Financial Aid

Question: We have always tithed to our church, and we give money to many charities, so we are thought to have more money available than we actually have. This is NEVER taken into consideration in any financial aid info I have seen. Is there any way to have our substantial donations considered when seeking aid?

Unfortunately, colleges will not officially consider your generosity when calculating financial aid awards. However, it might be helpful nonetheless to compose an explanatory letter to send to finaid offices at your child’s college (for current students … or to all the schools on the list, for prospective ones). Tell the officials exactly what you’ve told us here. In doing so, follow the Number-One Aid-Appeal Rule, which is to be sure to sound appreciative for any crumb they may deign to toss your way and never entitled to more. At many institutions, the financial aid officials do have some wiggle-room when it comes to determining your bottom line, so it won’t hurt to try this approach.

Presumably, if your church has scholarship $$$ available, you have already explored this avenue.

Good luck!

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Question: I’m a high school senior and come from a fairly well-off family ($200K per year) I have one brother who is already in college out of state, and another who will enter college the year after me. I realize that my family makes enough money that it would not be fair to give us much financial aid, but can we expect any, given the astronomical expense of sending three kids through college?

If you and your older brother are both in college at the same time, then you MAY qualify for some “need-based” aid from the Federal Government and/or the college you attend, depending on assorted information such as overall family size and other financial obligations. If all THREE of you are in school together, then your family should be eligible for aid almost for sure. (This will depend on the cost of your older brother’s college as well as the schools that you and your younger brother attend.)

If you want MORE SPECIFIC information about how much need-based aid you think you might receive, then you and your parents should play around with an online EFC calculator, like this one on the College Board Web site:

http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_formula.jsp?updateID=1

EFC–in case you haven’t encountered it yet–stands for “Expected Family Contribution.” It’s a figure that is computed for you by the Federal Government based on your family finances.

In theory, the EFC is the amount that your family SHOULD pay each year for your college costs (tuition, room, board, and all other fees). And that figure should not change, whether you are attending a college that costs $45,000/year or one that costs only $5000/year (but it WILL change depending on how many children are in college at the same time).

Also in theory, when your EFC is low, then the colleges SHOULD make up the difference.

Example: College A costs $42,000. Your family EFC is $2,000. So the college SHOULD give you $40,000 in scholarships and loans to make sure you can attend. If College B costs $20,000, your EFC is STILL $2000. It won’t change from school to school. So College B then SHOULD give you $18,000 in scholarships or loans. You dig?

Whenever your EFC is HIGHER than the cost of attending, then you won’t qualify for need-based aid at that school. But if it’s LOWER than the cost of attending, then you WILL qualify for need-based aid … though you don’t always get it.

Why not? In REALITY, some colleges practice what is known as “Need gapping.” They say, “Okay, we see you need $18,000, but we’re going to give you only $6,000. You’ll have to make up the difference on your own. We don’t care how you do it. Take out extra loans. Hit up Grams and Grampy; sell the family heirlooms. It’s not our problem.” (Well, okay, they’re not quite that rude, but you get the idea.)

Typically, the highly competitive colleges promise to MEET THE FULL EXTENT OF NEED. That is, they WILL give you enough aid to cover the difference between your EFC and their total costs. But even some of the highly competitive colleges practice need-gapping.

Note, too, that the EFC calculator will ask you at the start to “Pick a Formula.” You can choose between the “Federal Methodology” and the “Institutional Methodology,” or you can pick “Both.” I suggest that you choose “Both.” The Federal Methodology is the formula used by colleges that use only the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) to determine aid awards. Those that use the FAFSA plus another form (usually the CSS Profile https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/index.jsp ) go by “Institutional Aid,” and those figures may be different. (Institutional Aid considers different things–like whether or not your family owns your home and how much it’s worth) that the Federal Methodology doesn’t care about. Confusing, eh?

