<p>I went onto FAFSA.com and I used the FAFSA4CASTER with some phone guidance. I filled it out, and here are my results...
School: Syracuse University
College Cost: $57,450
Federal Pell Grant: $5,730
Work Study: $0
Student Loan: $0
RESULTS
College Cost you entered: $57,450
Total Aid Available: $5,730
Difference: $51,720
Your estimated EFC is 0
If the College Cost -total aid = $51,720, then who is going to help with that.
My EFC is 0 so does that mean that my whole cost is covered?
I will start college in Fall 2015 (no application available), but this is an estimate.
The problem is that every year, FAFSA changes, so I don't know if I should look for scholarships just incase? Will scholarships change my EFC of 0. I am confused with this whole process!</p>
<p>For Syracuse University…your FAFSA4caster EFC of $0 is such that you are eligible for the full Pell Grant of $5730. You are also eligible for $5500 in Direct Loans in your name. Those are the ONLY guaranteed need based awards based on your FAFSA EFC of $0.</p>
<p>Syracuse University does NOT guarantee to meet full need of all accepted students. You still have $51,000 in costs to cover to attend that university. I would strongly suggest you run the Net Price Calculator in the Syracuse University website to get a better guestimate of your net cost to attend Syracuse. </p>
<p>If I were a betting woman, I’d say it is unlikely this school will meet your full need.</p>
<p>First, I hope you went to fafsa.gov, not fafsa.com. What you enter for fafsa is only going to determine if you are eligible for federal aid: Pell Grant, direct loans, perhaps Perkins Loans, federal work study, perhaps FSEOG grants. To get an estimate of what aid Syracuse may give you, you need to run the Net Price Calculator on the Syracuse finaid website. A fafsa EFC of 0 only means that is the minimum you would have to pay(which isn’t saying much), you likely will have to pay more and it absolutely doesn’t mean your whole cost will be covered.</p>
<p>Here’s a good thread to give you some basics of financial aid:</p>
<p><a href=“Financial aid FAQs - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Financial aid FAQs - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<p>I took the time to read your other threads. Are you still considering graduating after your junior year in high school? That is unclear. If so, I would NOT suggest you do so. You need the time to increase your HS GPA.</p>
<p>You need to get the best possible high school GPA, and the best possible SAT or ACT score (you would take those toward the end of your junior year). This will put you in the best position for college options.</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest you research options for funding in your home state for low income students. With an EFC of $0, you would be low income, and some states provide assistance to low income college students.</p>
<p>You should also explore community college options where you can commute. Your Pell Grant and Direct Loan would likely cover tuition and fees at a community college. </p>
<p>Need based aid truthfully varies from college to college. Most schools do NOT meet full need…at all. Even with an EFC of $0, your whole costs to attend most colleges will not be met. There are some highly competitive universities that do meet full need, but I don’t see anything that indicates you would be a competitive candidate for admissions to one of these schools. </p>
<p>The net price calculators on the college websites are your best bet in terms if getting a closer estimate of your net costs for each school. Run your numbers through the NPC on each college website.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, the net price calculator will not be accurate if your parents are divorced, your family owns real estate other than your primary residence, or your parents are self employed or own a business.</p>
<p>And lastly some schools (Syracuse is one) require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA for determining need based aid eligibility.</p>
<p>@thumper1 I will continue my senior year in high school and work on my grades. I called FAFSA and they said that I can file a FAFSA for 2014-2015 to see an estimate. I am working on that. But my real FAFSA is the one opening on January 2015, because I plan to start college on Fall 2015. So do you have anything of advise about me applying for 2014-2015 FAFSA? I don’t want to make a move to soon. </p>
<p>I would strongly suggest you use the net price calculators on the college websites. This year’s FAFSA will NOT tell you what each college MIGHT give you for aid. It will only tell your your EFC (expected family contribution) which should be viewed as a MINIMUM you will be paying, regardless of the number. The FAFSA EFC is primarily used to determine eligibility for federally funded need based aid.</p>
<p>The ONLY guaranteed federally funded need based aid…Direct Loans $5500 for freshman year, and any amount of Pell eligibility you may have. Some schools also have SEOG. You might get work study. You might get a Perkins Loan. You might get need based aid from your state based on FAFSA EFC…but those are not guaranteed awards.</p>
<p>The most generous colleges also use the Profile which is another financial aid application form. It delves into much more detail than the FAFSA.</p>
<p>If you need significant need based aid, you need MUCH more than what is offered by the Pell and Direct Loan (about $11,000 for your freshman year…max). You need institutional aid as well. MOST colleges do not meet full need. So, you might have a huge gap between what the school offers you in aid, and what it costs to attend.</p>
<p>Anyway…run the Net Price Calculators. In my opinion, those will be much more valuable in terms of looking at your potential net costs to attend the colleges…because the NPCs actually estimate aid, and give you a net cost for the college. </p>
<p>This year’s FAFSA will not give you ANY estimated aid or costs to attend any school. </p>
<p>@thumper1 appreciate your help. Yea, I just call FAFSA and they said that the Net Price is up to me, by contacting the school and finding out for myself. However, if I do call, FAFSA said that I must be accepted to the school (whatever school I wish to go), include the schools name in the FAFSA application, and then the school will let me have access of how much money will come out of my pocket. That’s what I really care about.
