<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>
<p>I can’t exactly answer your question as I never saw my EFC, but in my experience with 2 kids, FA offers varied widely. Also, from personal experience and other threads here on cc, you can expect that schools will require you to leave your financial comfort zone.</p>
<p>I don’t know about selling the house, but 2nd mortgage/home equity loan maybe (depending on home value). Digging into retirement accounts, not sure unless they are quite plush, but restricting future contributions, quite likely.</p>
<p>If you have a piggy bank, yes for sure, they expect you to contribute what’s available.</p>
<p>Also, make sure everything on the PFS is accurate and if there are extenuating circumstances, make sure PFS and/or the schools are informed.</p>
<p>Okay, breathe. </p>
<p>The algorithms vary greatly. We found that the difference between EFC and actual FA varied quite a bit from school to school. You are not expected to sell your home to finance an education (especially in a soft market where it simply may not be possible). You are not expected to leave the holes in the roof unrepaired. You will be expected, perhaps, to use money that may have gone to things like family vacations, for tuition and fees. If you have a piggy bank, you will be expected to contribute A PORTION of what’s available (because the expectation is that you will be paying for BS and college). Some schools give more weight to merit than others.</p>
<p>I agree with alooknac that accuracy on the PFS is really important, and I’ll add, thoroughness. Extenuating circumstances do make a difference, but it’s really important to be upfront about everything. </p>
<p>At some schools, if you are given not quite enough FA or not as much as you <em>think</em> you can afford, you may be asked to prepare a budget of your monthly/annual income and expenses to show the FA office. </p>
<p>If there is real need, and a school wants your child, then they will try to help you figure it out. </p>
<p>Sharing, it sounds like you have already done a “dry run” on the PFS (based on your comment about the EFC). One of the things to be aware of is that extenuating circumstances don’t affect the EFC as calculated by SSS—because they are not “plug and chug” numbers, they are narratives. They are, as you surmised, what the SCHOOLS use to decide what the “real deal” with your finances might be.</p>
<p>When I wrote OP, I meant the “piggy bank” to be the literal one that my family uses to collect loose changes. LOL :)</p>
<p>I wish I have certain extenuating circumstances, but having tried to live within my means, surprisingly I don’t have any debt. (PFS wouldn’t count mortgage and car loans as debt.) I did have a dry run (Should I say semi-dry, since I did it in PFS website?), and it looked to me that the primary driver of EFC was income (including the money I put into 401k). It’s too late for me to do anything about 2013 401k contribution, but I feel I would need to stop contributing from next year. </p>
<p>Thank you both, alooknac and GGM, for your responses. Looks like this is kind of sensitive topic even with anonymity. If so, please feel free to PM me. I’d appreciate your input.</p>
<p>My advice? Stop worrying about it. It is what it is. For the most part, schools understand circumstances and aren’t out to bankrupt you. But scholarships are a gift and its also fair to say that if you’re asking for that gift, just be upfront about your financial situation. Even people with perceived high income often get financial assistance.</p>
<p>@Exie Thanks for your words. I’m not too worried… and don’t worry, GGM, I’ve been breathing alright. </p>
<p>We made a promise to DC that if she gets accepted, we’ll somehow find a way so that she could attend. I know it’s a big promise, and it could entail much bigger financial sacrifice than I was initially willing. But public high school seems no longer viable option for her. So, I’m just trying to anticipate what might come in my way and prepare for it. 
</p>
<p>I read repeatedly that I should be “upfront about [my] financial situation.” I answered all the PFS questions honestly, provided explanations for the ones that might be viewed unusual, and provided tax forms. I thought I was pretty much “upfront.” Did I miss anything when I could have been even more upfront?</p>
<p>Hi Sharing,</p>
<p>filling out the PFS accurately and completely is being upfront :)</p>
<p>When you are in a situation of needing FA the sacrifices are well worth the schools generosity. They may be small for some families but large for others. For our income bracket these sacrifices have included giving up cable TV, and not replacing an old car. Since we live within our means there isnt too much to give up at this point 
We are in the application phase still but we did it in advance so that we could show that there was some income left over every month to contribute. I think not showing any debt is a huge positive ( I hope as I have none either) I think it shows responsibility especially when what would go on revolving interest payments can now be earmarked for your childs education, even a modest margin.</p>
<p>And again, every family is different, what may feel uncomfortable for one family (giving up vacations, spending money, getting a mortgage on a house they own outright) may not even remotely be close to what another family has available to give up.</p>
<p>@SharingGift - we made the same promise. We aren’t wealthy, but we aren’t struggling either. And we found that plugging our income into Exeter’s online calculator came pretty close to the final outcome at the schools that accepted my daughter (offers were almost identical at each school). This link to their calculator might help give a ball park picture. Schools expect families to stretch a bit, but not go bankrupt or sell all their assets to pay for it. :)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/1286.aspx[/url]”>http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/1286.aspx</a></p>
<p>Also, mortgages and car payments are pretty typical household expenses. They are “debt” but do not count as, say, unsecured loans or credit card debt. They are considered by schools when looking at income AND expenses.</p>
<p>We also found that the PEA calculator gave us a pretty accurate idea of what we’d be paying even before going through the PFS with SSS.</p>
<p>I meant to make sure you didn’t make a typo that threw things off, I was not in any way implying you might be fudging…I have read here of cases where someone put a figure in the wrong spot or something and didn’t notice till the EFC seemed way off.</p>
<p>For other readers, something to consider is “imputed income” if one parent stays home fulltime when there are no preschoolers at home. Most schools will impute a certain dollar amount that that parent could be earning. Well, if there is a medical reason why that parent is not working, you have to be sure the school knows. Or even it’s just that you were laid off and have been actively jobhunting but without success, I think the schools would cut you some slack, although they still might impute an income equivalent to a Walmart greeter.</p>
<p>An extenuating circumstance for me was that I had taken out some money from my retirement to make basic repairs and updates to a very modest home we bought that year. The withdrawal was taxable income so my AGI for that year was quite a bit higher than normal and I explained that situation to the schools, so they wouldn’t just think that was my normal yearly income. </p>
<p>Our family’s experience with FA was in one case, almost full ride at one school, FA waitlist at another; for my other child, out of three schools accepting, one offered almost full FA, one offered half, and one offered nothing, not even waitlist. So my experience is not that schools offer similar amounts. However, it sure makes deciding where to attend easy!</p>
<p>I think it is well worth the sacrifice and you will be repaid in many ways. I wish my family had done this for me. Even though I am sad that I see so little of my D, the joy that she radiates is so wonderful compared to the constant frustration when she attended our local public school, even though she is putting in many more hours of work.</p>