@tigerbomb05
OK, here is the short primer, I hope. COA = Cost of attendance, which is everything, and we can use the $65,000 number you mention as a good estimate for Tulane.
EFC = Estimated Financial Contribution. This is the amount that a school figures you (meaning your family in most cases) can pay towards the cost of your education. This is calculated from the FAFSA and, in the case of private schools especially, a form called the CSS.
So most simply, financial aid comes in two forms, merit based and need based. These are completely separate at Tulane in the sense that merit is awarded regardless of need, and need is given even if you have won merit aid if your EFC is still lower than the COA. So it is very important to realize that there is no way to “wipe out” or reduce the EFC unless you earn enough merit money that the gap between the merit award and the COA is less than your EFC. Let’s do two quick examples.
Suppose for your family the EFC turns out to be $20,000 per year. That means, after taking into account the income of the family minus certain kinds of expenses, such as having another child in college already, it is determined that your family should be able to afford to pay $20,000 each year. That leaves $45,000 to cover Tulane’s COA. $32,000 is covered by the Presidential, and $5,000 by TOPS. That leaves $8,000. So your FA package based on need would be $8,000. Another way to look at it is that the $32,000 plus the $5,000 are assets in the “bank” and therefore your EFC is now $37,000 + $20,000 = $57,000. Same thing, but it makes my statement in bold above easier to understand. The $57,000 is still lower than the COA, so a need based package is required. This can come in any of 3 forms, often a mix.
[ul]
[li]It can be a grant, which is a lot like your merit award in that it doesn’t have to be paid back, but it is reevaluated every year as your family’s financials might have changed. If everything stays the same, Tulane will usually keep the grant portion of the FA package pretty consistent as well, although it does appear to depend on how well you are doing in school. I have seen them increase the grant portion for students that are really doing well in school, and they have decreased it for students that don’t seem to be putting in the effort.[/li]
[li]It can be loans, which are self explanatory to a large degree. There are Federal loans, which generally have more favorable terms I believe, and private loans. The amount of Federal loans are capped each year, and that information should be readily available in numerous places, including the Financial Aid forums on CC.[/li]
[li]Finally there is work-study, also pretty self explanatory.[/li][/ul]
Now suppose you win the Stamps, which covers full COA. Obviously your family pays nothing, the EFC is wiped out because the gap between merit awards and COA is zero. But suppose you “only” win full tuition plus fees, which I think is about $49,000. That leaves $16,000 for everything else, which is lower than your EFC. So you save compared to winning nothing or winning less that full tuition, but your family is still paying the gap between the merit award and COA. In that case there is no need based aid because it was determined that your family can afford what remained to be paid. Of course any family is free to go out and get private loans if they can.
This is not my area of really detailed expertise, so if anyone sees and error in my write-up or thinks something can be explained better/more detail, by all means feel free.
it is great when their hard work pays off and WE get this break in cost.