Our Families EFC was $13K. Springfield cost is $57K for the year. Daughter got Scholarship, Grant, and Federal Loans totalling $35K, leaving us with OOP for $22K.
Just thinking about it now - Does that mean they do not cover up to 100% (As example, Smith is another school daughter applied to, and then supposedly cover to 100%. No package from them yet)
Thanks.
You are correct. Springfield does not promise to meet full need. Smith College does.
If the college is a CSS profile school the FAFSA EFC is irrelevant.
When a colleges says it “meets full need”, it does not mean it meets your need as your family sees it. All colleges that meet full financial need calculate your need using their individual methods. Three different universities might calculate your need as three different amounts.
As mentioned earlier, the FAFSA EFC is not necessarily relevant here. The FAFSA EFC should be renamed Pell Grant & Work Study Calculator. I believe those are the two biggest things affected by the EFC.
Thus, even Smith might fall short of leaving your family with a bill of $13K or less. Have you run the Net Price Calculator at all your daughter’s top colleges? In most circumstances, that can give you a fairly accurate estimate of your COA.