Help!! We have triplets and 2 of them are attending 100% meets need colleges. Lets say, to use an easily divided number, our EFC is $75k. The one school basically used 1/3 of that to determine our EFC for that kid attending that school. (Forget about the 3rd kid for a moment bc she goes to an OOS state school that is not 100% meets need - although her merit aid basically puts her in the same range as the 100% meets need anyway). Now, the other school (which is new this year for sophomore year because DS is transferring in) is asking us this: “1) On the CSS Profile you reported your two siblings as attending college full time next year; however there was no information provided as to how much your parents expect to contribute to their education. Please provide an estimate of how much your parents expect to pay for each of your siblings next year.”
They’ve given us 2 weeks to figure this out but we don’t even know yet what it will be next year so we are afraid of underestimating. Has anyone ever run up against this?
I would expect to pay the EFC for each child. Yes, this sort of question comes up often. Questions like how much you expect relatives, grandparents to contribute towards education. How much you expect to pay for a given child’s education. How much you can pay for a child’s education. I would just answer with the EFC. Or less If you have a rationale for it, such as expecting each child to contribute a certain amount by working. I look at those questions as the ideal scenario of the moment. What you end up paying under the circumstances that occur can be quite different
For the specific college(s) in question, run their net price calculators with scenarios based on the number of kids in college to get an idea of how those specific college(s) handle that situation.
Yup, we did the NPC, and my DH just rifled through the mound of paperwork in the file and he in fact did report it in the CSS so I’m thinking the reviewer in the FA office just missed it. We were just taken aback by the question this time around because it was smooth sailing with my DD’s school which is also 100% meets need and hewed almost exactly to the NPC. Her school is 2,500 students and DS’s school is 18,000 students and I’m thinking maybe administratively under siege at the moment?
I’d report how much I paid in the prior year, or that amount plus any increase in tuition or costs. I’d include any amount the students had to borrow since you ARE paying that amount. COA minus scholarships/grants = Amt you expect to pay.
The third student attending school, even though you aren’t paying because of the full scholarship, does calculate into the EFC for FAFSA so you get the EFC for the other two reduced by that amount, but CSS schools can ask how much you are actually paying OOP, and only credit you with that amount. The ‘meets full need’ schools can figure that need however they like.
OK, what we are paying OOP would include whatever is coming from the 529 accounts, right? Because the $$ in the 529’s basically is OOP? I confess my DH did all of this last year and now with the 3rd kid and these questions, we are second guessing ourselves I think. Last year when we did the CSS for DS who got the guaranteed transfer, we never had to complete the process with the transfer school. We assumed it would be like the other CSS school my DD attends, which was pretty much spot on the NPC. I think I’m finding I’m naive to think it will run as smoothly as her school. Nothing has been easy with this guaranteed transfer process, so why should the financial aid, LOL?
I think you are making it too complicated. They asked how much you pay (or expect to pay), and you know that amount because you actually paid it last year! Yes, the 529 $$ is money you pay for an education. So is the actual cash you pay, the airline tickets you buy (if the question asks about total costs and not just tuition), the books, the meal plans, required equipment, lab goggles, etc.
If COA for a sibling is $70k and the scholarship is $60k, then the amount you expect to pay is $10k.
omigosh, thank you for pointing that out. We never did factor in the costs of transportation, books, fees, etc…and that added up to quite a bit of $$$ last year. Easily another $3-5k per kid.