Question for anyone who's been there - are the Net Price Calculators on college websites usually fairly accurate?
From my experience they skew a bit high but are in the ballpark.
Blech.
Confounding how the
Expected Family Contribution can be twice as high at some "meet full demonstrated need" schools as it is at others.
Junior is filling out applications now. He better get into one of those more generous schools or score some merit aid.
Just went through all of this last year with my triplets and it was an eye opener for sure. More like a kick in the balls.
The bolded above is where a lot of people get confused. It is an
Estimated Family Contribution but more of a financial strength indicator. FWIW the number used for the cutoff to receive federal aid for 2015 was 5500-. It's below poverty level. The whole thing is antiquated and needs an overhaul. Not saying you won't receive anything but from most I've talked to the federal aid is slim pickings. For example, if a school costs $42,000- to go and your EFC is 15000, don't think that you will get $27,000- in federal aid. That is a huge mistake. With those numbers I am willing to bet you will barely see anything at all in federal aid.
Institutional Grants are where you can make up some money, but even those are hit or miss. Have the kids concentrate on getting their GPA's over a 3.0 at a minimum. That's where most schools start giving out merit aid. Also have the kids take the SAT's or ACT's as many times as needed because most schools superscore and the GPA combine with those scores.
The net price calculators are a very good start and are fairly accurate.
Use the
FAFSA4Caster You will need some specific info (have last years tax return ready) but other spots where it is optional you can leave blank if you choose to do so. This will give you a fairly close number to the regular FAFSA that you will fill out soon.
Also, use the schools websites for important info like the % of students who get aid. This can come in handy and in your favor if you have to call and ask ( beg really) for grant money or more merit.
I'll try to answer stuff for others but I am not an expert. I can only give my experiences with several colleges and hearing the same stories from a bunch of others.
**Edit - The fafsa 4 caster link might not work. Just google it for yourself if it doesn't. Its a great tool.