<p>After you finish the FAFSA, does one send it to the schools that they are considering to see who comes up with the best package for the student? </p>
<p>How many schools can you send it to and how long does it take for the school to make a determination.</p>
<p>Would all the schools give you the difference between the cost and your efc.</p>
<p>Yes, of course you would only send it to schools you actually applied to. College send award letters at different times but, for most, it would be between March and early May. That info is often posted on the school’s admissions or FA webpages.</p>
<p>Very few schools will guarantee to meet need, which is the difference between the COA and EFC although most schools do meet need for at least some of their students. Of course, awarding student loans (but not parent loans) is considered meeting need. Many schools already have a net price calculator available on their websites (all school are required to have this by the end of October). This may help you determine which schools are likely to be affordable.</p>
<p>Hmmm,if they come back with a reward of financial aid in early May how is that helpful when you have to accept an offer by May 1.</p>
<p>If you’re an incoming freshman and file FAFSA early on, you’ll be awarded earlier. But there are many people who don’t get their taxes done early, don’t meet the priority deadlines, etc. so they get packaged late. Also, returning students don’t usually get their awards until May or later.</p>
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<p>I know of kids who submitted the FAFSA to schools they actually applied to AND to ones they were still considering applying to. That way…it was there…just in case. </p>
<p>You can list up to 10 schools on a FAFSA submission.</p>
<p>When I said “considering”, I meant that Im considering attending. Meaning I have applied and have been accepted.</p>
<p>So one really needs to work quickly to get their 2011 tax return done or use the 2010 I would guess.</p>
<p>*Would all the schools give you the difference between the cost and your efc. *</p>
<p>No, absolutely not. Schools aren’t obligated to do ANYTHING with your EFC except to see if you qualify for any of federal aid (which isn’t much).</p>
<p>Most schools have little money to give. Most schools have to gap. Often, only the top schools that have large endowments can “meet need” and give the difference. </p>
<p>Also…if you’re looking at OOS publics, keep in mind that those schools charge higher prices for a reason, so they’re not going to just cover those costs with need-based aid. UVA and UNC are the exceptions but because they mostly only accept high stats OOS students, it could be argued that their aid has a “merit” component as well. Publics usually can’t even cover the need of all their instate students, so covering the need of OOS students is very unlikely unless need is so low that a small loan covers the need…</p>
<p>Most schools are going to use loans and work-study to put towards need. So, if you have an EFC of 10,000 and the school costs $30,000, then you might only get a 5500 loan and a 2500 work study and a gap of $12,000…which means that you’d have to pay your EFC of 10k PLUS the gap of 12k for a total of $22k. :(</p>
<p>If your EFC is above the Pell Grant numbers, then a school may ONLY give you a 5500 student loan and maybe a 2000 work study. </p>
<p>Expected Family Contribution is a GROSS misnomer. It does NOT mean that that is all a family has to pay. It’s just a number to see if you qualify for any federal aid. If your EFC is about 5000 or higher (not sure of the exact number) then you won’t qualify for any federal grants at all. </p>
<p>have you run any of the FAFSA calculators to see what your EFC is?</p>
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<p>Well…sort of.</p>
<p>You can submit your FAFSA beginning January 1, 2012 for the 2012-2013 school year. If you do so, you will be using estimates based on your last pay stubs of the year and any other information that will help you make very good estimates of the 2011 income. Your assets are reported as of the day of your initial filing of the FAFSA. You will use a “will file” status meaning that you have not yet filed your 2011 taxes but will be doing so.</p>
<p>THEN complete your 2011 taxes AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after Feb 1 when you should have all of the necessary information from employers (NOTE to self employed folks…you too want to do the best you can to meet this deadline for the year your student is an incoming freshman). Once your taxes are completed, you will then go back into the FAFSA and amend your FAFSA to reflect the accurate numbers on the 2011 tax return, and change your filing status to “taxes completed”.</p>
<p>IMPORTANT…any financial aid award you receive based on an estimated FAFSA will also be an ESTIMATE…and yes, they can and do change once you have updated your FAFSA if the numbers don’t align. </p>
<p>SO…for the year your student is an entering freshman, you do NOT want to wait until April 15 to file your taxes…this is NOT the year to delay filing until the last minute. Get it done as soon as you can so you can update your FAFSA to reflect the 2011 taxes as early in the game as possible.</p>