I got accepted to three schools for now as a domestic applicant and all three promised to “meet full demonstrated need.” Even though their costs/year are similar, one of them wanted me to pay(including loans, school-year work, and summer work) $25k, another one wanted $16k, and the third one wanted $6k. Funnily enough, the two need-blind schools wanted more than the need-aware school. The two need-blind schools are ranked top 5 among LACs while the third(and offered the most money) one is ranked among top 12 LACs according to US News.
Anyone else think that there should be a standardized equation across the nation to calculate demonstrated needs? This will lead to schools competing against one another to see who can actually meet 100%(or even more if the school has a huge endowment) demonstrated need rather than just meeting 100% their arbitrarily calculated number of demonstrated need. Otherwise, a school can just say one family can pay $40k (even though they can barely afford $5k) and says that they meet 100% demonstrated needs.
If there were the same equation, then those who don’t meet that equation would be locked out. Differing equations give more applicants a chance to land somewhere.
With so many variables, how could there be such standardization.
And…so some CSS schools simply have more money, therefore they can afford to: not count equity or count it as much; not include loans as aid, and so forth.
If there were such a standardized calculation, all the results would probably match the $25k per year expectation…and would you be happy with that???
My D was accepted to 3 “meet full need” LACs, 1 need blind and 2 need aware. Her best aid was from the two need aware schools, with about 13K total in loans/work study/summer earnings/EFC. The need blind school has around 19K in those categories. The NPC for the need blind school had us expecting a significantly less generous award, while the calculators for the other two were pretty much on target. We are feeling very grateful.
Actually…the money younare talking about is institutional money awarded by each college. So NO I don’t think the formula should be a standard one. Sorry…it’s their money.
Some schools consider primary home equity to a leather degree. Some simply have deeper pockets and larger endowments. Some package loans and some don’t.
And if your family owns a business, parents are self employed, there are non-custodial parents, or secondary real estate…all bets are off.
It’s your choice now…you have what sounds like a great and more affordable cost at one of those colleges. Either go there…or pay more to go to one of the more costly ones.
Need blind doesn’t mean they are more generous, it just means they don’t consider your need in the admissions office. They offer what they offer, and if you can’t pay the difference you can’t go there. Need award schools do want to give every student the best package to allow them to attend, but can’t ignore the need for admissions because while they have deep pockets they don’t have endlessly deep one. They know what they can provide if THEY define need but might not be able to meet full need if they have to accept another’s definition of need.
Would you go to school #5 or #8 over #12 just because it was ranked higher if they were all the same price?
I agree that the phrase “We meet full demonstrated need” is rather meaningless.
However, standardizing the definition of “full demonstrated need” is not the same thing as having a realistic sense of what is actually feasible or reasonable for a family to pay. As an older parent I am particularly not fond of the amount of debt that they think that a parent can take on. I don’t see how standardizing the parent contribution would fix this.
Basically, before applying, use the net price calculators at the various school’s web sites to get better estimates, rather than relying on “meet full need” claims.
It is such a blessing that some schools decide to use their money to help students attend. And NO I don’t think they should be told how to go about doing this. Be grateful that one of your schools will only cost you 6K a year.
A school that promises to meet full demonstrated need but is also need-aware can afford to be more generous in their financial aid formula because they can pick and choose, and cap the number of needy students they admit. So I would not consider it surprising at all that the need-aware school offered a stronger package – they have the luxury of leveraging their aid.
“I agree that the phrase “We meet full demonstrated need” is rather meaningless.”
This is what I try to tell kids when they recklessly apply (and more critically, fall in love with) schools I’m pretty sure will end up being unaffordable due to their personal financial picture – but they assure me it’s fine, because somehow “meets full demonstrated need” translates to “free” or “exactly what we think we can afford” in kids’ heads…and then come back asking for advice around this time every year.
@annamom if you are asking for,the specific formulas schools use to compute need…no.
But if you are asking for an estimate of your net costs at any college…the net price calculator is available on every college website.
If you are divorced, have real estate other than your primary residence, are self employed or own a business, or are an international student…the NPC might not be particularly accurate…unless it specifically asks for this information.
But if you have married bio parents who have regular w2 reported income…it should give you a decent estimate of your net costs.
The key is to do your research. Some “full need” colleges are no loans, others aren’t. Some take into account home equity, others don’t. Some offer merit aid, some don’t. And all universities “package” financial aid. “Full need” schools promise to meet demonstrated need but don’t necessarily guarantee to do so with only grants.
All students should run the NPC. This is based on the school’s institutional formula and will give you a good idea of what you can expect.
It would be interesting to know the OPs circumstances. I suspect the difference is home equity, retirement accounts and investments (or a family business). Because of the different way these are treated, they can result in very different evaluations.
I also think that it is important to appreciate that all institutional aid is a gift from a particular university. It is not an entitlement. Students and families have come to think they are entitled to this money. They aren’t.
What if they standardized the method for full pay and they decided to use the formula of the school that was the most expensive, the one that wanted you to pay $15k?