<p>Hi, </p>
<p>Son applied to Upenn which has a policy of reducing "self-help(Self-help includes expected savings from summer earnings, and work-study)" so outside scholarships will not reduce our EFC at all unless S receives enough scholarship to cover the full cost of attendance? How much should expect the work-study portion/expected summer earnings to be for top-ten schools like Upenn? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that’s true. Although you can look at it this way, if his scholarships are replacing his “self-help” then his earnings (and Stafford loan) can go toward paying the EFC. Some schools have the expected student contribution listed on their websites. You can find info on schools that meet 100% of need quickly by clicking though the links on the Project on Student Debt site here:</p>
<p>[Project</a> on Student Debt: What’s the Bottom Line?](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php]Project”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php)</p>
<p>Penn is a “no-loan” school, so their financial aid package will consist of grants and work study (self-help). It looks like Penn will package $3200 for work-study for their students:</p>
<p>[A</a> Look at the Facts, Comparing Penn’s Cost](<a href=“Submit My Documents | Penn Student Registration & Financial Services| Penn Srfs”>Submit My Documents | Penn Student Registration & Financial Services| Penn Srfs)</p>
<p>I confirmed this by running numbers through their NPC, which packaged $3200 in work study. So, this is the amount that could be reduced by outside scholarships before Penn will reduce your grant award.</p>
<p>One additional point - summer earnings and work study are two separate items. For most schools, the student’s computed EFC consists of a family contribution and a student contribution. The “student contribution”, or student component of the total EFC, is usually synonymous with the student’s “summer earnings contribution”, and is not the same as the work study amount ($3200 in the case of Penn) that is packaged in the aid award. </p>
<p>Some schools will break out the parent and student components of EFC so that you can see it, while other schools won’t. </p>
<p>So, since the student contribution to EFC, or summer earnings expectation, is part of the student’s EFC, and not part of the financial aid award, I don’t believe that Penn will reduce that summer earnings expectation with outside scholarships. However, they will reduce the $3200 in work-study from the FA award. I could be wrong about this, so you should check with Penn’s FA office, but I’ve never heard of a college reducing the EFC due to scholarships. That could result in an over-award, which is a financial-aid no-no.</p>
<p>Good info, dukedad, but it is possible for the family to reduce their EFC if the value of merit scholarships exceeds need. There have been posters who have managed this, usually with full tuition/full ride scholarships or high merit aid plus outside scholarships (obviously, it only works with schools that have merit aid).</p>
<p>It appears UPenn will reduce both work study and student summer contributions by outside scholarships first. This from Upenn website:</p>
<p>Outside Scholarship Policy for Aided Students
When you receive an outside scholarship (i.e., scholarships awarded from non-governmental sources outside the University), you will receive a dollar for dollar reduction in the self-help component of your financial aid package. Self-help includes expected savings from summer earnings, and work-study. University grant will be reduced only after all self-help has been eliminated</p>
<p>The summer contribution is listed as $2,300 for freshman and work study is listed as $2,500 - $3,850 as described here (click on Upenn)</p>
<p>[Project</a> on Student Debt: Financial Aid Pledges](<a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php]Project”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php)</p>
<p>My D1’s school (need meet/no loan) has the same policy. We usually obtain more in outside scholarships than she can “use” and the school reduces her grant by the overage. I am not complaining - they are very generous! NOTE: you can ask for a COA adjustment for freshman year if you need to purchase a computer (this may help use some of the overage).</p>
<p>^^This is great info…I wasn’t aware that any colleges would consider a student’s summer earnings, a component of their EFC, as self-help. That certainly provides another avenue to go down with the FA office when trying to use outside scholarships without touching grant aid. Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>FWIW… all of the dozen schools that my son was accepted to last year allowed outside scholarships to reduce both work study and student summer contribution. If there were loans in the package, the schollies reduced them, too.</p>
<p>keep in mind that at “no loan” schools, if you need your child to take out a loan to help reduce your EFC, he can do so…5500 for frosh year.</p>
<p>many think that at “no loan schools” that you can’t get a student loan…you can. </p>
<p>For many families, having a child take out the max Stafford loan at a “no loan” school is the only way to make the school affordable.</p>
<p>Just a note of caution - peruse each schools website for specifics on how outside scholarships are applied. Call the FA office if it is not clear. When D1 applied I called a couple of her final choices to make sure I had a clear comparison before her final decision. One school applied the first $500 of scholly to her self help - then split the scholly 50/50 between self help and grant. One school applied 50/50 self help and grant. Others applied up to value of self help (loans/Ws) and then grant. There seem to be as many ways to split the money as there are schools!</p>