<p>Lets say a schools COA is 30000
COA: 30000
EFC:5500
Need: 24500
So I have 24500 in financial need. Based on the school's net price calculator I would receive around 7000 in FA. I would qualify for a non-resident automatic scholarship worth 5500 a year. So would my package look like this:
COA: 30000
- EFC 5500
- FA 7000
- Merit 5500
= 12000
Or this?
COA 30000
-EFC 5500
-Merit 5500
- FA 1500
= 17500
I have been very confused about this. Since the school doesn't meet financial need, I was wondering if the merit scholarship would subtract from my financial aid amount, even though it wouldn't surpass my need.</p>
<p>The school’s net price calculator should tell you how much you would have to pay</p>
<p>It depends on the school. At many schools, merit awards will reduce your need…so your need based aid will be less. BUT some schools allow “stacking” of all types of aid up to the cost of attendance. You would need to check each school for their policy.</p>
<p>It very much depends on the school.</p>
<p>What schools are you looking at? </p>
<p>It sounds like the school is an OOS public so where are you getting the suggestion that you’d get FA $7000? </p>
<p>You would get a $5500 loan of FA. But you may not get a $7000 need based grant. OOS publics aren’t generous with need-based grants to OOS students.</p>
<p><a href=“Includes%20both%20merit%20and%20need%20based%20grant%20and%20scholarship%20aid%20from%20Federal,%20State,%20or%20Local%20Governments,%20or%20the%20Institution”>I</a> $7686*</p>
<p>Ok…this is for Mizzou.</p>
<p>the FA that is estimated by the NPC includes the merit based scholarship of $7000. The $686 may be the Pell Grant. </p>
<p>So, you’d still have the $17,500 to pay. That’s a LOT for a Pell Student.</p>
<p>When I go on my visit in July I will ask them if they stack. If they don’t, it is very unlikely that I would go.</p>
<p>
Why don’t you call or e-mail them? Save you a trip.</p>
<p>What more would they “stack”? The $7k that was figured on the NPC already stacked your merit scholarship and your Pell Grant.</p>
<p>I don’t know where exactly you’re getting all of your numbers from mom2collegekids, but I don’t believe I am pell eligible, and the merit scholarship is only worth 5500$ so I think the remaining 1500 or so would come from institutional grants.</p>
<p>I think may be Pell eligible…not for the full Pell, but for a partial Pell. </p>
<p>Didn’t you say that your family income is about $50k? </p>
<p>However, I somehow thought your merit was larger. You’re right, it’s $5500. </p>
<p>Either way, even if that $1500 is from institutional grants rather than Pell, the point still stands - there’s nothing more to stack unless you get more merit from somewhere. </p>
<p>Your first post showed $7k in FA…but it really was $5500 in MERIT, and $1500 in FA. So, you would not be stacking the $5500 from non-resident scholarship on top of the $7k, because the $7k already includes the $5500.</p>
<p>Nick,</p>
<p>this is what we know:</p>
<p>Cost of attendance is $30,000 You state that your EFC = $5500. Your demonstrated need is $24000</p>
<p>Based on your EFC, you are not Pell eligible.</p>
<p>You state you have a merit loan of $5000
You are eligible for direct loans of $5500
You have FA of $1500</p>
<p>Total FA $12,000</p>
<p>You have a gap in your financial aid of $12,000 (not counting your $5500 EFC that your parents will have to pay). Basically, your parents will have to come up with $17,500 to cover their EFC and the gap in your financial aid package. How are you and your parents going to pay this? Will they be taking out a PLUS loan?</p>
<p>Nick, the NPC is not a guarantee. For those schools that do NOT give merit money and that guarantee to meet full need, if your family financial situation is straightforward–no family businesses, unusual investments and holding, no divorce and step parent situations, the calculators can come close, but they are ESTIMATES. When you fill out the real thing, it’s a lot more detailed Something as simple as having more assets in an account the day you fill out the FAFSA and any other apps can change the contributions expected.</p>
<p>What Mizzou’s NPC is telling you is that the AVERAGE student who applies to the school with your financial figures would get $7K in financial aid. I don’t know, and maybe you can tell us–do the questions for that NPC ask if you are instate or out, and does it break down what comprises that $7K, like does it include any specifically named awards or mention Direct Loans, Perkins, Work study, etc. All three of the things I mention are self help, not gtant money. </p>
<p>Mizzou gaps, just like most schools do. Nothing unusual about this. I don’t know a single school that meets need based on the FAFSA EFC for every single students. The vast, vast majority of kids at most schools are gapped if you use the FAFSA definition of need. Very few families pay just the EFC. The EFC is the MINIMUM amount you will pay if there is federal aid involved is usually the way to look at it. You cannot get subsidized loans or other federal funds other than unsubsidized loans if you go under your EFC in terms of finanicial and merit money lowering your costs.</p>
<p>So the fact of the matter is that you will likely be gapped. However, sometimes a school may have a merit award to give out because they really want a certain student, or meet full need or close to it for the same reason. If you have high stats for the student pool, there is that chance. Look and see what kind of merit money they do give out. However, I do know a young lady who went there as an OOSer, and all she got was the OOS award and that was about 15 years ago. At that time the costs were a lot lower so the award made a decent dent in the cost. Now…I can’t believe they didn’t raise that award. </p>
<p>There is no reason not to apply to some schools where there is no certainty of aid or scholarshipts to make them affordable as long as you have your bases covered with at least a school, or even two that you know you will be able to afford and you know will take you. Just make sure you understand that you are buying lottery tickets when you apply to such schools like Mizzou. Sometimes things pan out to make it possible.</p>
<p>I just took a peek at the stats for this school First of all the costs run a minimum of $32.5K for tuition and r/b up to $36.5K for OOSers and that is not taking into account price hikes from this year and the upcoming one. And these schools usually go up in price. </p>
<p>Only 14% of the freshman got their need fully met, and that is for both OOS and instaters. And only 6% of the kids got merit money who also got fin aid. So, it’s not an encouraging picture, unless you are in the upper 6% of the applicant pool, IMO.</p>
<p>Sorry if I was causing any confusion. I was just using nice round numbers for the sake of the example.</p>
<p>Captain, I’m pretty sure that is grant aid from state, institutional, or federal sources.
My original question was if mizzou stacks need based and merit based, as long as it doesn’t go over amount needed.
And the $5500 is the mark twain nonresident scholarship, not a loan. But I do think the stafford limit for frosh year is 5500 also. And 5500 is my appro. EFC, haha</p>
<p>I know what the Mark Twain non resident award is. My friend’s DD got it. She went to Mizzou. </p>
<p>That $5500 does show up a lot in fin aid, not just yours.</p>
<p>Schools are permitted to stack aid as long as they do not go over the figure of COA minus EFC which is the need defined for federal purposes,when using any federal subisidy funds and need grants (some PELL exceptions here that do not pertain to you). They can do whatever they please with their own money. You can get the $5500 Mark Twain when you have zero need and your dad is Donald Trump. You can still borrow that $5500 Direct loans too, but not on a subsidized basis. </p>
<p>So, the answer is that the school can stack, but their statistics show that they hardly ever do since so few kids get full need met. And the figures reported in the common data set are for ALL students, in state as well as OOS, and there is usually an incentive to fund the instaters better. The OOS differential is to bring some money into the school, and unless a state school feels the student is so desirable to well fund him, it is usual that OOSers get gapped worse. This is a generality, and no telling where you would fall in the spectrum. I see no harm in giving it a go, but I don’t think it is likely you will get full need met here.</p>