<p>ok so i'm a little confused as to how to determine cost of attending college..</p>
<p>lets say that i'm getting 7,000/year for 6 years of merit scholarship at a university..the fafsa didn't happen yet..but when i get that, will it say the total cost of attendance, or do colleges expect me to go to collegeboard.com and find out the costs and subtract on my own. basically, do they ever say "it will cost 20,000/year to go here"</p>
<p>FAFSA won't tell you. Each college that makes a FA offer to you.........will show you their award versus expense. You might actually have to do the math but I am sure you can handle that.</p>
<p>All FAFSA does is come up with your EFC (Estimated Family Contribution). This is sent to the schools you list on FAFSA. The school subtracts the EFC from their COA (Cost of Attendance) to calculate your 'need'. The school will base their Financial aid awards on this 'need' (though not all schools meet full need.). The need may be met with grants, loans, work study (or combinations of these) depending on your EFC. Your financial aid plus scholarships cannot exceed the COA.</p>
<p>If you go to the website of the school(s) you are applying to and run a search for COA you should be able to find it for your school. COA generally consists of an average estimated figure for the school of Tuition, Fees, Room & Board, Books, Travel, and miscellaneous expenses. (some school will still be showing 2007-2008 figures so these will likely increase - my Ds state U does not usually have numbers for the next school year until the summer)</p>
<p>This is just for schools that use FAFSA. </p>
<p>You say FAFSA has not happened yet - make it happen ASAP if you expect to qualify for aid. Some funds may be limited so it is best to file as early as possible.</p>
<p>so basically i have to subtract my fafsa and merit aid from the coa (which is probably based off the previous year data)?</p>