Affording College

• As is true of buying a car, the “sticker price” cost of attendance is often not what families actually pay for college.
• By law, all US colleges and universities are required to have a Net Price Calculator (NPC) available on their website. NPCs are designed to provide as accurate a picture as possible of what you can expect to pay out-of-pocket at a particular school.
• NPCs are school-specific, because they take into account a college’s specific financial aid policies. For example, some colleges offer only need-based financial aid, while others have merit-based scholarships available. You should complete NPCs at multiple schools, with different financial aid policies, in order to understand the range within which your family’s costs might fall.
• Note that receiving financial aid from St. Mark’s does not guarantee that you will be eligible for need-based aid in college. (It also does not guarantee that you will be awarded aid in a similar proportion to the cost of attendance.) Completing NPCs at multiple schools is therefore particularly important if you receive financial aid from St. Mark’s.

• Financial aid falls into two broad categories: need-based and merit-based. Need-based aid is awarded on the basis of demonstrated financial need. Merit-based aid may be awarded for any number of reasons (musical or athletic talent, academic achievement, membership in a particular group or organization, etc.).
• Some schools offer only need-based financial aid, while others offer both need- and merit-based aid. Need-based aid is awarded in packages consisting of grants (federal and/or institutional), loans, and work-study. You can choose not to accept the loan or work study components of a package, but you will have to come up with an alternate source for these funds.
• Merit-based aid is awarded in packages consisting of grants and, occasionally, specific resources (e.g., a new laptop).
• Need-based aid is granted for one school year at a time. You must reapply each subsequent year, although barring any significant changes in your family’s finances, you can usually expect a similar level of support from year to year. You should confirm each school’s financial aid policy; ask admission officers whether they “front load” their packages, making them more attractive at the start as a recruiting tool, and then not give as much in subsequent years? Or, do they adjust financial aid packages along with rises in overall costs? Do they change your package based on your academic performance from year to year?
• Merit-based aid is usually renewed automatically for each year of enrollment, contingent on a student maintaining satisfactory academic progress (usually defined as earning a certain number of credits and maintaining a specific GPA). Again, however, it’s smart to ask for the details of any aid awarded!
• Schools in regions beyond New England frequently offer more extensive merit aid programs. At some schools, separate applications are required to apply for merit scholarships; at others, all students are automatically considered for merit-based aid. Read the fine print carefully to ensure you understand the requirements and deadlines at each school your child is applying to.

• The vast majority of financial aid comes in the form of institutional grants and federal aid.
• Most outside scholarships are relatively small; there are a few, extremely competitive, programs that offer truly significant (i.e., full-tuition or full-cost-of-attendance) awards. Students should research these options early to ensure they meet all deadlines.
• If your child applies for outside scholarships, make sure you talk to the financial aid offices at colleges to which they are applying to understand how the college factors outside funding into financial aid packages. Do they reduce loans or grants if you have an external scholarship? Or do they apply external scholarships to the self-funding expectation, allowing you to reduce your out-of-pocket costs?

• There are a relatively small number of truly “need-blind” colleges, which means that these schools do not consider a student’s ability to pay when making admission decisions. Need-blind colleges tend to be among the most selective in the country.
• Most schools practice “need-aware” admissions. In these cases, a student’s financial need may be considered as part of the admission process. Such considerations usually occur in the absolute final stages of shaping a class and do not affect students who are clearly admissible based on academic qualifications. Because of this reality, students with financial need should apply to several colleges where their credentials will place them among the strongest in the applicant pool.
• A small number of colleges guarantee that they will meet the full demonstrated financial need of all admitted students. These schools are also often need-blind, and they are generally among the most selective in the country. Even among schools that meet full demonstrated need, there are differences in policy that will impact students; some schools meet full need without loans, while others meet full need by including loans in financial aid packages. You can see a list of schools that meet full need here.
• Most colleges, however, do not guarantee to meet a family’s full demonstrated need. It is, therefore, possible for a school to admit a student but not award any aid, or to provide an aid package that meets only a portion of the student’s overall need. This process, known as “gapping,” is unfortunately becoming more prevalent.
• Students who know that financial aid will be important in their ultimate decision about where to go to college must include a “financial aid safety” on their list of schools. This is a school where a student is extremely well-qualified for admission (numerically, usually in the top 25% of applicants) and where affordability can be guaranteed. In-state public colleges often, but not always, fit this bill

• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is required for US citizens and eligible non-citizens who seek federal student aid. Federal student aid can come in the form of grants, loans, and work-study; nearly all students who apply qualify for at least one form of federal aid.
• The FAFSA opens on October 1 each year and should be completed as soon as possible. The FAFSA uses “prior prior year” tax information (e.g., if your child is starting college in Fall 2024, you will need to provide tax information from 2022), so you do not need to wait until you have completed your taxes to complete the FAFSA.
• Many private colleges also required the CSS Profile form, which is more detailed than the FAFSA, as part of the financial aid application process. The Profile also opens on October 1 each year. International students applying for financial aid generally must complete the Profile at colleges that use it, although they are not required to complete the FAFSA.
• Finally, there are some colleges that require their own institutional forms, which must be filled out in addition to the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile.
• If there are special circumstances that are not captured by the FAFSA, CSS, or an institutional form — such as a recent medical expense or change in parental employment status — delineate them carefully in a letter and send a copy directly to the financial aid office at each school to which your child has applied. Supply as much documentation as possible to explain your circumstances. Charts and tables are often helpful.
• Always, always, always make and keep copies of all financial forms you submit.
• It is perfectly acceptable to call the financial aid office after receiving your award letter to seek clarification or, in the case of new or changed information, appeal an award.
• Beware of solicitations promising to find either more aid or scholarship money; unfortunately, there are people out who are ready to capitalize on your fears about how to afford college. Applying for financial aid should never cost you money.

• When it comes to financial aid, the single best piece of advice we can offer is to ask questions at every stage of the process. There is just too much money at stake not to ensure that you have done everything possible!
• Here are a few questions to help you get started (note that answers to some of them are available in College Kickstart, one of the online programs we use with students during the college counseling process):
  - Is the college need-blind for admissions? In other words, do they make admission decisions without reference to financial need?
  - Does the college meet the full demonstrated need of admitted students? If not, what percentage of students have their full need met?
  - What percentage of students receive need-based financial aid? What percentage of students receive merit-based aid, if the school offers it?
  - How do students apply for merit scholarships, and what are the selection criteria?
  - Do the same financial aid procedures and policies apply for the entire four years?
  - Will you receive a similar financial aid package during all four years if your family's financial situation does not change?
  - Do you need a certain GPA to keep an institutional grant? If so, what is it?
  - How are outside scholarships handled? Are they credited against the loan component of your aid, the grant component, or the family contribution?
  - Does the school participate in a tuition payment plan that will allow for payments to be spread out over a period of months
  - What is the policy with regard to non-custodial parents and stepparents? Are they expected to contribute if financially able?
  - Is home equity considered when financial aid in their institutional methodology?
  - What is the average amount of debt for a student upon graduation?

A: The first place to go is the Net Price Calculator available on every school's admission or financial aid website. You may also want to check the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) calculator program available at www.finaid.org.

A: Perhaps merit scholarships could help. Public universities with a lower price tag should also be considered. You can also look into payment plans and options individual schools offer.

A: If a college is need-aware (and most colleges are), a student's financial need may indeed affect the admission decision. In most cases, this happens only at the very end of the admission process and applies to only a handful of marginally qualified students each year.

A: Yes, absolutely! Education is an important investment in your future, and you should plan to go into debt to fund it if required. However, you also MUST be realistic about how much you can afford to pay back. The average debt load for undergraduate study is going way up, so you should not be surprised by $4,000-$5,000 per year in loans. If you are facing more than that, think hard about how much you are likely to make when you graduate, given your probable fields of interest. For instance, a future chemical engineer can probably handle more debt than a future musician. Also, consider whether graduate school is a desired option for the future; this can quickly multiply your debt.