Another FAFSA/EFC question (sorry)

[Jean in Wisc]

I'm reading that there are colleges that require the student to pay more than their EFC (i.e. private colleges). May I assume that there are colleges that only require the EFC?

 

So, should I have a child attend a state university (i.e. one in Wisconsin), does anyone know if the child would have to pay ONLY the EFC amount?

 

Maybe this should be obvious, but I'm struggling to believe we might get away with a year of school paying so little. LOL! I'd LOVE to hear that to be the case!!!!

 

Thanks.

[LaJuana]

...as to how much aid they have available for students. Some colleges are well-endowed enough to be able to help a student with aid to make up the difference between the EFC and the cost of attendance; others are not. Even for the ones that do meet all financial need, the difference between the EFC and the cost of attendance may be bridged with a combination of scholarships, federal and college grants, subsidized loans (no interest is charged the student until a few months after graduation), and unsubsidized loans (interest begins to accumulate as soon as funds are dispersed). Those loans are what unnerve me!

 

Some of the colleges that guarantee students that they will meet all documented need are listed here:

http://www.cslf.com/if/payingforcollege/collegesthatmeetneed.htm

 

I don't know anything about Wisconsin schools, but you might start looking for an answer here:

http://heab.state.wi.us/appinfo.html

It looks like state schools in Wisconsin don't require additional information after receiving the FAFSA, so they wouldn't require the extra form(s) mentioned on the boards earlier. But the individual schools might differ as to how much aid they have available to bridge the gap.

 

Of course, you can always consider one of the tuition-free colleges, "hard-work universities" where most students attend tuition free:

http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/nov2007/pi20071113_819956.htm

 

hth

[Jean in Wisc]

Thank you, LaJuana! These are interesting :-)

[Gwen in VA]

The "family EFC" is generated by the FAFSA. Pretty much all schools (except Hillsdale, Patrick Henry, etc.) use the FAFSA. Some schools also use the Profile, another financial aid form that is commonly used by private colleges.

 

If the school also requires the Profile, the number the financial aid generates will not be based solely on the EFC. The Profile has a LOT of additional information. The Profile takes into account the expenses of other children (which usually decreases the $$) but also takes more account of home equity and the like (which usually increases the $$).

 

Any school that requires the Profile will give financial aid based on a mixture of things and not just on the EFC.

 

Many private schools use the Profile; I am not aware of any state schools that do. The one state school that we have dealt with for financial aid (no merit aid involved) based the EFC purely on the FAFSA. In our case, the amount we were expected to pay out-of-pocket matched our EFC to the penny.

 

1) Some schools promise to meet 100% of demonstrated need.

 

If your school uses the FAFSA exclusively, that school will probably only require you to pay the EFC.

 

If your school uses the FAFSA and the Profile, that school may require you to pay much more than your EFC, depending on your finances.

 

2) Some schools do not promiste to meet 100% of demonstarted need. If your school does NOT promise to meet 100% of demonstrated need, then all bets are off. See http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/480180-colleges-have-given-you-disappointing-financial-aid-offers.html for some crazy stories.

[Sylvia in CA]

Our experience this year was that our state schools require us to pay about the EFC. The private schools require us to pay more than than the EFC. These private schools didn't require the profile.

 

Sylvia

[Jean in Wisc]

I've never seen a FAFSA as low as ours this year. LOL! Not sure if that is good news or bad news. LOL!

 

I guess we will see just how much the schools will be willing to pay.

 

:)