<p>So i was filling out the EFC calculator on college board (i assume it is fairly trustworthy) and it said my expected parent contribution would about $10,000, my parents combined make 117K. On the breakdown it said that for one child in college my parents would contribute like 20K, but bc it is 2 it is only 10K. Is this how it works? Do they really divide by the number in college, bc my sophomore year of college there will be three of us. Please i don't know much about this, could anyone help?</p>
<p>Yes, the number of kids in college makes a difference.</p>
<p>just remember that there is NO guarantee that the EFC is all you will have to pay unless you (and future college student siblings) are going to a school that meets full need.</p>
<p>The financial aid applications do consider the number of students enrolled in degree granting programs in college. HOWEVER, it's not always evenly split as student assets can vary from sibling to sibling.</p>
<p>Each calculator that I used ( College Board and FinAid) came up with a different amount for the EFC. The SAR that FAFSA calculated was different again, and the final bill from the college was, you guessed it, different again. Obviously, that last was the only one that really matters, because that's the one we have to pay. We are fine with it, so no appeal, but, I'm just saying...</p>
<p>I actually used two (collegeboard and finaid) and they both came up with the exact same number.</p>
<p>For FAFSA only schools, another sibling in college reduces your EFC by a half, correct. But actually for Profile schools, I believe EFC is only reduced by a third with each additional sibling.</p>
<p>Please note that your parents are expected to pay the SUM total of all of the kid's EFCs. It's just that per kid, it is reduced. It used to be a greater reduction I think since they used formula rather than actual COAs at a school, but I have been told that has changed. And PROFILE schools may have their own rules on the splits.</p>
<p>At my S's school (a full need Profile school), the standard is 60% for each of 2, 40% for each of 3.</p>
<p>Are profile schools, the instutional thing, bc on the breakdown they multiplied the EFC by .6, but it actually came out to be less than the Federal method. What are profile schools?</p>
<p>Make sure you are following all the instructions & entering everything properly. $20k is about right at that income level, but as noted by others ... you may not get aid that actually bridges the gap between your 1/2 of the EFC and the cost of attendance at that school. And remember that loans are ON TOP OF your EFC ... that is, they are considered part of your financial aid package to meet need.</p>
<p>Profile is used by a lot of private schools. Assets are treated differently than they are by FAFSA ... for example, your home equity is considered an asset your parents can borrow against in the Profile formula, but it's not in the FAFSA formula. There are other differences, and each school can throw in its own stuff, making the IM formula just a ballpark figure. Another big difference is that Profile asks for info from both sets of parents (and stepparents, if any) if they are divorced, while FAFSA just asks for info from the parent (and stepparent) with whom the student lived the most during the previous year.</p>
<p>The school i hope to go to, University of Pennsylvania, meets the full need of all applicants without loans, so the loans i would have to take out would be to cover the EFC. Is there any case where an Ivy school like Penn, when calculating EFC has it higher than the federal method?</p>
<p>Ivies don't use the federal methodology. They use institutional methodology. Each Ivy has a different formula they use to compute your EFC....and it could vary from Ivy to Ivy. These schools require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Schools that use the Profile consider a broader range of assets. I don't know the %age of home equity that each Ivy considers (if any). That figures into the equation and it doesn't at a FAFSA only school. Also, if you have parents who are divorced, schools using the Profile ask for (and use in some way) the income and assets of the non-custodial parent (and spouse if there is one) as well. </p>
<p>The difference between the FAFSA (federal) and Profile (Institutional) EFCS can be HUGE.</p>
<p>Is the Profile every higher (institutional method) evey higher?</p>