So what if you don’t qualify for ANY need-based aid? You still may receive “Merit Aid.” Merit Aid is the money that colleges use to lure their most desirable applicants, even if the family does not qualify for “need-based” aid. However, there are a couple big problems with merit aid:

1) It’s almost impossible to predict in advance how much one will receive. Once a student receives an admissions decision, the college also notifies the student about merit aid awards. Most of the time (though not always), students do not apply for merit aid. In many cases, all applicants are automatically considered, but you won’t know until the decision letters arrive whether you will receive a lot of merit aid, a little merit aid … or none. A few colleges offer guidelines on their Web sites to help you predict whether you’re likely to get merit aid, but many don’t. In general, the best way to get merit aid is to apply to a college that offers it (most do, but not all) and to those places where the typical admitted student has grades and test scores that are significantly BELOW yours.

2) Even with a good merit scholarship, many colleges are still pricier than their public counterparts. State universities are often a very good deal. Last year, for instance, one of my advisees from New York was excited because she’d been awarded a $20,000 merit scholarship from a private university in New Jersey. The scholarship also came with a “free” laptop. So I had to be the bad guy and point out that, even with the $20K “discount,” the NJ school (which costs about $40,000/year to attend including room and board) is pricier than The State University of New York at Stony Brook (where she had also been admitted), which is about $15,000. (That would give my student about $5000 to buy her own laptop … and you can get a pretty snazzy computer at that price. :-)) I also pointed out that the caliber of the student body at Stony Brook is higher across the board than at the other private college. So the moral of the story is that sometimes even a great merit scholarship isn’t as good a deal as going to an in-state institution. I’m wary of merit awards much in the same way that I avoid coupons for name-brand products like Hellman’s mayonnaise and Heinz ketchup because the store brands are usually cheaper, even after the coupon.

Finally, you can also look for “private scholarships” that come in all shapes and sizes. Private scholarships are awarded by businesses, civic organizations, local governments, etc., not by colleges.

If you haven’t already, check out FastWeb for these scholarship options. Here is an easy link: www.fastweb.com

This is a no-cost way to access information about private scholarships for which you may be eligible. The online questionnaire takes about 10 or 15 minutes to complete. You’ll find that the majority of resulting scholarships tend to be in the $500 to $1,000 range, though there are some “biggies” on the list, too. Needless to say, the greater the award, the more competition you’ll face. Keep in mind, however, that in most cases, the best financial aid comes from colleges themselves in the form of need-based or merit-based grants.

Once you fill out the FastWeb questionnaire, you will receive periodic e-mail updates about new scholarships and reminding you about upcoming deadlines. FastWeb is free and completely legitimate, so if you haven’t filled out the questionnaire yet, do it now!

Admittedly, the financial aid/scholarship search process can be a big hassle, but it is often well worth it. So be persistent and don’t hesitate to ask for help (from your school counselor or college financial aid offers … or even “Ask the Dean” ) if you get lost in the maze.

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Question: Our son was adopted as a baby. He was the product of two cocaine addicts, yet he, by the grace of God, is fine … and very intelligent. Are there any scholarships out there in this category (for an adopted drug baby)?

We are not aware of any scholarships for adopted children of addicts, though this certainly seems like a good idea. Of course, there may be some we’re missing, but the only scholarships we know of for adopted children are for those who were adopted from foster care. Perhaps, given your son’s situation in infancy, he was.

Some states offer tuition waivers at public institutions for adoptive children once in foster care. You’ll find more information at these sites:

http://www.nacac.org/subsidyfactsheets/tuition.html and

http://library.adoption.com/Subsidies/College-Tuition-Waiver-and-Scholarship-Programs/article/5844/1.html

In addition, if you complete the registration form at www.fastweb.com, you may also turn up some opportunities for your son. (FastWeb is fun, free, and legitimate. Once your son completes an online questionnaire, he receive a list of scholarships for which he may qualify, and he can weed through them to see which ones are worth going after. FastWeb even follows up by e-mail with deadline reminders and updates on new scholarship opportunities.)

