<p>Trying to figure this out in just a hypothetical question for easy figuring. Say Bill wants to go to a private college costing $40,000. His scholarship is for $5000, bringing the cost down to $35,000. His family has an EFC of $25,000 which they are expected to pay (leaving $10,000 still unaccounted for). What happens with that other $10,000? Is it always just in the form of loans you can take out? It would never be grants, right, with the EFC that high? Or does the institution ever discount it so anything beyond the EFC and scholarships totals is met without additional obligation by the family? If loans are already going to be used for the big EFC amount, it's not feasible to also be taking out loans for the rest that falls between the EFC amount and the scholarship amount. (Which I bet the obvious answer will be go to a cheaper school if you can't afford it). Just wondered what the possible scenarios were.</p>
<p>Well, yeah, I’d suggest a cheaper college… but just to follow on your hypothetical –</p>
<p>Is that 40K figure total cost of attendance? I know my kids’ schools publish a cost of attendance that factors a larger “personal expenses” budget than either of them actually spend. They are not shopping types, nor do they eat outside their college dining halls except very rarely, and then at very cheap places. They get their books cheaper whenever possible by buying used and/or online. They also work in the summer (you can make up to 2K or more there without to much trouble) and they work part-time on campus during the school year. Depending on the parents’ income, they maybe be eligible to get up to $2500 back as a tax credit next year. Plus there will be expenses the parents don’t have once student leaves home – our utilities are less, groceries are WAY less, gasoline, money for incidentals, all less.</p>
<p>So between what the student should be able to earn over the year, the tax credit the parents may be eligible for, the reductions in books and personal expenses budget a student can make, and the incidental cost savings of not having the student living at home – you can close in on at least half of that 10K right there, and maybe even more depending on the student’s earnings.</p>
<p>orangepop -</p>
<p>The situation that you describe (COA = 40K, EFC = 25K, Financial Aid = 5k, Balance Remaining = 10k) is called “gapping”. There aren’t a lot of schools that guarantee that they will cover the difference between the COA and the EFC. All of the others will probably gap you. How you fill in that gap is up to you and your family. Some students manage to make more money in the summer and during the school year, some students manage to live more cheaply than the college estimated, some (often along with their families) finish college up to their eyeballs in debt.</p>
<p>All you can really do is look for a cheaper school or two or three as “financial safeties”, apply for financial aid at the other places, and sit down next April to compare the various aid packages. Maybe you will be fortunate and find out that the school you like best works out to be the least expensive for you.</p>
<p>orangepop</p>
<p>Where did you get the 25,000 EFC number? I just did the FASFA4caster and it just game me an index number of 803 or 7414 depending if I get rid of some real estate I have. How do I translate that into dollar amount?<br>
Thanks.</p>
<p>GoGiantsfan11 -</p>
<p>If you can’t figure out your EFC with the FAFSA4caster, try the calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How Much Will College Cost – BigFuture | College Board) One or the other of those might have clearer instructions that will help you interpret the results.</p>
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<p>Question, what kind of money is the 5k scholarship? Outside scholarship, merit aid from the school, or need based FA grants (also often referred to as scholarship money)?</p>
<p>^Exactly. If this is a school that meets 100% of demonstrated need, the gap would be filled with student loans, work study and grants. Many schools, those that need to work harder to get enough kids who can pay most, also ‘discount’, so they might throw a ‘merit’ scholarship into the mix.</p>
<p>So whether this is a scholarship from the school or an outside one and whether the school meets need or not is critical info. Also remember, outside scholarships reduce need.</p>