<p>So long as the EFC agrees with the family’s idea of affordability. Families with incomes of around $100,000 often have EFCs around $30,000. Depending on other expenses and lifestyle, the parents may not necessarily feel able to come up with that much money for college.</p>
<p>Oh yes. That goes without saying. My statement was in response to the OP earlier point that this school claims to meet a number of students’ “determined need”. That may just mean that it has a lot of affluent kids with high EFCs and they’re meeting need with a loan. It’s a whole 'nuther story as to whether the parents can pay the $40k or whatever the high EFC is.</p>
<p>Interesting point about how schools can say they meet 100% need of some students. I hadn’t thought of how it’s easier to “meet the need” of a higher EFC student. I dug out my older D1’s paperwork; she applied to same school for Fall 2010. Not sure why I saved all that stuff but it’s been an interesting reference since they applied to some of the same schools.</p>
<p>I had a better job then, just one child in college and our EFC was $31K+. They did meet D1’s need - by offering some merit (less than D2; her stats were not as high) and a Stafford loan, and that was that - need met. Except we couldn’t really make that $31K EFC (I’d only been back to work full-time for a year after several years home or working part-time) so she ended up going somewhere else that offered her more merit aid.</p>
<p>I appreciate all your comments. I feel like I understand it all a bit better!</p>
<p>Meeting Need is one of most misunderstood phrases in FA. As I have posted elsewhere, let us began with the word need</p>
<p>Excluding FAFSA only schools, schools can chose to define need in a way they want. They can exclude some expenses, they can include assets that may not be liquid. In other words, the family’s definition of need is not the same as that of the school</p>
<p>Let us take the work “meeting”. A school can meet the need in a hundred different ways. It could be 100% scholarships and grants (very rare), it could be scholarships, grants and some federal/state aid. It could be predominantly loans. Again, two students with the same profile (same family income, GPA, test scores) may get different aid packages. One may be more desirable as she comes from Montana (she would the only student from Montana) or because he plays the banjo etc etc. Financial aid is not strictly by numbers in many private schools, there are other factors that are not disclosed. (Public schools like the one kelsmom possibly worked for are more rule driven and hence more predictable). To me a package with excessive loans does not meet need, but the school can claim they ‘met the need’.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, all students with high need have to have a financial safety which they are prepared to go to. Colleges have limited budgets and they are not going to give every one what they want. Hence, you need to be prepared to walk away. This is the most difficult part, a student works so hard to get into a dream school, where the dream is unaffordable. Unless you are mentally prepared for that, it is going to be very upsetting.</p>