Keep in mind, too, that many colleges offer excellent need-based aid. Often the more a college costs, the more money is earmarked to give away. So don’t pass up expensive colleges that you feel may be out of range. At least not at this point. Sure, you may eventually have to make a final decision based on finances, but elite colleges and other pricey private schools can sometimes turn out to be a great deal for disadvantaged and middle-class families because their need-based aid can be so generous.

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Question: I am an international student who wants to go to college in the USA. I have no money and want my major to be business administration. What steps should I take?

It is difficult–but still possible–for international students to receive financial aid from US colleges and universities. This is because the colleges cannot rely on US government money for assistance (as they can with domestic candidates) and must thus fund international students using their own resources. A small handful of colleges are “need blind” for international applicants (meaning that they do not consider financial need when making admission decisions but will then provide aid to those who require it). The last Web site mentioned below includes a list of need-blind schools.

In the vast majority of cases, however, colleges that provide aid to international students will do so ONLY WHEN THE STUDENT’S PROFILE IS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN THAT OF THEIR TYPICAL ADMITTED STUDENT. In other words, to get $$$ as an international student, your SATs, GPA, etc. must be FAR STRONGER than they would have to be, if you weren’t looking for financial assistance. (If you have not yet taken the SAT or registered to do so, that should be your first step. Go to: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/about.html . Also, if your native language–or the language of instruction in your high school–is NOT English, you will have to submit a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score. See: http://www.ets.org/toefl/ )

To begin your hunt for appropriate colleges, here are a couple of search tools you can use:

First, try the College Board online search mechanism.

Click on “College MatchMaker,” which you’ll see on the left side of the page, just below where it says “College QuickFinder.”

Next, respond to the series of questions that follow. You’ll be asked about various preferences (two-year vs. four-year school, location, size, etc.) and then about choices of majors and other activities. Look for the question under the “Cost and Financial Aid” heading that says, “Find colleges that offer financial aid for international students.” Be sure to check it.
Once you’ve responded to all of the questions on the form, hit “Results.” At that point, you should have a list of colleges to investigate further. If the search nets no target schools for you, then go back to the questionnaire and broaden some of your choices and try again.

Hint: You should try this search two ways. The first time, under “Academics” enter your REAL SAT scores and GPA and see which colleges land on the “Results” list. Then try the questionnaire again, but–this time–enter grades and test results that are LOWER than yours. If you can generate a list of colleges that offer aid to international students and whose typical entering student has statistics well below yours, then you have identified the colleges that will be most likely to give you aid.

Another place to look for possible college matches is here: http://www.internationalcounselor.org/College%20program/the%20list.htm

At the very bottom, you’ll see colleges that may fully fund international students. Some of these (e.g., Reed, Franklin and Marshall, Colby) are quite prestigious. Some are not. You might want to investigate all of them (note, however, that Smith is for women only). Keep in mind that the less selective the college, the greater your chances will be.

Expect disappointments, but be persisent. Good luck.

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Question: When my husband filled out financial aid forms, our EFC turned out to be more than $50,000. As a result, our daughter–who will be a college freshman in the fall–did not apply for any financial aid. Does failing to apply this year hurt us if we need to apply in future years?

Colleges often do have policies that restrict aid applications from students who did not initially apply for financial aid. Most commonly, if a student did not ask for aid as an entering freshman, you may find that he or she can’t reapply for aid until junior year.

What you might want to do at this point is to contact the financial aid offices at the colleges on your daughter’s list and ask:

1. If they impose such restrictions (and for how long)

2. If so, is it too late to complete a FAFSA (and other required aid forms) with the understanding that you are NOT expecting aid for this coming September?

3. If you can’t apply for grant aid (the good stuff you don’t have to pay back) next year (or in other years) will you still be able to seek loans through the college? (Likely)

4. Are there any other suggestions they can offer, should your family require financial aid in the future?

Once your daughter’s admission verdicts have rolled in, if she has several attractive choices, you may want (or need) to consider financial aid policies as she makes her final choice.

