@thumper1 The aid offers I got so far is not appealing so we put in a number of more college applications last night. I really wish there were a chart available somewhere of a database where people can post their data to a spreadsheet. That would be so helpful to all of us first timers that have never even been to college in order to help with our kid’s decisions. The variables would be something like year, college, gpa, sat, CoA.
Even though it would only be an approximate value, it would atleast help to get within a zone that’d be clear enough to know whether to even bother.
I don’t think people who have been negatively responding understand to what degree of frustrating this is. One person with the same grades gets into Georgia Tech with a CoA of 10k while another with the same grades gets in with 45k CoA. The deciding factor is the EFC but we don’t want to be rude to ask them each. Knowing that tiny info would atleast get us closer to knowing whether to spend the $80 bucks on the application or not. I don’t need the exact number, just an approximation and that is entirely what is causing so much frustration.
The common data set “averages” cannot be accurate for predicting aid unless your family income & assets happens to fall within the “average” profile for financial aid applicants. The one exception to that is the reported average loan amount - that is because most financial aid packages are built on loans first (before grants) – but student loans are also capped in terms of availability – so low-need students will tend to be offered loan-only packages, whereas high need students will typically be expected to maximize loans before they are given grant aid.
Other than that, I think you would do better to focus on schools where your son is likely to qualify for merit aid. If there are 3 siblings in private schools, it is likely that your income is well above the average that is reflected in those CDS stats.
@reformedman what is your FAFSA EFC?
Keep in mind…unless a college meets full need for ALL accepted students…the fafsa EFC is the MINIMUM you will,be expected to pay. This need based aid has nothing to do with GPA or class rank.
Need based aid is based on your family financial data…but more importantly on the need based aid awarding policies of the colleges.
I don’t think colleges care about expenses unless they’re medical – and I don’t think they take all those into consideration. Aid is based on EFC at schools that offer need based aid, on stats at schools that offer merit aid, and on both at schools that offer both. What’s your EFC? Once you get above a certain income level it can be difficult to find schools that offer need based aid.
Are your son’s stats high enough to qualify for guaranteed merit anywhere? I’d make sure he has some financial safeties lined up then call some of the schools to see why their NPCs are giving results that are so different from the actual packages. If you double checked all your numbers and are putting in complete info. (AGI with no deductions, all savings, etc.), I don’t know why they would be so different. I’d definitely ask.
And make sure you add back in contributions you made in 2015 to your tax deferred retirement plans…as income. For two working parents, that can add back in a sizable amount of money. The schools DO add those contributions back in as income…so if you did NOT include them in the NPC, that could very well be the difference.
When you did the net price calculators, did theynaskmabout yiirnoretax retirement contributions…and did you put that number down?
When you did the fafsa, did you ENTER your pretax retirement contributions to your FAFSA? That number is NOT on the tax return you imported to the IRS DRT.
The schools using the Profile have that amount…you put it right on your Profile,
For two working adults contributing the max…this could add $40,000 or so to your annual income…and that easily could be why you are seeing higher net prices.
You mentioned in another post that your son has a ~3.8 UW GPA, 760R/630M SAT, that you’re from NJ, and your family of 5 has an income of < $100k. Is that total income (with retirement contributions added back in and no deductions for the cost of the private high schools your kids attend)? If so, I don’t understand why all the NPCs are so far off for you. Case Western, Northeastern, Cornell, GA Tech, RPI, and Lehigh were all off by a significant amount?
How much can you afford to pay per year? Can you put what you’re paying for his private high school towards college? Your son can borrow ~$5500/year on his own and earn ~$3k/year if he works summers. Add all those up and that’s your budget. If it’s not $60k/year, applying to a bunch of colleges that cost $40-60k won’t likely result in affordable packages because most colleges don’t meet need. If all the colleges he applied to require the CSS profile, the NPC results probably will be off because everyone’s situations are so different. The colleges all handle things like private school tuition, home equity, and asset values differently too.
Look for schools that offer guaranteed merit for his stats and make sure he applies to a couple NJ schools as financial safeties. He’s interested in computer engineering, if I remember correctly. NJ must have some ABET accredited colleges. Make sure he applies to some of them.
Is that $100,000 your net income or your AGI?
“we don’t want to be rude to ask them each. Knowing that tiny info would atleast get us closer to knowing whether to spend the $80 bucks…”
Doesn’t sound like OP ran NPCs.
It probably is EFC largely…but I think GT also gives merit awards.
The amount you contributed to pretax retirement accounts is not on your tax form…I believe. It IS on your W-2 form. If you didn’t include this additional amount of the contributions to pretax retirement accounts when you entered your income on the NPC…and the NPC didn’t specifically ask that question…that could very well be the issue. That pretax amount IS on the Profile…and it IS added back in as income.
I totally understand your frustration and have the same problems. I am finding that many of the schools are just too expensive for us to afford. I guess we are just a straight in-state college type of family. We only have $120,000 to spend on college. That will only buy a state school. Private colleges are twice that. Sure they throw you the token $20K per year but it is still way to rich for us.
As far as understanding the data; you are discovering the truth. All this stuff is pretty much useless. You will only know once you open the letter up and see what they will offer.
The best bet for you to do is visit Collegescorecard.ed and look at the cost by income level. That is as good as anything you will be able to figure out ahead of time. So if your family makes over the $110K listed, then that is the number you can use as a guide. Nothing is really accurate other than the actual award you receive once you open the letter.
You should use that website to pick a few colleges that you can afford based on that average number. You too might discover it is only in-state schools.
Good luck
There are many things that can contribute to this. The biggest factor is whether on is a Georgia Resident.
Tuition in state is $10,106 where OOS tuition is $30,904. 2 Students admitted with the exact same GPA and SAT scores will pay differently depending on their state of residency.
Other factors include: the family’s EFC. GA Tech is not a school that meets 100% demonstrated need. Even if both students were GA residents, if one student has a very Low EFC that may make them eligible for PELL Grants, SEOG monies and elligible for a Zell Miller Scholarship vs a Hope Scholarship, this could also cause a difference in the amount of need based aid that one receives.
Based on the other posts, it looks as yoru family is not low income where they would be eligible for Pell/SEOG (the max Pell Grant is ~ 5800, and SEOG is based on the avialabilty of funds at the school). Zell Miller/Hope Scholarships are for GA residents.
In your GA Tech example:
Are you a Georgia Resident?
Are you financially Eligible for Pell
Is your child eligible for Hope/Zell Miller Scholarship?
I think he is a NJ resident.
Comparing net prices with others is a futile effort. You won’t ever know the real,reasons why their net costs are less than yours.