<p>Looking at the sticker price, a public university is obviously much less than a private college. However, how much does a private university that is "dedicated to meeting 100% of financial need" actually pay out for a family that makes about $80-85k,? and how does that compare to a public university?</p>
<p>I have run many financial aid calculators, but I am unsure of how accurate they truly are.</p>
<p>Also, as a side question, do the colleges inform their students the amount of grant aid they will receive at the same time that admissions decisions are released? Or does the student have to commit before they reveal how much grant aid the student will receive?</p>
<p>The accuracy of the calculators go down the more complicated the situation … family owned business, a divorce, rental property owned, etc. You should know your financial aid packages before making your final decision. (One caveat, if you applied somewhere ED you will likely only know that one package before deciding to go or not).</p>
<p>$80K income would probably be in the $15-20K EFC range for FAFSA. Some private schools may go that high. Top schools with large endowments may give a lot more in grants.</p>
<p>I agree that the NPCs on the school’s sites are generally accurate with simple income situations. The more exotic, the more off they become.</p>
<p>You don’t have to commit before knowing the aid offers (except for ED when you only have one aid offer). Some schools may take a little bit of time to get the offer to you after acceptance but still before the deadline.</p>
<p>If you get your financial aid application materials done ON TIME, you will get a package with your acceptance. Actually better to do these ASAP after February 1 when your parents and you should be able to complete their taxes. Some need based awards have limited funding per college, and are awarded on a first come, first served basis. You don’t want to miss out on these because you filed your FAFSA and whatever else in mid March.</p>
<p>I just ran the net price calculator, and I’m not quite sure how my family and I would be able to afford $20k per year, but thanks for the feedback.</p>