Meanwhile, don’t hesitate to call or e-mail financial aid offices and find out what each college’s policy is because they are likely to vary.

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Question: My daughter applied Early Action to Yale and was deferred. This week (early Feb.) the College Board notified her that Yale has requested additional CSS PROFILE information. Does that mean she will be accepted or am I reading too much into this?

We know how tempting it is to look for all signs of encouragement as you wade through the college-admissions quagmire, but the request for additional PROFILE information does not mean that your daughter should start packing for New Haven just yet. She may indeed be admitted in April, but at present she’s merely under consideration. Yale admission is “need-blind.” That is, the admission officials who determine whether a student is in or out are doing so without any details about the applicant’s financial status. However, at the same time that these folks are making their decisions, the financial aid staff is weeding through stacks of finaid applications to make sure all data is complete. One hand is not working in concert with the other at this point.

We wish we could be the bearers of good news, but hopefully that will still come in April. Let us know how your daughter makes out.

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Question: Can you tell me about application fee waivers and how I can get them?

There are several ways to get a fee waiver when applying to college. If you come from a low-income family and feel that paying an application fee would be a hardship, then you can get your application fee waived by most colleges. You need to include with each application a signed statement from your guidance counselor which confirms that you and your family cannot afford to pay application fees. Some colleges include fee-waiver forms with their applications; some high schools have their own forms or use those provided by the National Association for College Admission Counseling or by the College Board. However, it doesn’t really matter how or where the request is written. Your counselor can simply jot a note on school stationery if he or she doesn’t have an official fee-waiver document.

While colleges rarely provide hard-and-fast guidelines stating who is eligible and who is not, typically it is families with a household income under about $40,000. However, depending on the size of the family and various extenuating circumstances, that figure can fluctuate, and eligibility is generally left to the discretion of the guidance counselor.

The point of fee waivers is to ease a student’s burden due to financial hardship, and they are not meant for those who simply don’t feel like shelling out the extra dough, so only make the request if you truly need to. (Every once in a while, admission officials catch a student using a fee waiver who doesn’t deserve one, and this can impact admission outcomes.)

If you don’t have financial hardship, there are still sometimes other ways to wiggle out of the application fee. For instance, a growing number of colleges and universities will waive their fees for those who apply online. Some schools also give waivers to students who attend various on-campus programs, whose parents are alumni, who won an award sponsored by that college, etc. Feel free to check with the colleges on your list to see what fee-waiver options exist.

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Question: If I apply Early Decision, am admitted, and I accept the financial aid package I’m given, what happens in the second year? Is the financial aid package the same? What if my financial situation changes?

First of all, if you apply Early Decision, depending on how early indeed your application deadline is, then the aid package you receive may be just a tentative one. For instance, if your ED deadline is in November, your projected aid award will be based on the previous year’s family tax figures and not on the current year’s, which is the one that officially “counts.” So, if your family circumstances have changed significantly, the package that arrives with your ED acceptance may not be all that close to what you should really expect. This doesn’t happen a lot, but it certainly can.

Secondly, should you be awarded a financial aid package that you really can’t live with, it’s okay to turn down the offer of admission. It won’t be considered reneging on your ED commitment. However, in order to be ethical, you should only do this if the aid offer you receive is really out of range for you. Don’t say no to an ED acceptance simply because you’d like a bit more dough than you got or because you’re starting to change your mind about your top-choice school.

If you do turn down an ED offer for financial reasons, you can still be reconsidered as part of the Regular Decision pool, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll get in again … nor that you’ll receive as much aid as you did the first time.

Before you apply to any college–whether it’s via Early Decision or any other decision plan–it’s always wise to ask each financial aid office what you just asked us. That is, will your aid package remain consistent over four years? Colleges have different philosophies when it comes to this issue. Some practice what is called “Front Loading.” They give entering freshmen a lot more aid than they’ll receive in subsequent years. Sometimes, too, the bottom line may remain the same but the grant/loan ratio changes. After your first year, you get less grant (the good stuff that you don’t have to pay back) and more loan (the money that you do have to return). Because colleges vary in their policies, always ask.

