Hi All,
Ran the college board calculators to get EFC, and I have both the federal and the institutional methodology EFC numbers. Every net price calculator is different, for some the EFC is entered. Should the rule of thumb be FAFSA school = federal method, and CSS Profile school = institutional method (although many CSS schools request more data than the EFC).
Use the net price calculators on each college website.
No. And what do you mean by “although many CSS schools request more data than the EFC”? A college EFC is the result of the Profile process; FAFSA (or any) EFC is not an input in the process.
OP- the time consuming yet accurate thing to do is to follow Thumper’s advice- use the NPC from each college.
If you are looking for a quick read on whether you’ll be eligible for need based aid (I seem to remember from your other thread that you believe you are on the line?) then my suggestion is to run your own numbers on the Princeton U website. Princeton because it is one of the most generous college’s in the country, and I have heard anecdotally that its NPC is exceptionally accurate (my nephew’s package was literally 5 bucks off of what the estimator had told him he’d get; our HS has said that nobody has ever come back to complain that Princeton’s actual numbers were “way off” vs. their calculator).
If Princeton spits out a number for the family contribution which you cannot/will not/will never be able to afford, then the likelihood that need based aid will be more generous at another college is low if not zero.
So then you know what to do- focus on merit awards for your kid.
Hi All,
I am using each college’s net price calculator. Each is different. Some require the “EFC” as an enter-able field, and since I have federal and institution EFC from the college board calculator, just deciding which EFC to use. @blossom, if I understand correctly (and over simplify), using the Princeton Net Price calculator to get an accurate EFC, even when you’re not really looking at Princeton. I know not all school net price calculators are created equal.
@BelknapPoint Some schools net price calculators are asking for the EFC as an input field. My point, not well stated, is that schools that seem to use the CSS profile have a much more robust net price calculator, and EFC is not an input field. But, for those schools that have an input of EFC, of which I have 2 numbers, do I enter the “federal method”, since these seem to be FAFSA only schools?
Yes…you will see varying fields in each net price calculator. This is because each college has its own way of determining the awarding of THEIR money.
Some use only information that is on the fafsa. Others use ifnroation from other sources…either the Profile or their own form.
The FAFSA EFC really is used to determine your eligibility for federally funded need based aid. But some schools DO use the data in the FAFSA to determine if they will give you institutional money. Most schools that use ONLY the FAFSA do not guarantee to meet full need for all, and typically have less generous need based aid overall. The exceptions are Princeton…which uses its own form and not the Profile…in addition to the FAFSA. AND Universitynof Chicago which uses the FAFSA and a short Chicago form.
The point is…because the formulas vary, it’s important to use the net price calculator for the schools that YOUR kid is likely to apply to…and get accepted to.
The Princeton NPC is accurate for those enrolling at Princeton…but if the Princeton NPC says you are getting significant need based aid at PRINCETON, do NOT assume you will get the same generous aid anywhere else. Run EACH net price calculator…and you will see…your net costs could vary by thousands and thousands of dollars from school to school.
When I started, I was surprised how many NPCs were outdated, using 2014 numbers.
If NPCs are federally mandated, why aren’t they mandated to be standardized or at least updated?
Another thing to remember…the net price calculators currently are set up,for students enrolling in college in fall 2017. This used 2015 tax return incime information.
If you are looking at future years…these should be viewed as a GROSS estimate. First…wrong year now. And second…policies DO change at colleges from year to year.
Thanks @thumper1! I am using each school calculator, and making notes along the way. For example, some ask for an AGI and are very basic (state schools), and there’s no input for grades/stats, so I make a note to call to learn if there is any merit money at all. Some, are super detailed and I use my tax return, stats, and feel like I’m getting a number that might be in the ballpark (these happen to be school that use the CSS Profile). For other schools that ask for an input of EFC, I’m just not clear which EFC from the college board calculator is the more accurate number.
They are asking for the FAFSA EFC as an input? Perhaps, but they can’t be asking that a school-specific EFC be input, because that’s exactly what the result of the NPC is supposed to provide.
It would really help if, when we throw around the term “EFC,” we identify whether we’re talking about the FAFSA EFC or an EFC that comes from a school-specific formula. Because those numbers are not the same thing, and they are not used for the same thing.
Thumper- yes, Princeton’s NPC is only accurate for kids enrolling in Princeton but if the OP is trying to figure out a need only or a merit strategy- in my experience, if you aren’t getting need based aid at Princeton, you aren’t getting it at the dozens of less generous/less well endowed schools. So you need to focus on merit.
got it! @BelknapPoint Yes, FAFSA EFC as an input to the school’s net price calculator. Newbie learning curve! Which circles me back to the original question, how does one know when to use the FAFSA EFC federal method or institutional method? I’ve run a search on CC, and couldn’t find anything.
What are you asking?
The FAFSA EFC is the one used to determine eligibility for federally funded need based aid…things like the Pell Grant, SEOG, subsidized loans, and some state grants. Typically, this is aid received by lower income families.
Some schools use the information from the FAFSA to determine how they award their own need based aid…but your FAFSA EFC in that case does NOT mean all of the rest of your costs will be covered.
Institutional methodology usually refers to what the SCHOOL determines your family contribution will be. As @BelknapPoint mentioned…that is what you get an estimate of when you do the SCHOOL net price calculator.
The Profile does NOT generate a family contribution at all…ever.
Some Profile schools meet full need…and some don’t. The formulas vary wildly.
@DoinResearch, regarding your question about what to input into NPC’s: generally, when I have seen a school’s NPC ask for an EFC, I have entered the federal methodology EFC that I got from the fafsa forecaster (we haven’t filed an “official” fafsa yet - DD is a junior, so we will be doing it soon).
Here is what one school had as a comment to this input:
The EFC is found on the Student Aid Report (SAR) provided by the Department of Education. The SAR is mailed or emailed directly to the student after the FAFSA is processed.
hope that helps.
To get an estimate of the FAFSA EFC, I’d run the FAFSA4caster. If it’s 0, you’ll probably qualify for a Pell grant of ~$5k/year. If it’s over 5,000, you won’t qualify for much/any Pell.
Thank you @dragon90! That answers the question (that was so hard to explain!)
@thumper1, I realize that information is not current, but it makes sense to complete the exercise to add a few more affordable schools to the list and take off a few financial reaches. I believe each schools net price calculator, with a few notes, and a call to the school to clarify any questions, is a decent approach. The end goal is to have a well balanced application list, I don’t want to panic in March 2018 when I realize we cannot swing the sizable loans. We spent most of our time sorting by talent reaches/safeties, but now using the lens of financials…insert panic emoji here…
Yes, the collegeboard calculator will give a federal EFC number, based on the FAFSA EFC formula (currently it uses the 2017/18 formula I believe).
And it also has the option to give an institutional EFC, but not all colleges will have one uniform formula for this, that’s why you need to do each college’s net price calculator for the schools that are not FAFSA only schools.
Often they will ask for gpa and test scores as well, and might give a merit estimate.
When a net price calculator asks for EFC, I believe it is the FAFSA EFC. Some schools will calculate federal and state aid based on that, but they might or might not give institutional grants.
Often it is best just to answer the financial questions in detail.