in mind that the “amount you can pay” is not supposed to include what you would borrow. I tried to put in a figure that would appear credible, but not hurt us terribly if the college held us to that estimate – hoping for a more generous award, though!</p>
<p>The thing about “anyone can pay at $1000” is that I know that there are expenses that never get covered by the school; if I can come up with $1000, it’s going to have to go towards that. For example, my children have to pay for their own summer living expenses, but I know that sometimes, they get a little short and need help. Last year, I paid for groceries for my son twice. Next year, my son will be writing his senior thesis all year, so this holiday season, he got a little netbook so he can write at his thesis desk. There are clothing expenses: his shoes have to be replaced when the soles wear through, his pants have to be replaced when they have holes in them. I paid for him to have a haircut this holiday season – he hadn’t had one of those in a year. I help him pay for the copay on medication when he’s sick. Anyway, if I paid $1000 for books or travel or tuition – stuff that his financial aid covers anyway – I couldn’t afford to help him with basics like shoes.</p>
<p>So, my daughter is doing applications now, and if an application or form asks how much her parent can contribute, that number is $0. My financial aid verification forms bear that out.</p>
<p>Trin, if you can pay 0, then that’s what you can pay. It sounds as though all your other documentation supports that. I don’t think that’s a problem. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>That’s very different than people trying to unreasonably low-ball the amount because they just don’t want to have to pay for college.</p>
<p>'rentof2: I was responding to “anyone who puts 0 is obviously lying.” I’m someone, so I guess I could be anyone. The commenter suggested that people who put 0 don’t value education. I value it enough to sell personal items on eBay, hold fundraisers, and get very creative with financing what I can. But even with that, I’m being completely honest when I put down $0. My impression is that some folks on CC forget that even $25 can be hard to come by at the far low end of the economic scale. ;-)</p>
<p>Okay, I’m just going to make it equal my EFC. Thanks…dang, this is so depressing how messed up my PROFILE is, and the fact that you have to mail it in.</p>
<p>It helps if you keep in mind that you’re basically doing all this to get a bunch of free money that no one is really obliged to give you in the first place. Those of us who rely on institutional aid are really just beggars, after all. If that begging requires a little effort, then it’s still an incredibly good trade-off.</p>
<p>It has always struck me as very odd that they ask as they seem to ignore the answer. I’ve wondered if it’s a tool for assessing probable yield–is the family willing to pay the bill we going to be sending?</p>
The commenter suggested that people who put 0 don’t value education. I value it enough to sell personal items on eBay, hold fundraisers, and get very creative with financing what I can. But even with that, I’m being completely honest when I put down $0. My impression is that some folks on CC forget that even $25 can be hard to come by at the far low end of the economic scale. ;-)</p>