<p>Lucky me...two kids in school this year, and my EFC on FAFSA drops significantly. Enough so.....that the one who's at a private seems like a sure bet to get some help. Funny, no offer of aid. Call fin aid. They say "file an appeal" I do...explaining what's up. They send a one sentence note. We are not able to change your D's status. Translation: you get no money. so exasperated....I call. Calmly ask them to explain why "no change"? </p>
<p>Semi helpful advisor on the other end says...."Oh, well we don't go by the FAFSA EFC, we have our OWN formula" Of course you do. One designed to screw over families "in the middle" who are scraping to put a kid into a private with zero help. "Yup, the FAFSA EFC is only for Federal Aid." </p>
<p>And so there you have it. Further evidence that only the wealthy, and the less fortunate can make it a the privates without major lifestyle changes. </p>
<p>Mitch…the vast majority of colleges in this country do NOT guarantee to meet your full need as defined by the FAFSA. In fact, schools that use ONLY the FAFSA do not guarantee to meet full need for all students.</p>
<p>The only time you are guaranteed to see an increase in need based aid when a second kid is in college…is if your students attend schools that guarantee to meet full need for all students. Clearly, your kids’ colleges do not.</p>
<p>And yes…the FAFSA EFC really is primarily used to determine eligibility for federally funded need based aid…and some state grants. But NOT usually institutional aid.</p>
<p>All of that is true. I just thought with the size of gap we had, there was a good chance. But the gap between what the school will even touch, and what FAFSA says…is enormous. Just dissappointing, that’s all. I had low expectations going in, and they have been met. </p>
<p>What made you think that some EFC that a federal form calculates obligates ANY school to magically come up with money to cover the costs beyond EFC? </p>
<p>The gov’t has no control over the nation’s colleges. The gov’t can’t make colleges magically come up with money that it doesn’t have. </p>
<p>This isn’t news to most people out here. Only a small number of colleges in the US (well under 100) meet full need, and even for those it is need as THEY calculate it. The FAFSA EFC is only useful for determining if you are eligible for federal grants and student loans, not much else. I think of the FAFSA EFC as sort of like my house value for property taxes – completely divorced from the reality of the actual market (which in this case is the cost of attendance to attend a college). Things are a little better than they used to be – at least with the Net Price Calculators on each schools website, you can get an idea before your kid applies what your cost of attendance is likely to be.</p>
<p>I expect EVERYONE putting a child through school has major lifestyle changes.
Oldest attended a college that met 100% of need.
Most schools gap.
It was still 1/3 to 1/4 of before tax income.
It’s just part of having kids, although I realize now we would have ultimately paid out less if our kids had been closer together.</p>
<p>Sorry you got hit with this. It very much depends on the particular colleges and their policies. One thing you might do, if you haven’t, is go back and make sure there aren’t any errors in this year’s paperwork.</p>
<p>I don’t get it. If you followed the FA application instructions to fill out the apps you would have had the FA offer in August or earlier for the kid already in college and in May for the kid starting college this year. Why are you talking about FA now?</p>
<p>Your D1 is at a private, USC, and your D2 is at an OOS public UMarylandCP. </p>
<p>You should have run the USC NPC with 2 in college where you would have likely seen that USC wasn’t going to give you more aid just because D2 would be starting school. If you own a business, then you could have asked USC if you would qualify for aid when 2 are in school. </p>
<p>USC uses CSS Profile. Likely something like Home Equity or something else (own a business?) got taken into acct.</p>
<p>You agreed to let D2 go to an OOS public at full pay. Something sounds like you have a good bit of money that you would have agreed to that while also having a D at USC. I’m guessing that you were full pay for USC when only one was at school, so even if you thought that would split in half (using FAFSA???) then you were planning on spending about $70k per year anyway…is that right? And now it sounds like you’re full freight at both? (BTW…if money were a real issue, why the heck would you agree to full freight OOS at UMCP?)</p>
<p>The full freight at UMCP isn’t a surprise for you, but the fact that you are also full freight at USC with two in school suggests some source of money that FAFSA doesn’t ask about. What is that source? </p>
<p>Anyway, you act surprised that USC uses CSS for its calculation. Why, this is your second year with that school. What did you think CSS Profile was going to be used for? </p>
<p>I don’t understand why people complain about private univ’s costs or OOS costs. Those are choices. Those are luxury choices. There were less expensive options. You allowed expensive choices, now man-up and pay.</p>
<p>I suggest we try to speak to each other more gently. Not everyone has the same knowledge of how financial aid works and there’s no reason to communicate so sharply.</p>
<p>I am glad to be in a State with the flagship meeting needs for all in state students. However, this is a rare case in this country. Many students can only afford going in state public disregarding what their EFC is. One should be aware that EFC is the minimum amount (unless with merit aids) one needs to pay, not the maximum.</p>
