<p>Not applicable to OP but Princeton NPC can handle two separate parent households. It does not produce “wildly inaccurate” results.</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse - scholarme’s kid is thinking to apply to Princeton EA, not ED.</p>
<p>OHmom, the question to which I was directing my response was “Could my kid get accepted to say Penn and get socked with full tuition?” Not the risks of applying EA to Princeton or any EA schools where one can wait and get all the offers on the table to compare. Wasn’t directly answering that either, but asking questions as to why the OP might be getting different numbers on NPCs. </p>
<p>Schools can have very different ways of calculating need. Even the most generous schools can have certain situations that they evaluated on a more stringent basis than other schools. I have a friend, and I have referred to his situation in the past, who had to retire early, and put his money into apartment buidings. His family lived on a modest income as most private colleges who have good aid would define it and Harvard out and out guarantees those who make under that threshhold to pretty much get a full package. But…with caveats and exceptions. The buildings which generate that income are assets, and though represent the family’s retirement nest egg, and also assets that are difficult to get any mortgage or loans against have a sufficient market value to make that student ineligible for Harvard financial aid. But selling a unit, means a cut in family income (as would any loan against it). Harvard refused to budge. A CC poster Evilrobot found himself in the same position with Yale with such assets and income. </p>
<p>But other schools were willing to “talk” and come up with money and give some mighty nice aid packages. So even the most generous school can come up short depending on the asset situation and their particular rules.</p>