<p>I was lucky enough to be accepted into two great, full-need schools. But, one school is offering me a full 14k less in grant money than the other. I'm grateful for both offers, but everything I've seen seems to indicate that financial aid packages among these types of schools were generally comparable. I can't understand why the packages are so different. Does anyone have any idea what could cause such a large discrepancy (there was also a 12k difference in the EFC)?</p>
<p>Ask the school financial aid office. From what I have seen, this is not unusual even with schools that profess to use the same methodology, whereas your two schools may not. Some schools include 401K monies, some don’t. Some nab student assets on a 4 year basis, some don’t. Some cap home equity, some don’t. Some give you exclusions for private school tuitions for younger siblings, some don’t. Some count the market value of household cars, some don’t. The list can go on.</p>
<p>Your FAFSA EFC for Federal FA is the same for all schools. However, while the information you provide in the Profile is the same for all schools (except for a few supplemental questions), the policies and formulas schools use to determine need and FA packages vary due to factors cpt mentioned. As a result, the Institutional FA you receive can vary a little or a lot between schools; ours has varied by as much as 25k between full need schools.</p>
<p>Schools using the Profile have varying formulas they use to compute your aid. Most notably some schools use home equity in higher %ages than others. Some schools also add in business expenses from the self employed in different ways than others. In addition, the Profile has supplemental questions that might be used by one school and not another.</p>