<p>For those who have received FA in the past, what was your spread between estimated and actual family contributions?</p>
<p>SSS indicates that "PFS as a starting point for their financial aid decisions," and I took it as the actual FA grant being somewhat different from the $$ figure derived from EFC. Since individual schools are likely to consider a different set of additional factors and have different FA budgets, it seemed reasonable.</p>
<p>Did you have to pay more than EFC, or less? For me, if schools simply use the EFC figure, then I should expect only a very small FA, if there will be any. I thought I could contribute about 50% of tuition and fees based on family income and assets, but if I have to pay in full, then I probably need to sell house, dig into retirement accounts, and break the piggy bank--all at once!</p>
<p>Thanks all for your input!</p>