If your own family’s situation changes, then indeed your aid package can change, too–even at colleges that would otherwise give you roughly the same deal over four years, had nothing varied on the home front. If your family earnings go way up, you can count on your aid package going down. On the other hand, if your family’s income plummets (e.g., a parent loses a job), you should get more aid to make up for it, but it’s not a given. Feel free to ask financial aid officers what their typical practices are in such situations, especially if you see a change of family fortunes on the horizon.

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Question: As a non-custodial parent I’m trying to figure out how I will be able to determine or estimate the amount of my EFC. My daughter is just a high school sophomore now, but I would like to start preparing. How is the EFC calculated for the non-custodial parent using the CSS profile? Is this done in two parts–one EFC for the custodial parent and one EFC for the non-custodial parent?

As one financial aid expert has put it, “College financial aid officials don’t want to be social workers.” What that means for you is that they will compute your daughter’s EFC based on a bunch of potentially complicated factors (more on that in a minute) and then give you the bottom line–a total. You and your ex must then duke it out to determine who pays what. In other words, there’s nothing that says, “This is Dad’s official share, and this is Mom’s.”

When a college uses the CSS Profile and makes financial aid determinations for children of divorced or legally separated parents, there are a number of complex issues that are evaluated, and each college has its own way of looking at the data. For instance, admission folks will consider whether the custodial parent is remarried and, if so, the stepparent’s income will go into the mix. They may look at things like how long you’ve been divorced, if you have been negligent with child support, what your assets are (some colleges include home equity; others don’t; many will “cap” the amount of equity they consider, if your home is worth a lot), whether or not you have other children, etc.

Thus, you can play with the EFC calculators that are offered on the College Board Web site (and elsewhere), and you can plug in both your ex-wife’s income and your own under “Adjusted Gross Income” to get a very rough sense of what the family total will be. However, the real bottom line could end up being substantially different, due to some of the issues named above or other similar ones.

One common scenario is this: if your wife is remarried to a spouse who makes more money that you do, this will raise the EFC. However, if the stepparent won’t be contributing to your daughter’s college costs, then you and your wife will still have to shoulder that extra burden. The two of you will need to work out a figure for each to pay that you both deem to be fair. Obviously, for many split families–who can’t agree on what movies Junior is allowed to see on a Saturday night or on when he is old enough to get a tattoo (I vote for 50)–this can be a hot-button question.

On the other hand, for some parents, it’s pretty straightforward–they either divide the payments in half or pro-rate them based on household income.

Since your daughter is just a sophomore, she may have no idea yet where she plans to attend college, but if there are already a couple front-runner schools, you should feel free to make phone appointments with financial aid officers to get at least a sense of how a particular school makes its aid decisions for the children of divorced parents. (Since you’ve got plenty of time, don’t call when these folks are inundated with the needs of newly admitted high school seniors; your best bet is to wait until early summer when the rush dies down.)

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Question: Is it true that highly selective need-blind schools can “tweak” their financial aid packages if they want an applicant who is desirable for the usual merit things (athletic abilitity, URM status, musical talent, etc.)?

Different colleges have varying policies, and we can’t speak for all of them, but this “tweaking,” as you aptly name it, is not uncommon. Among themselves, admission and finaid folks often use the term “sweetening the pot.” What this means is that they skew the balance of grant and loan in a financial aid package so that the more sought-after students get a bigger chunk of the former and less of the latter.

However, when the time comes, if your child receives an aid package that seems “untweaked,” don’t assume that he or she is not a highly desirable applicant. While this could be the case, it may also have more to do with the institution’s aid practices. Regardless of the award, it rarely hurts to appeal it, if you feel you can–or must–do better. Just make sure that in doing so you act appreciative for what you’ve received already and not merely entitled to more.

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