<p>can anyone help? My son (senior in high school) has gotten into a number of private schools; each costs relatively the same amount. We filled out the fafsa and he was given grants from each of the schools. What I don't understand is the amount from each school is completely different and ranges from no money to $26,000 for the year. Yet it seems that they are somewhat need based as I asked two of the schools if he was guaranteed the same amount each year, and they said, "as long as your income stays the same, then yes." We will have 2 kids in school next year and possibly for a couple more years, although our income is pretty good. Why do the different schools offer such a different amount, does anyone have any experience with the grants for their students and do they tend to continue throughout the four years, and finally, will having our daughter finish college mean we will get less. Lots of questions, but I am confused and don't want to encourage him to sign up for a school thinking that it will be 25,000.00 more per year than I am prepared for.</p>
<p>You might want to ask whether the grants are merit grants which are renewable each year, or financial aid grants, which may be renewable but which will (in all probability) depend on the college’s calculation of your family’s need. Once your older kid graduates, I’d expect some significant adjustments in the grants provided to your younger child, since your finances will no longer have to cover two students. At least, that’s the college’s perspective.</p>
<p>so there are such things as merit grants? I sound like a neophyte at this and it is kid #3 but other two went to public and didn’t get anything at all.</p>
<p>*We will have 2 kids in school next year and possibly for a couple more years, although our income is pretty good. Why do the different schools offer such a different amount, *</p>
<p>Because different schools use different formulas for determining need…and more importantly, all schools aren’t similarly wealthy. MOST schools have little money to give. </p>
<p>and, some schools award merit awards…and some schools give better aid pkgs to those with high stats for their school. </p>
<p>What kind of aid did your son get? All need-based? any merit-based? a mix? </p>
<p>What was your FAFSA EFC for him? Are these CSS schools?</p>
<p>*does anyo</p>
<p>There are a number of reasons why the amounts can be different. First of all, schools often use their own formulas to determine need, particularly PROFILE schools. Also, not all schools offer to meet full need; in fact, few do. There are also merit within need awards that can kick in at some schools that sweeten the pot. </p>
<p>Bear in mind that it is not the amount of the awards that are important, but how much you have to pay as the bottom line. That includes loans as future payments, not awards, though interest may be subsidized on some of them. </p>
<p>There are schools that have merit within need,where there is money that can be distributed only to those who demonstrate need, but once need is determined, the award can exceed the actual need as calculated. As an example, if your student’s need is determined to be $10K, the award can exceed that. However, if the student has no need by forumula, s/he can’t get any of that money. There are also merit awards that are available to everyone, and if they exceed need, the excess can be kept. In that case, if a student is awarded a scholarship open to everyone, and if that student has financial need, s/he still gets the full amount of that scholarship, even if it exceeds the need. </p>
<p>FInancial aid at many schools does take a sibling in college into account, and if your student is getting such aid, when that sibling is no longer in school, the aid will be reduced.</p>
<p>thank you all for the information. I believe the EFC was about 29K per year. The confusing thing is that it appears that they are all need based as they were university grants, but the grants ranged from 9K per year to 26K per year and all the schools cost essentially the same amount. I guess what I understand from the comments is that the different schools can decide you need more than the FAFSA thinks you need. One of the school’s final cost after grant and work study was just over 21K per year, the other two were about 34K per year. Plus the least expensive is in our home state (CA) as opposed to upstate NY making it so much easier to get to. They all also offered subsidized and unsubsidized loans as well, which I don’t think we will take advantage of as I think the rates are not that great. I am going to call the two schools he is most interested in and ask if any of the amount they are giving is a merit instead of a need grant. We will continue to have either 2 or 3 kids in school for the next few years with grad school etc.-clearly bad planning on our part.</p>
<p>Your description is a little bit confusing; the grants range from…, but all the schools cost essentially the same. Then you say one school is 21K but many other cost about 34k. That is hardly essentially the same. Bottom line, you need to look at final cost without loans or work study. A lot of schools include loans as part of financial package, but you should take that component out and compare final costs without loans. Merit grants are usually renewable and stay constant during the 4 years (usually with academic achievement requirement), but need grants are variable and will be based on your financial information you provide in your yearly application.</p>
<p>Also having more than kids in school at the same time is actually very beneficial in terms of financial aid. Your EFC for each kids will go down by most estimation to about 60% when comparing to just one kids in school. Some people actually delay or take gap year to have more overlap of time for their kids in school. When your next kids start school, the financial aid for all the kids in theory should go up during that year.</p>
