Please help me get a grip on what I might be paying for my son to attend his #1 college choice. COA is $38k, our EFC is 27k, which leaves a financial need of 11k. Son would most likely qualify for an $18k merit based scholarship. Can anyone let me know, what is it that I “might” be paying out of pocket. I’m not sure where the $18k merit based scholarship gets deducted. Thanks so much for any input.
Is the EFC a FAFSA EFC, is it from the school’s own Net Price Calculator, or from somewhere else? The $18k merit scholarship gets deducted from the COA.
COA (38K) - Merit (18K) then you are responsible for $20K. Is COA costs including tuition/room/board/books/transportation/miscellaneous???
I don’t trust the “merit” component of those calculators unless they are guaranteed merit based on published information. I think you need to wait to see what the school actually offers before you can decide whether it’s affordable.
it is not an obvious answer. You need to ask the college. Sometimes they reduce your need based aid by all or part of the merit aid amount.
It was not the FAFSA EFC Calculator, it was the Big Future/College Board Calculator. In speaking with college admissions person who conducted the info session, told her of son’s gpa/act and she said he would most definitely receive the highest academic scholarship available…possibly others.
There was not a merit component to the calculator, if that helps.
I guess I just wanted to get a general cost as far as having those particular #'s. I guess it all boils down to the package they send you. This is our first child and OMG…I never knew these calculations even existed! LOL.
COA was just tuition. Son will be a commuter student.
I think you need to ask the college. Run the calculator (I assume you went through the link on the college website). Then with those results in hand, talk to the college.
Will do! Thanks so much!!!
Even if your child commutes, costs will not likely be just tuition. There are usually university fees AND course fees…as well as books. Parking pass and transportation can add a bit more. There may also be a required purchase of Dining Dollars or Flex Dollars (even for commuters). This isn’t a meal plan.
Is this a FAFSA only school? or do you also have to fill out CSS Profile?
Merit would be subtracted from the top…and then you’d have to pay the rest. Your child can also take out a 5500 student loan.
FA is not awarded first. Merit is awarded first, then if there’s any need left (in your case, no more need), then aid awarded. But again, you’'d have no need if that merit award is given.
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Presidential Scholarship
Award Amount: $17,000 - $18,000
The Presidential Scholarship, DePaul’s most prestigious scholarship, is awarded to a select number of our most academically qualified admitted students. For renewal, current DePaul students must maintain a 3.3 grade point average.
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Will your child be an eng’g student? If so, that GPA req’t could be an issue. Many A students get lesser GPAs as engg students.
How much do you want your NET costs to be? It sounds like you were expecting about $11k in aid PLUS the merit. That won’t happen. At best, you’d get the merit plus a student loan.
Is your child a junior or senior??
If your child is a junior, then apply to schools that give better merit. That DePaul award is not even half tuition. And as tuition increases each year, you’ll find that you owe more EACH year.
If your child is a junior, then have him apply to schools that will give him FULL tuition awards. Then your remaining costs would be about 15k per year.
Thank you so much for your input!
Yes, is your son a junior? If a senior he would most likely already know how much merit he would be awarded.
He is a junior.
If you need to get your net COA way down below your EFC, you will need to hunt down automatic merit aid.
Depending on stats, add in some options for competitive merit aid.
When you look at the NPCs, remember there will be price increases by the time your son attends in 2017. When we made our updated spreadsheet to compare the net price for schools, we added in 3-5% to last year’s prices and added in 3-5% for each subsequent year. We included an estimate of books and other expenses.
In addition, we went back and ran the NPC for possible income increases in the future, and took my oldest kid out of school for the youngest’s last three years. Those changes to the spreadsheet took one school that “meets 100% need” from barely affordable to off-the-table-too-expensive.
We were feeling optimistic junior year, but by the time we were down to a short list and putting in applications in the fall, and comparing FOUR year COA, and not just the FIRST year COA, reality began to sink in.
Some people are under the impression they will “just borrow” and are ignorant of how much a student is allowed to borrow, and what those payments are going to look like and for how many years.
Lots of parents here at CC will say, discuss the budget before applying to any school, and do not let your kid apply to any school you cannot afford.
Good luck!