<p>The CSS Profile has a question like this, and it struck me as kind of odd, because I thought the point of the Profile is to arrive at an EFC based on actual numbers of income and assets. Does anyone know how colleges use this question? Does it depend on if the college is need-blind, or need aware? Is this a trick? Almost seems like they are inviting me to bid against myself. Thanks!</p>
<p>That’s EXACTLY how we felt when we first saw that question!</p>
<p>Right or wrong, we ended up putting a number close the the FAFSA EFC.
Probably less than what the Profile schools thought we should say!
Impossible to tell what effect it had on our ultimate Profile EFC.</p>
<p>That’s exactly what I thought too! </p>
<p>I think that if you put an amount less than the EFC, you could try explaining it in the last question so it’s not like you’re a miser (and wants to keep all your money) and you’re also not bidding against yourself.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a trick question. </p>
<p>I think it’s important for students to know (and ASK) how much their parents think they can pay. It doesn’t do any good for a student to be given an EFC, only to find out their parents can only pay a fraction of their EFC or maybe nothing.</p>
<p>I don’t want to rely much on their money but I am sure they can pay me enough to get me through :)</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>If your parents have the income/assets to pay most/all of your college costs, then you won’t get much, if any, FA, so you will need to rely on their money.</p>
<p>It really does seem like a trick question. And I understand the frustration of the OP.</p>
<p>I have two kids, and of course we want the system to be somewhat fair to all.</p>
<p>If a college is not need-blind and our EFC is fairly low, then if we say we can pay equal to the FAFSA EFC, it might make it harder if not impossible to get into high tuition private schools, right? (If schools would like to charge double our EFC but they think we can’t pay it, they will assume we will turn down their offer and maybe won’t make an offer, is that possible? - this is especially for borderline academic students not getting merit aid.) This could get our kids rejected from good-match schools.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if we say we could pay a large amount (if we are willing to change our lifestyle and use all possible resources including selling your house, borrowing against retirement accounts, grandparent money, etc, to cover the cost of our child’s education at a perfect-match school even if it drains our resources) wouldn’t they just charge us the maximum we say we are willing to pay?</p>
<p>While we’d be willing to do whatever is necessary, it seems unfair to ask this question. How does a kid get to see what price the college thinks is reasonable for a person with their means?</p>
<p>S1 didn’t apply to any profile colleges so this is the first Profile we have filled out. Our federal EFC is somewhat close to what my H and I can afford out of savings and income without tapping home equity or retirement accounts or taking out loans since my h is retired and since I’m not that far behind we won’t do loans or home equity, so that is the amount that I used on the Profile. All our kids will take out staffords. The colleges see the income/assets, etc… the schools can pretty much figure it out. The only thing they won’t know is how much personal debt each family is carrying. We don’t carry alot of debt so what they see is fairly accurate. I didn’t think it was a difficult or a trick question. My feelings were if the college did not want to supplement my child’s education to make it affordable for us then it wasn’t the ‘correct’ school for S2. My guess is they figure most parents low-ball this question. So somewhere in the middle is the truth. We’ve been pretty honest with S2 and he understands that if he were accepted to the profile schools then the total package needs to attempt to close the gap in our ability to pay. Maybe one or more of them will, maybe not. I’m guessing that the “touch point” varies from college to college e.g. is 50% pay the golden spot, 75%, 80% who knows and then it would probably depend on how desireable the candidate is. All it enforces to me is the need to have a well crafted list of schools the kids are willing to attend including the financial fit.</p>
<p>I really don’t think it’s a “trick question” but I do think it can be a “telling” question, and this is why.</p>
<p>Let’s say a family doesn’t realize that it’s EFC is $40k (believe me, there are many who have NO IDEA that their EFC would be that high), and that family firmly believes that it can only pay $5,000 towards college each year.</p>
<p>Well then, a school might want to know that. There’s no point in accepting such a kid who’d get minimum or no F/A (based on EFC), and the kid can’t afford to go there. Simply boosting his package a few grand isn’t going to do the trick. Such a kid would have a $40k gap.</p>
<p>I don’t think that admitting that one can pay his family’s low EFC is going to be a problem. Most schools can’t meet need anyway, so how would that hurt? The few that can meet need (w/o loans) are more generous anyway.</p>
<p>Using EFC is also away to “avoid” the question since presumably the college will see the EFC anyway. The number of kids that get a full ride can probably fit on the head of a pin and few will let you off the hook for less than the EFC so EFC is an easy way to put a stake in the question without having to second guess everyone’s position. Any deviation lower than EFC a reason can be put in the additional info section (a prolonged layoff, extreme medical bills, etc.)</p>
<p>I will have 2 or 3 in college next year. I put my divided “can pay without loans” amount down, with my twins,but not what I paid for my son alone. I didn’t want them to think I meant each child, when I meant together.
If I put my EFC down, it would be a lie and the reason my son said No to 5 of his 7 schools 3 years ago. If the aid wasn’t enough, he couldn’t go, but I am glad they still accepted him on his stats, etc. although as one poster put it then, it was sort of an accepted and rejected thing, they knew we couldn’t do it.
That said, some parents, I’m sure they feel, hide money, hide the fact grandparents might help or someone else and if push came to pull and the student REALLY wanted to go there, they might just find a way.</p>
<p>Are you not asking the same thing of the Profile schools?</p>
<p>I am SO confused by this question on the CSS profile! Due to a lot of scrimping and saving, we could probably afford to pay all of the tuition BUT we’re hoping she gets some merit money, especially since we have another daughter yet to go to college. How would answering this question honestly (saying we could afford to pay all her tuition) affect any merit money she might receive?</p>
<p>I don’t think it would effect merit, just need-based and only for the years you could pay.
I know many families that are far more affluent than I that got better packages because of very high SAT scores and athletic scholarships with their children. One said she can take a cruise with her college money now because it wont be needed. Of course, if the student doesn’t do well or gets hurt, things change. I have also seen that with athletic scholarships a few times, so you can never be 100% sure.</p>
<p>If you have enough money for 1 child but not another, I don’t think it is wrong to say what you can pay, dividing the amount up for both of them.</p>
<p>It shouldn’t affect merit, but it might affect merit if it’s linked to need.</p>
<p>This is just a guess, but after reading how Enrollment Management works, I think this is the purpose.</p>
<p>Say your EFC is $20k, but you say that you can only afford $5k per year. That sends a message to Enrollment Management that you won’t be able to afford this school, because you’ll have to borrow that $15k per year PLUS you’ll have to borrow whatever loans are in your FA package. So, they’ll either decline you or give you such a bad FA package that you’ll be forced to decline. (Yes, colleges do this.)</p>
<p>So, if you are able to pay your EFC, that is what I would put down. IF you don’t know your EFC, then use an EFC calculator to find out an approx amount. [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml)</p>
<p>I agree with the assumption that some packages are bad because you qualify but they know you can’t pay. One college, a good LAC , gave my son an acceptance but a bad FA package. They knew, there would be no way, without winning the lottery, I could afford that, but they didn’t want to give him more and I said I couldn’t pay more.
A college that did want him, gave me more than my EFC in merit and need and they weren’t a 100% need college. Nothing is set in stone, but you have to prepared for anything and not being honest could hurt the student if you can pay.</p>