<p>Also the federal Stafford loan, the subsidized part is interest free while the student is attending school full time. The interest rate is currently scheduled to be 6.8% but it could change as congress may decide differently. Keep that in mind when comparing that with private loan.</p>
<p>Yes, you need to get the bottom line cost for each school without any loans or work study in the picture. Then mark each line with how much of that is merit money which will stay as long as the student makes the required grades, and how much is financial aid which will be adjusted when the sibling leaves school</p>
<p>Also note that while you may be supporting a child in graduate school, that doesn’t count as a child in college for FAFSA purposes – not even as a member of your household. Some colleges (usually private schools) that use Profile may consider that expense, but FAFSA does not, and schools that rely on FAFSA to determine need probably won’t.</p>
<p>* We will continue to have either 2 or 3 kids in school for the next few years with grad school etc*</p>
<p>You don’t count kids in grad school for FAFSA…and you don’t count them in your household either. Your FAFSA EFC will go to $60k (at least) when you only have one child in undergrad. </p>
<p>The system is set up with the idea that parents pay for undergrad…grad school isn’t the parents responsibility.</p>
<p>Some CSS schools may take it into acct that you have a grad student, but that doesn’t mean that they will count that student the same as an undergrad. Many schools won’t count a grad student at all.</p>
<p>A parent recently posted and the family was quite upset because they had run the NPC for Cornell (or another ivy) and thought that the amount was affordable. Alas, they had included their grad student children in the calculation only to find out that those kids don’t count and their “family contribution” to the ivy was full freight.</p>
<p>I want to correct something in my post above – the grad student CAN be included in the family size reported on FAFSA IF the parents provide more than half of the grad student’s support. But…the “# in college next year” does not include the grad student, even if the parents are paying for grad school, and that is where you see some enormous EFC impact. But, some private schools may allow some recognition of grad school expenses. </p>
<p>(Which they should, especially if they are a school that expects parents to complete financial aid documents for students in business, law, or medical school. Rather two-faced to on the one hand expect parents to help pay for these grad programs, and on the other, not take that into account for a younger siblings F.A.)</p>
<p>I’m sorry. What I meant by that was that before the grants the schools (all private) are about 53,000 per year including cost of living, tuition and fees. AFTER the different schools’ grants and work study (but not including loans, which I understand must be paid back) one would be about 21,000 and the other two about 34,000.00 per year (cost of living, tuition and fees). Our EFC was I believe about 28,000.00/yr.
Also thank you for the information on the Stafford loans, I had not had the chance to look into those yet.
And to the others, thank you for the information on the grad school not counting, but darn.</p>
<p>OP, these are the merit scholarships at loyola [LMU</a> Academic Scholarship Programs for Entering Freshmen 2012-2013](<a href=“http://financialaid.lmu.edu/prospective/scholarships/LMU_Academic_Scholarship_Programs_for_Entering_Freshmen_2012-2013.htm]LMU”>http://financialaid.lmu.edu/prospective/scholarships/LMU_Academic_Scholarship_Programs_for_Entering_Freshmen_2012-2013.htm)</p>
<p>Usually, along with the admission package there are congratulatory letters about any merit scholarship and it says whether it is renewable every year for the same amount.</p>
<p>To understand the difference in 2 packages, let’s say the school FA award for two schools are as following:</p>
<p>College A:
COA:50k (tuition/room/books/fees/etc)
Trustee of college A scholarship: 20k
College A grant:10k
EFC:20K</p>
<p>College B:
COA:50K
B College Excellent merit:14K
College B grant:10K
Stafford unsubsidized:3k:
Stafford subsidized:2K
Work Study:1K
EFC:20K</p>
<p>Even though the EFC and costs are the same, the best deal is College A since there are no loans or WS. College B ends up more expensive as work study and loans are basically being paid by you. 55k difference (4 years) might not be that much to go to a significantly better school, depending on the major and future earnings. With a journalism/film interest, it is difficult to think that your son can recoup the money easily after graduation, so that’s another issue to think.</p>
<p>also I do have a call into the school that is giving $33,000 to ask if some of the grant money is merit based. It only makes sense as the final cost ( the one that is about 21K) is less than the EFC. However it is lumped into one “grant” on the financial aid form.</p>
<p>I do understand that grant money and work study are not paid back but loans are.</p>
<p>Work study is not free money. It is just authorization to earn up to that amount while working in a WS job. Some students decide they do not want to work so they do not accept the WS, or do not have time to work all the hours. On the other hand, depending with the major, job opportunities in the area, the student might make more by working off-campus.</p>
<p>If there was a merit aid, the FA award states it on a separate line from the grant because the money come from a separate account and names which one it is, eg, Trustee College A Scholarship $5k, or Alumnae Class 1920 Scholarship $1000. You need to ask them how the graduation of the older child will impact the FA award in the future, and whether the FA award will be similarly structured in % of grants/loans/WS next year, as long as your income/assets remain the same.</p>