<p>So I'm confused about expected family contributions.. is the CSS contribution typically a lot higher than the FAFSA contribution? If the school pays for 100% of financial need, is it still typical to expect to pay more than what the FAFSA predicts?</p>
<p>Schools meet 100% of need as determined by the school, not the FAFSA.</p>
<p>so what is the fafsa for if i know i am not eligible for federal aid? just for loans?</p>
<p>also, is it easier to negotiate with a school about a better package if there is a large gap between the institutional offer and the fafsa #?</p>
<p>
[quote]
easier to negotiate with a school about a better package if there is a large gap between the institutional offer and the fafsa #?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In a word, no as apparently the school in their professional judgement believe that your family has income and assets to pay the larger amount.</p>
<p>The fafsa and the CSS profile use 2 different set of methodologies when calculating your EFC. This is the major reason for the disparity in the EFCs. </p>
<p>At minimum you file the FAFSA (at almost every school) to determine your eligibility for federal aid (Pell/ seog grants, stafford and perkins loans). Most public univeristies will just require the fafsa (the exception may be UVA, UNC- CH, Mich and a few others which may require their own forms)</p>
<p>The CSS profile is used at different colleges that distribute their own institutional aid (Many of these schools have much deeper pockets).</p>
<p>Many schools that use a federal methodology to determine EFC will require only the FAFSA. Schools that use an instutional methodology or a combination of the 2 will require the CSS profile or their own FA 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>
<p>Your COA (cost of attendance) is tuition, room board, books travel expenses and some misc. expenses associated with attending college.</p>
<p>that helps alot, thanks sybbie</p>
<p>Is there something going on in your family that you have neglected to tell the financial aid office? </p>
<p>What you can do is ask the financial aid office for a fiancial review if you feel something was overlooked or to ask them to help you understand how they came up with the numbers.</p>
<p>If you have a financial aid package from another school that uses the profile that gave you a lower EFC, you can use it to ask the FA office to help you understand the discrepancy.</p>
<p>If they run through your numbers and see that your parents have vast resources that they can use to pay for your education, don't expect your EFXC to decrease by much. </p>
<p>But if you don't ask, you'll never know. Good luck</p>
<p>If FAFSA says my EFC is 31K but that doesn't take into consideration the costs of my younger sibling attending a secondary school, (I think that the CSS form uses that info in their calculation) and the school I am going to is going to cost 50K and they are offering nothing in aid, what are they looking at? I didn't expect much in the way of aid, but I guess I was hoping for a little bit. We have no equity in our home. I, of course, understand that there are less expensive schools that I may go to, and that may happen, I am just curious, how these two forms can come up with these figures.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If FAFSA says my EFC is 31K but that doesn't take into consideration the costs of my younger sibling attending a secondary school, (I think that the CSS form uses that info in their calculation) and the school I am going to is going to cost 50K and they are offering nothing in aid, what are they looking at?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Is the school that offered you nothing a school that uses the profile in conjunction with the FAFSA? if yes, then they did take into consideration your sibling going to secondary school.</p>
<p>either way, you can always contact the financial aid office to ask for a financial review.</p>
<p>Does your school meet 100% of demonstrated need? If yes, even with the
31K EFC, you would have gotten 19K in aid (in a combination of loans, work study/ grant aid). However if your school does not meet 100% demonstrated need (gaps) then it is understandable that you got nothing (this could easily happen at a school like NYU).</p>
<p>sybbie: great explnations.</p>