My DS has received several generous merit offers from colleges. I also submitted the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile to each of these schools, so I have a general idea of our EFC.
How do schools calculate “need” once merit aid has been given?
For example, one school says it meets 75% of the student’s need. If DS has already received merit aid, do we subtract that from the “need” figure? And then estimate 75% of the remaining amount?
So, it is:
Cost - EFC - merit aide = NEED? And then we calculate 75% of that figure?
Or is it:
cost - EFC = NEED, then we calculate 75% of that and the merit and need based aid would cover that 75%???
It may be a question I have to ask each individual college, I recognize that.
No, most colleges do not stack aid. If your need is $30,000 and you get a $20,000 merit scholarship then you would also get only $10,000 in need based grants and loans. In other words, merit aid reduces any need based aid.
Are you sure the school says it meets 75% of need of each student, or that in general it meets 75% of the need of students? Very different.
If the first, it could be met through merit or need based aid. Student needs $40k, school will give $20k in merit, $10k in need based (or loans). $10k unmet = 75% of need met.
If the second, you have no way of knowing how much of your need will be met. For some students, the school will meet 100%, for others 50%, for some 0%. You can’t know how much of YOUR need will be met.
Some schools do limited stacking, where merit scholarships first replace unmet need, student loans, and work expectation, but then replace need-based financial aid grants. For example:
However, different schools have different policies, and policies may differ for different scholarships at the same school as well.
Remember also that “need” and “meeting need” are based on each school’s definition, which may vary from one school to another (and from what the FAFSA EFC may imply).