I will start using those NPC to get an estimate.
But do I have to be accepted to all schools (the ones I wish to attend)to determine the amount of pocket money ?
So that means that I have to wait right?</p>
<p>That is poppycock. The net price calculators are for students considering applying to colleges. No, they don’t give you an exact award. They are an estimate. But they DO give you an estimated net price for that college. </p>
<p>Who did you talk to? If it was someone at FAFSA.com, I would not hold a lot of stock in what they are saying. It is a FOR profit group that will charge you to do the FAFSA…which Is FREE at FAFSA.gov.</p>
<p>You will NOT get any financial aid estimate AT ALL by completing a 2014-2015 FAFSA. All you will get is an EFC amount…and it won’t even BE the EFC amount for YOUR actual FAFSA year. </p>
<p>And lastly…even when you do submit your actual real FAFSA, you won’t receive a financial aid award until you are accepted to the college. What good does this do you if you are trying to figure out if a college will be affordable…or not.</p>
<p>The Net Price Calculators were added to each college website so that prospective students could at least get an estimate of potential aid. An ESTIMATE. </p>
<p>One of the earliest steps in this process is talking to your parents to find out how much they can pay each year for the next 4 years toward your college expenses.</p>
<p>@thumper1 1. it was fafsa.ed.gov. I know that you receive aid once you’re accepted, OBVIOUSLY. I thought that when you filled FAFSA, that it will also tell you the money pocket for each school: which I thought wrong until I called FAFSA, and they said that in order for me to find out the pocket money, then I will have to call the school for myself.
2. I just thought that I would figure out how much college would cost me but I guess that’s not that easy.
3. By completing FAFSA 2014-15, actually I will get an estimate for aid and EFC. Obviously, it is not exact to my original FAFSA for 2015-16, and not reliable.
3. I know THAT: I even stated that NPC are an estimate.
4. So basically my best bet to afford college is by looking for scholarships and using NPC. I will go head and do that.</p>
<p>Barca…your EFC is $0. Can your parents contribute anything towards your college education? If so…how much every year? If not, you need to cast a wider net in terms of college options. You need to consider affordable options which could include commuting from a community college. You should look at the thread pinned above for full tuition/full ride scholarships (there is a link on that thread for current info). You need to find put what aid is available in your state (if any) for low income students.</p>
<p>You are smart to be looking at the finances now. This will help you choose a good list of schools to apply to…with the potential for affordability.</p>
<p>It is very possible that some colleges will simply need to come off of your list because they are not affordable, and do not have generous need based policies. </p>
<p>@thumper1 I didn’t know all of this stuff, in which you have experience with. I’m just learning and I still need to discover my options to make it happen.
that’s why I ask and this is what this site is for, to ask silly questions.
I am just finding out that things are going to be like I always wanted to be. That’s fine, there’s always a way out.
