<p>omedog, you are not the only one to be shocked by this. I know I was, I think because everyone had always assured me that my high-achieving D would get HUGE scholarships EVERYWHERE.</p>
<p>So I was a little naive. Luckily I found this site when she was a junior & did the calculators and realized that we had a pretty high EFC (Expected Family Contribution) on the FAFSA forecaster. This was before the net-price calculators that are now on most college web sites, so I naively figured that an expensive Liberal Arts school with a cost of attendance of over 50k would award some grant aid to us, with an EFC in the 30s. I learned not to assume that most schools will meet your full need. Many schools ‘gap’ you.</p>
<p>First thing to do: get last year’s taxes out–run the net price calculators at a few schools. Run the FAFSA forecaster. Figure out what you really CAN pay. Then start looking for schools that offer the things your student wants from a college, that will be affordable.</p>
<p>Once you have a few ‘likely’ schools–those your student will probably get into and that you surely can afford, you can add in some with longer odds. But those ‘likely’ schools will be like gold.</p>
<p>With my 2nd kid, I had her apply to 80% likely schools. We researched and found schools offering great programs in academic areas she is interested in, that also would be affordable. Right now she has 4 schools where she’s been admitted with scholarships that make them affordable.</p>
<p>Best to you–for good solid advice the Financial Aid forum here cannot be beat. I still consider myself sort of newbie, there are parents on here that REALLY know their stuff and thank goodness for them all!</p>