FA $$ estimates

<p>I used the financial aid calculator available from Exeter and SPS sites. Their numbers differed a lot, but both are significantly favorable that the number suggested by SSS's family report. Can anybody share how accurate each calculation is, and why such discrepancies?</p>

<p>When you you go look at the SSS family report ?</p>

<p>Exeter’s was very close to the financial aid calculator and considerably different (in a good way!) from the SSS statement. Interestingly, we got almost the same aid from another school (not SPS)–but because their tuition was higher (Exeter’s tuition is significantly lower than many other schools), the parent contribution for the second school matched the SSS statement. Hope that makes sense…</p>

<p>Yes, keep the cost of tuition in mind. Even though PEA’s grant was the smallest that my son received, it had the lowest parent contribution because of the lower tuition and additional aid for computer, music lessons and books. Other things are cheaper too, like the laundry plan, but that’s probably because of it’s size and proximity to E and R’s facilities in Manchester.</p>

<p>Three other schools offered wonderful grants too. If my memory is correct, they were all exactly tuition (not fees) minus what we said we could pay within the PFS minus the EFC. The difference in tuition, fees, books, laundry, computer, music lessons, etc between PEA and another school was over 10,000 so always keep those things in mind when making decisions.</p>

<p>A related note: Just read in the Exeter Bulletin that the trustees are going to raise tuition next year to be more in line with peer institutions. They’ll make the decision at their winter meeting.</p>

<p>If they raise tuition for next year then that means that the FA acceptees this year will be lower. They will have to compensate for all of the current FA students who will need a boost in their FA packages due to the higher tuition. Unless they received some kind of big donation, they will have a more limited budget for FA applicants this year. </p>

<p>Not the greatest news :(</p>

<p>Edit: This all depends on how much the increase is.</p>

<p>I don’t think it works like that, Hopeful. They may increase the FA budget as well. Sometimes schools “split the difference” in the increase. If a student is funded at a certain percent, the percent stays the same. I remember reading that in some school’s FA FAQs. Don’t remember which school, sorry.</p>

<p>It depends on the FA budget and the trustees priorities. Good news is that it’s not 2009 any more. The school’s finanicials are much better now.</p>

<p>yeah some schools have completely recovered from the recession</p>

<p>It depends on how the school budgets. Most have told us they budget for the entire time a student will be there when he/she is accepted. No matter how they do it - same award, covering the increase, or splitting it - they do it year one. So, if Student A gets an award of $35,000 the first year, they are budgeting $140,000 (plus any increase they plan on) for 4 years. They expect the family need to remain about the same.</p>

<p>What happened 3 years ago is that the schools had made their budgets and then in a single year, many existing students need went up significantly. As a commitment to current students, financial aid was harder to come by for new students the last 3 years at most schools.</p>

<p>That said, if Exeter had not planned on the increase when they made awards, it certainly could reduce the amount of FA available to new students (covering the increase for existing ones). Or, maybe this has been in their minds for a few years, and therefore was budgeted when they made offers last year.</p>

<p>Sounds confusing and each school is a little different, but that’s how it works at most places. One family I know had 2 children entering the same school, different grades. Their EFC was about one full tuition. The older child did not get ANY financial aid and the younger got full FA. It was explained that if they gave them 50-50, when the older one graduated, they would not have the budget to increase the younger one’s FA.</p>