And by the way, I’m current dual enrolled with a community college (credit classes for free), and I do not wish to continue studying at a community college after high school. ( unless I really have, if I cannot afford to go anywhere else).</p>
<p>*…that things aren’t going to be like I @thumper1 </p>
<p>You need to look at the pinned threads at the top of this forum for assured merit aid and see what your stats can get you.</p>
<p>As others have posted, the NPC for each college will give you an estimate with the limitations noted. You will never know what the true cost at most colleges until you apply, filed the FAFSA and CSS Profile (for some schools) and then received the FA award in that order. Even then you might not know because some states have grants that might not be award until the summer before the fall term. FA packages will vary by school. One school might gave great aid while another gives nothing. All schools will give the same amount for the Pell grant.</p>
<p>Keep in mind the costs will vary each year.</p>
<p>Even with an EFC of zero, most schools have an expected student contribution.</p>
<p>Do not waste your time filing a FAFSA for 2014-2015. If the FAFSAforcaster says your EFC is 0 that is good enough to know that you will get a Pell Grant, probably of 5,730 and you can also take a student loan of 5,500 your first year if you need to.</p>
<p>Use the NPC for your actual total college cost estimates. That will be the estimates that you use to decide what schools to apply to. Then when you apply and are accepted, you will get your actual firm numbers and a financial package offer from each school.</p>
<p>Start with your state colleges and look for ones that are affordable. You might get advanced standing for AP and certainly the community college classes. WHAT STATE ARE YOU IN?</p>
<p>I didn’t see your SAT or ACT reported but your cum gpa of 3.1 is too low for you to get into colleges that give a lot of aid most likely. I see you only started doing well last year. So you have only small chance at Syracuse and you won’t get enough money to go. So you could try to look for colleges that will believe in your turnaround/improvement and take a chance on you. Unusual places. Maybe Berea college which it tuition free and all students do work hours. I’m sure there are more to think of. </p>
<p>Also you could do a gap year and apply next fall when you have 2 good years of strong performance. (But if you apply now, you will report your senior schedule and the colleges will get your first semester report.) Then you may have slightly better chance. But you could not take community college class at that time or you would be a transfer student and not get the best aid. You could do work to make money and volunteering.</p>
<p>Be sure to ask your college counselor for fee waivers for your applications.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No…calling the school will NOT give you any financial aid estimates from the college at all. And certainly no estimates for. 2015-2016 based on a 2014-2015 FAFSA. Once you complete YOUR actual FAFSA, a very small number of schools will give you an “early read” on you actual financial aid. But this is very much the exception rather than the rule.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Once more…you best bet is to complete EACH Net Price calculator for colleges you think you would like to attend. This will give you the best guess on potential aid.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>NO…you will not get any estimate of aid AT ALL by completing a 2014-2015 FAFSA. You will ONLY get an EFC for the 2014-2015 school year. You will NOT get any aid estimates, except that your EFC will indicate whether you are Pell eligible for 2014-2015. What good is that when you won’t be attending college until the FOLLOWING year?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The NPC are the best estimate you will get. If you are applying for 2015-2016, wait and do the NPC in Seotember or early October as they will be updated for the 2015-2016 academic year. And yes…they do change.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your best bet is first to find out what, if anything, your parents will contribute annually. Then find out if you are eligible for any need based aid provided by your state or the colleges IN your state. Then you need to look for colleges where you have a good chance for merit aid based on your stats…in addition to looking at those net prices you find out.</p>
<p>But the KEY is…what can your parents contribute? It really doesn’t matter what your EFC is, or what the net costs are if your family will not pay the costs remaining. </p>
<p>And remember…the very vast majority of colleges do NOT meet full financial need for all accepted students.</p>
<p>@noname87 I see your point: the only way to see your student contribution is to apply and submit FAFSA.
Yea, I will use NPC for each college to get an estimate: its the only thing out there for now.
But what is this CSS Profile, I never heard of it?</p>
<p><a href=“CSS Profile Home – CSS Profile | College Board”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
It’s used by some schools to determine how much they will offer you in grants, etc. It looks at your finances in more detail than FAFSA.</p>
<p>@"Erin’s Dad" So do I have to fill out another aid application for CSS? Is there a deadline to it? Like what’s the point of for colleges to use CSS if there’s FAFSA?</p>