Financial Aid for OOS Students

<p>Do OOS students at public universities receive less financial aid that do in-state students? The tuition is higher, but do they also offer less aid to these students?</p>

<p>I heard that the UC schools give little financial aid to OOS students, and I just wanted to know if this is the case for other public institutions as well. For example: Ohio State, Penn State, UMD-College Park</p>

<p>In most cases, OOS students will not receive enough need based aid to make up the difference between their EFC and the cost to attend the school. The notable exceptions is UVA which guarantees to meet full need for all excepted students.</p>

<p>Public universities typically reserve their best financial aid packages for,the families whose parents pay taxes in their state. Many do not provide aid to meet the differential between in and out of state costs. (In CA, for example, OOS students will at LEAST be on the hook for the $23,000 differential between in and out of state rates, plus their EFC). </p>

<p>The other thing to remember is that the vast majority of public universities do not meet full need anyway. If you are instate for UMich or UNC-CH, your need will be met…but not OOS. UVA (as mentioned ) does meet need. All three use the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA to determine your financial need.</p>

<p>So…short answer…it’s not that the schools necessarily provide less aid…it’s,that the costs to attend are significantly higher…and that difference usually is NOT covered with need based aid for OOS students.</p>

<p>I agree with Thumper. Where some OOS students can get money is through merit awards. Some of those awards can be quite hefty for those students with the best stats which a college may want enough to pay for it. Also, do remember that some states do have award programs for their instaters that OOS kids simply do not get. Like HOPE for Georgia, BF for FLorida, Promise for WV, and aid that CA and NY have for those kids who qualify financially, such as TAP for NY. You come from OOS, you are not eligible for TAP. </p>

<p>Most state schools do not guarantee to meet need, and most don’t for the vast majority of their students. The gap would be bigger for OOS students because the cost is more.</p>

<p>UNC still meets need for OOS students

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<p>And yes, some states have specific aid for students IS, some colleges do as well.</p>

<p>UNC, UVA and UNC-CH are extremely competitive schools for admission for out of state students.</p>

<p>Thanks for the correction Erin’s dad. I wasn’t sure about UNC.</p>

<p>Thanks, guys!</p>

<p>I wonder what UNC means when they say that. Here are numbers from their CDS:</p>

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<p>I found this footnote on the UNC CDS:

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<p>So what does “eligible” mean in this context?</p>

<p>Non-international? Also note the on-time requirement.</p>

<p>Didnt UNC state this spring that they were no longer able to meet need for this year’s incoming class (maybe for only OOS)? If so, then those numbers (for last year’s class) no longer applies.</p>

<p>I think I remember some folks posting their pkgs and wondering why they were gapped, and then we found out about the policy change.</p>

<p>And remember that “meeting need” sometimes means offering loans. </p>

<p>The “on time” is a critical thing at some schools. You miss one tiny deadline, no aid for you out of school funds, just the federal entitlements. </p>

<p>UVA has clamped down on OOS aid and is now using loans. SOme low EFC families got reamed, I’m afraid, OOS ones from what I could see.</p>

<p>UVA is using loans for families above a certain income threshold. They don’t use loans for those UNDER that threshold. But if you income is $1 over the threshold, you will have loans packaged into your UVA award.</p>

<p>UNC still lists itself as meeting need for all students on their web site, but their CDS does have a footnote about it being for those applying on time.</p>

<p>It strains credibility that 22% of students needing aid applied late.</p>

<p>It also states in the CDS that people who don’t qualify aren’t figured in that 100%. I don’t know if that means international students or what. If only the feds did auditing of the data.</p>

<p>UVA gave an EFC zero family loans in a case I know. I guess their formula might have a required student contribution.</p>

<p>BobWallace, there are also international students probably in the mix. Also students who may have gotten outside merit that erased need, but the stats are not so set up to reflect this. Could also be a mistake. That is a lot, I agree. </p>

<p>Cptofthehouse…UVA uses the Profile. The FAFSA EFC really doesn’t tell the story. Perhaps there was something on that Profile that indicated that the family was above the threshold for the no loan policy. That $0’efc person might have qualified for simplified needs, but had assets that the Profile would have counted.</p>

<p>^^^
right. If UVA looks at NCP info, and that income is substantial, why wouldnt it give an EFC 0 student some loans. If there is no NCP, then likely there is lots of home equity, a business, or something else.</p>