<p>here's the email I sent the author:
Nice article, but you failed to mention what a college considers when awarding aid.<br>
No mention of applying to financial safety schools</p>
<p>The only mention of the Fafsa is that one family didn't file on time. Knowing deadlines is VERY important!</p>
<p>no mention that many schools require the profile.</p>
<p>NO mention of the EFC and what it means.
You mention a max pell grant, but didn't mention that you need an efc of 0 to get that.</p>
<p>Financial aid IS a very dependent on the EFC and Fafsa/Css profile
Too bad you didn't take the opportunity to mention this.</p>
<p>You could have said that it is important to know which schools meet full need and that most don't
You could have mentioned the difference between merit based aid and need based aid</p>
<p>Just saying how much one person gets vs another is useless unless you know the EFC and policies of the schools in question. Some give NO merit aid, others do.</p>
<p>Your article gave NO useful information other than anecdotal examples of some familes scenarios</p>
<p>Sueinphilly, you, Thumper, Swimcatsmom have given more concise, useful information than any article or series of articles on financial aid that I have ever seen. I’ve known so many parents who have taken the time to read a financial aid primer and still not understand how FAFSA and PROFILE work, and that colleges fall in a number of categories on how they give money. </p>
<p>I remember many years ago, being totally puzzled when I got my financial aid/ merit offers as a high school senior. I applied to a batch of schools with no idea that some gave only need based aid, some had some nice merit money and what the basis of the awards are. It wasn’t until many, many years later, that I understood what had happened. One very fortunate thing for me back then was that I had a true financial/admissions safety but as with many kids, I despised that option.</p>
<p>No question! It’s always a relief when I see it’s one of you responding, as I know the info will not only answer my question but also be factually correct.</p>
<p>thanks, but I would say that CC overall is a fantastic resource. People like curmugeon and others who did all that research about merit aid and full rides… I just restate the obvious and available information in many cases. </p>
<p>Can you imagine a bunch of people who read that article this morning going “how do I get that Pell grant”? there is SO much information on the web and in this forum and on the schools websites. It is shocking that parents/students/educators do NOT bring even the simplest stuff to the forefront. </p>
<p>My son’s magnet HS had information night in Nov of his senior year. WAY too late to just start telling people what the FAFSA/EFC is.</p>
<p>It is beyond my comprehension how SO many people can be so uninformed. I can understand/rationalize the lower income people less informed, but sometimes we here on cc get quite the ‘well-heeled’ person who is just shocked that with an EFC of 65K they are expected to pay full price. What the ??</p>
<p>Schools test and test, PSSA, PSAT… they need to start talking about FAFSA, EFC nlt 10th grade. EVERYONE should be FORCED to fill out a FAFSA/CSS (in a test environment) just to see what types of questions are asked, how and what income is considered and to KNOW going forward how this works.</p>
<p>MY goodness, there is a world of information out there that is so easy to find. it is heartbreaking to have a parent/student first post on this forum be one of desperation about FA.</p>
<p>Sueinphilly, it took me a long time to get the picture I now have, and I did do due diligence in reading information and going to financial aid seminars. You just hear the “apply, apply, apply for financial aid” chant and that a top student would surely get a scholarship. In a way, it’s true but only in a narrower sense that most folks understand.</p>
<p>I really thought my oldest would get an athletic scholarship. He was invited to the Olympic Training Center as a top national athlete at no cost to us. Yes, he could have gotten such a scholarship and did get one, but not at the school or schools he wanted. This past year, I finally understood what one has to do to get college money, and it is not an easy process.</p>
<p>My DD’s school also gives no information until middle of junior year and many do not encourage kids/parents to even begin looking until junior/senior year. Way too late to at least begin the discussion.</p>
<p>I knew we wouldn’t qualify for need based aid, yet I began reading mostly online, looking for possible merit aid schools, and then we were hit (hard like many) with the economy. Things we thought we could count on, we can’t, so we are continually readjusting the search.</p>
<p>I did however send information on EFC, COA, “meeting need”, online calculators to my sister and brother (one with a soph daughter, one with a freshman daughter). While I do not know the specifics of their income, I knew it was significantly lower than ours and wasn’t sure if they were counting on need based aid. My sister (a school teacher) called me in shock because their EFC was $47,000 and their college account took a major hit…She did admit that it was better to know sooner rather than later that there would be no need based coming their way. She has begun introducing some college discussion to her DD so there will be no surprises when they begin the search in earnest. </p>
<p>Haven’t heard from my brother, but it may make Easter dinner interesting…</p>
<p>BRAVO! I completely agree and I would add some additional names to that list: NikkiL, Kelsmom, Curm (someone already mentioned), Blake and some others.</p>
<p>sueinphilly, ROFL!</p>
<p>My experience with our high school and financial discussion is that there is one night where it is discussed. It is overwhelming, scary, and not nearly imformative enough. A financial professional is brought in. This is a public hs, so there is not money to hire outsiders to assist. The only thing that I recall from the evening was a discussion about trying to get money out of aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. and to “butter them up and keep them happy” by fixing things around their home!! I can tell you that my kid’s relatives are not and were not in a position to cough up a dime, and any help that we gave them was because we wanted to help them out. In our family, hanging up some blinds, mowing the lawn, light housework, cooking, or fixing some furniture is not going to land one a few thousand dollars for college!</p>
<p>I was shocked with my older one to learn just in time about the Profile! I thought the fafsa was all I needed to complete! I owe it to this board that my son’s profile was completed on time. The process was overwhelming and I did not go to each college website and read about how to apply for financial aid. The info is there, but I found it overwhelming, or I would have spent some time doing so. DH did not know either. Additionally, I did not realize that some schools have their own additional FA forms to complete.</p>
<p>You guys are great. BUT I have to say…much of what I post here is just what <em>I</em> took the time to learn with my own two kids. In addition, I felt it was important to know as much as could about the financial aid process in general so that I would understand it…well…as much as it CAN be understood.</p>
<p>I would like to add Sybbie to the list here. She is another one who has been a huge resource to me.</p>
<p>Another thing to write to the authors of that nice article…For the Profile Schools…and any other awarding of INSTITUTIONAL aid…there is no “formula” used universally by every college. There is NO EFC. The schools really can use that information any way they choose to as it it THEIR money they are awarding. And often…the school based decision making is the difference between different student awards, and different school awards.</p>
<p>And you ALL know how I feel about deadlines…no need to repeat that info.</p>
<p>Another thing…do not EVER believe the tales you hear from others regarding financial aid awards, family income and assets, and finances. Sometimes what is “shared” isn’t always the whole story.</p>
<p>My personal favorite is the family member who told everyone in the family how her CHILD had earned $12K from Wellesley…making it sound like a merit award her kid had earned. Wellesley doesn’t GIVE merit aid.</p>