<p>I am surprised USC has not upped the aid. They claim to meet 100% of need as they define it, but looking at some of their data, I think their definition of meeting need and that of the Common Data sets is not the same, because I see a 5-7% discrepancy right off the bat, with the latter end attributed to all students rather than just freshmen. Also an example I saw here of how USC meets need shows it using unsubsidized Direct Loans as part of their aid packages which doesn’t also meet standard. </p>
<p>Unfortunately the “definition of meeting need” can vary widely and can even include language limiting it to what need or conditions were present freshman year. Or meeting certain deadlines. I’ve seen some crazy things by some very good schools. Standards for freshmen can vary from that of upperclassmen, and it’s possible that upperclassmen packages are tied to the initial one in a number of way.s</p>
<p>Do run the NPC for USC with two in college and then discuss with Fin aid and then the dean of students if there is a wide discrepancy. That should not be. Likely you’ll be told that the NPC is accurate only for freshmen.</p>
<p>Also some school take into consideration what you are paying for the second student. The classic formula used for well heeled private school meeting full need through PROFILE, would multiply the parent’s expected contribution by .6 for the student gong there as opposed to Fafsa halving it. But some school are also taking into consideration what that second sibling is costing rather than just focusing on its own EFC. That could make a big difference. Say the second student is on a full ride as an extreme. A school looking at that could then not make any adjustment to the first student who is full pay at that school since parents are paying out zip for the second student. That MD is a public school and if you are in state the cost may not result in more money for you. The USC formula might have you expected to pay the same with upperclassmen increases. </p>
<p>But you should know what the process is, not just read the possibilities and theories. Please do run EFC. Talk to Director of fin aid and the dean of students and get some clarity on the issue. Also please let us know what you find.</p>
<p>This is why parents need to do their homework and learn about financial aid policies BEFORE their children apply to colleges, and then only look at schools that they can afford.</p>
<p>Schools do not owe anyone an education, and they cannot afford to give aid to everyone who wants/needs it. They have expenses to pay, and those expenses are covered by tuition and room&board fees.</p>
<p>Expecting many colleges (those without generous aid) to lower the costs because you cannot afford it is like walking into a BMW dealership and asking for a reduced price. That’s not going to work - go to a Ford dealership if money is tight. Weren’t there more affordable schools that your children could have considered, like schools with generous merit scholarships?</p>
<p>Your choice now seems to be to buck up and find a way to afford the schools with savings or loans, or tell your kids that they need to transfer.</p>
<p>I have no idea what USC’s policies are, but I am aware of some schools that award freshmen “x” amount & that amount is what they get each of the next 3 years … if they earn more money or have fewer kids in college, they win; if they earn less money or have more kids in college, they lose. Again, I don’t know if USC does this. But maybe? </p>
<p>You know, it might be helpful to leave some of the snark out of this. I am SURE that there are people reading threads like these who do not have the knowledge that the veteran posters on here do. So give the guy a break.</p>
<p>KKmama, I agree with you. But when you have say your first kid looking at school like USC that out and out say they meet 100% of need, most people aren’t going to go much further than that. I just had to explain to some very intelligent parents that need is not unversally defined the same way among colleges, and what they feel they can afford to pay does not enter the equation. That they can’t get a HELOC is not of any issue. That they can’t seel their house isn’t either. That if NCP refuses to give financial info, yes, that could be the end of some school options. A number of schools out and out say that no kid is denied an education there due to lack of money. Well, we all know it all comes down to the definition of every single thing there.</p>
<p>Some schools will give great aid package but when you have a second one in college like the OP, the package doesn’t change, whereas another school will ante up more the way the formulas are set. Some schools stack merit aid, some do not. It’s all over the board. I think it’s particularly difficult when one has other kids that will be going to college in a year or so, and trying to figure out what each school will do for fin aid at that time. Bad enough looking at the packages for today, but then having to take that contingency into account too? I am sorry about that,but that’s the way it is.</p>
<p>Right now I don’t think we know enough about OP’s particulars to judge. He hasn’t threatened to pull his kids out of school, he’s as disappointed as we all would be. It seems he did look hard for merit and seems his kids may have gotten some. I’m guessing the actual income/assets trapped him with the private. This may be a heads up for many, re: USC, in certain circumstances.</p>