When a college meets full need (financial aid question)...

[Ann.without.an.e]

I am sorry for another FA question.  I am trying to wrap my head around how it all works.  So, if a college meets full need, then the number they give us won't change regardless of what we take away?  For example, dd got a scholarship but the number is the same.  If we drop the health insurance in lieu of our own coverage, our number will stay the same too right?  If dd was to drop to a lesser meal plan, would our number stay the same.  What I think I understand is that that number that they say we can afford is etched in stone, regardless of whether dd tries to reduce costs somehow.  So she should just keep the school health insurance as secondary?  Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Edited February 6, 2017 by Attolia

[Julie of KY]

I don't know about the student health. I guess I need to email the financial aid office about that. I assumed it was part of the personal expenses and that if we had our own coverage we'd still get the financial aid.

 

Cost of attendance - Expected contribution = Your need.

 

If you get scholarships, then they just decrease the need based grant and your cost won't change unless you get scholarships totaling more than "your need".

 

If you drop the cost of attendance then your need should also drop.

 

I'd email the financial aid office directly with some of your questions as I"m not sure every school treats it the same.

[Julie of KY]

FYI - I emailed Vanderbilt (meets full need school)  and asked them if it changed the financial aid package if we waived the cost of student insurance.

 

They said it would not change our financial aid package. They also said that they do not include student health in the cost of attendance and most students waived the student health.

 

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

FYI - I emailed Vanderbilt (meets full need school)  and asked them if it changed the financial aid package if we waived the cost of student insurance.

 

They said it would not change our financial aid package. They also said that they do not include student health in the cost of attendance and most students waived the student health.

 

 

Chapel Hill had it calculated in DD's cost so I was hopeful it would reduce our cost if we have insurance already.  I am thinking not though, that's what they deem as our part is our part regardless of what DD takes away.  DD may not go to CH but it is the only school she has full financial info from so I am using it to overthink it all  :lol:

Edited February 7, 2017 by Attolia

[Lori D.]

 So she should just keep the school health insurance as secondary?  Thanks for your thoughts on this.

 

I don't know what's the best decision to make re: school health insurance.

 

Just our experience: We have decent health insurance and DS is healthy, so we did not do the optional school health insurance and saved a small amount of money there. He ended up having a few colds, which he treated with over-the-counter remedies and a box of tissues. Thankfully, no accidents or injuries, no serious illness, no surgeries needed. He never even visited the Student Health Center for anything.

 

If you don't have a good health plan, or if your student has chronic health issues, then you probably want to research to see if it is worth it. Here are a few articles to get you started -- do note that who offers the article (i.e., financial website vs. medical website) sways the viewpoint a bit as to whether or not secondary insurance is "necessary":

 

- "Understanding Health Insurance for College Students" -- Medical Billing and Coding article

- "Campus Health Insurance or Family Plan?" -- Bank Rate article

- "Health Insurance Tips for College Students" -- Investopedia article

 

 

Speaking of insurance, one other optional type of insurance you *might* want to consider getting/not getting is Renter's Insurance for college students, if your homeowner's insurance doesn't already provide some coverage for students at college. That insurance would be useful in the off-chance that DD's things (esp. expensive electronics, bicycle, etc.) are stolen or damaged, and you wouldn't have the funds for replacing during the school year.

 

 

...What I think I understand is that that number that they say we can afford is etched in stone, regardless of whether dd tries to reduce costs somehow...

 

It is true that your EFC is non-negociable. The EFC (estimated family contribution number) comes from the formulas derived from your financial information on the FAFSA, and this number is provided to colleges from the federal government. Julie in KY pointed out the basic financial aid equation above, and I'll expand it here with where all of that comes from:

 

COA (Cost Of Attendance) â€” EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) = Need

costs include:   .    .    .    .    .    .    families contribute this amount via:    .    .  need addressed by college's financial aid pkg:

- tuition   .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .     - student income  .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .     - federal/state grants (if EFC is low enough)

- fees   .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .   - student assets   .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .     - federal work study (if EFC is low enough)

- room & board   .    .    .    .    .    .   - family income .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .   - scholarships

- books .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .  - family assets   .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .   .   - student loans (from fed. gov't)

- transportation costs   .    .    .    .   - private parent loans  .    .    .    .    .    .    .  - parent plus loans

- supply costs

- personal expenses

 

You can't significantly change the COA, as the major costs are costs determined by the college.

 

You can't change your EFC amount as that is determined by FAFSA; you only get to determine how you're going to pay that (i.e., using which incomes and which assets, and whether or not you get private loans).

 

And the college's Financial Aid package addressing your Need is unlikely to change (unless you have a very unlikely drastic sudden change in student/family income and assets and you put in changes with the FAFSA which recalculates a new EFC).

 

The only thing I think is in your power for cutting the COA is to make some minor reductions (perhaps a few hundred dollars per semester) through:

- cut out optional fees (secondary insurance; paying to have a car on campus; etc.)

- reduce room & board expense (choose the cheapest meal and dorm options; or if the dorm has a kitchen, cook all your own meals rather than use a meal plan)

- reducing book costs (buy used; rent rather than buy new)

- transportation costs (don't go off campus; don't travel home for short holidays)

- supply costs (be as frugal as possible about printing, using paper and office supplies, etc.)

- personal costs (outfit the dorm as inexpensively as possible; find free entertainments rather than paying for movies or going out; be as frugal as possible about buying personal items)

 

The only things I can think of for increasing your aid is to petition the school directly with your specific financial situation, if there are things going on that are not shown by the FAFSA or CSS, to see if they have any other scholarships or other aid they can provide for your student. (Things like a serious medical issue or significant expense that must be provided for another family member, which leaves less money for paying for college for the college student.) And, apply for additional outside scholarships as much as possible, if the school allows stacking of scholarships.

 

One thing to bear in mind is that if loans are a necessity for getting through school, it is do-able as long as the total debt accumulated for the 4-year degree does not exceed what 1 year of entry-level salary for the job that the degree is for. And consider the possibility of the student living at home with the parents again after college graduation for the first 1-2 years so that most of the student's wages can go towards paying of the student debt very quickly. Or, look in to volunteering with AmeriCorps for a year after earning the degree, as the student can get some experience and do some job networking in the AmeriCorps position, while receiving room & board, plus several thousand $$ educational credit that can be used for either federal student loans, or for future college tuition.

 

One last thing to consider as you juggle all of the finances is to build in enough "pad" in your budgeting for unexpected costs. And, that shaving costs so close to the bone to avoid debt can make it much harder and more stressful in *other* ways to get through college and make it harder to successfully complete each semester than if the student just took out a few thousand dollars in student loans.

 

One last thought: since finances are super-tight, have you considered tuition-free or work-for-tuition colleges (see Work Colleges Consortium), or colleges that "go the extra mile" to make it financially possible to attend (see this College Xpress list)? You still have a week to put in applications and make a Feb. 15 application deadline, and several weeks to meet any Mar. application deadline. Just a thought! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Lori D.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I don't know how every Meets Need school works but my DS's school has been wonderful. Our need was calculated and DS was sent a financial aid package. It listed all tuition, fees, etc. It was doable so we agreed to the school. DS then received a nice outside scholarship & we declined the school's health insurance. The health insurance fee was waived and came off of our expenses. Yay! The scholarship was split, 90 % was applied to our expenses and 10% was applied to the school's, meaning DS 'lost' a small percentage of his need based aid. We were shocked. We expected 100% of the amount of the scholarship to be deducted from the financial aid package.We thought it was a glitch his first semester and I went ahead and paid our full EFC thinking it would catch up to us. We had a credit all year long and the school cut us a check at the end of the year. DS used that money to cover expenses for his unpaid summer internship. When DS applied to study abroad the school gave him more money for the opportunity. We have been truly blessed by this particular 'meets need' school. 

 

DS's financial aid covers tuition, though, and we're only billed for other expenses. Maybe that's why our cost went down when we declined the insurance; that's the only fee that can be declined, everything else (including the yearbook) is required.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I don't know how every Meets Need school works but my DS's school has been wonderful. Our need was calculated and DS was sent a financial aid package. It listed all tuition, fees, etc. It was doable so we agreed to the school. DS then received a nice outside scholarship & we declined the school's health insurance. The health insurance fee was waived and came off of our expenses. Yay! The scholarship was split, 90 % was applied to our expenses and 10% was applied to the school's, meaning DS 'lost' a small percentage of his need based aid. We were shocked. We expected 100% of the amount of the scholarship to be deducted from the financial aid package.We thought it was a glitch his first semester and I went ahead and paid our full EFC thinking it would catch up to us. We had a credit all year long and the school cut us a check at the end of the year. DS used that money to cover expenses for his unpaid summer internship. When DS applied to study abroad the school gave him more money for the opportunity. We have been truly blessed by this particular 'meets need' school. 

 

DS's financial aid covers tuition, though, and we're only billed for other expenses. Maybe that's why our cost went down when we declined the insurance; that's the only fee that can be declined, everything else (including the yearbook) is required.

 

 

Thank you for sharing.  This is encouraging.  I was hopeful that the health insurance would come off of our expenses and not theirs, we'll see.  This gives me hope.  The price of the health insurance being deducted would help a lot.