Direct loan is a loan. I don’t think the student is pell eligible but I can’t say.
Oh well - student has lots of direction and @Mwfan1921 does seem expert on this.
I guess where I would have gone differently is - I’d have called and talked b4 enrolling. They’ve had this situation many a time before I’m sure.
Or at least be in the process of having the school review the estimated financial aid award.
Hoping this all works out.
My parents make 150k+ so I doubt I’m pell eligible.
You are likely right about the Pell. So what exactly does your parent think will change when the FAFSA submissions are complete?
He says they ask for less assets so he thinks the award amount from my ED school will be more.
WM based it’s awarding of their institutional aid on the Profile data. It doesn’t matter that there are less assets on the FAFSA. All the FAFSA does is determine your eligibility for federally funded aid like the Pell Grant, and possibly partially subsidized Direct Loans.
Your max direct loan as a freshman is $5500. You have already said you don’t think you will be Pell eligible.
That is not correct. Schools that use the CSS Profile do not re-calculate based on the FAFSA. The reason they use the CSS Profile is to get a better understanding of the situation, and they will base their award on that data. The FAFSA will allow you to take out federal loans ($5500 freshman year, a little more in future years) that may or may not be subsidized based on your parent’s financials.
I think you need to find whatever information you can to convince your parents that FAFSA is not going to give you more money and then either decide that you can pay the price W&M is asking or set up an appointment with you, your parents, and a W&M Financial Aid officer and tell them about the $15k difference between their award and the NPC.
If you didn’t make a copy of the NPC, fill it out again (now) so that you can show them what the NPC calculated.
Hoping this all works out for you. It’s all new to you, but I’m sure W&M will have seen this scenario 100s of times and will be able to give you guidance.
Also, even if this was correct (which it is not), assets are only assessed at about 5.6% of their value. So, 100k difference in assets would cause a 5,600 difference in aid. Income is the most determinant of financial aid awards.
Are your parents small-business owners? If so, are you sure that they filled out the CSS Profile correctly? It might be worth it to hire a financial aid consultant for an hour or so to review your paperwork just to make sure that your family didn’t enter information incorrectly.
My dad owns his own law firm. If that counts for anything.
Does he own a building in addition to your primary residence?
I think the big thing is - school’s that ask for CSS ask for a reason.
The FAFSA does not allow them to make an aid determination.
And W&M doesn’t state to meet need for an Ohio resident.
Your dad isn’t going to win on this one.
Making $150K, unless they are giving allowances for six people in household (edited - thanks thumper), most schools won’t give any need based aid (assuming assets to match the salary).
I think it’s four kids…not six…but OP can clarify.
Owning a business often results in less financial aid, because the business assets are also assessed. Until this year, FAFSA didn’t look at business assets for smaller businesses, but as of this year, they do.
Has your family filled out the FAFSA since January 1? If so, they would have seen that it now asks for business assets, even though it didn’t in the past.
Do you have other siblings in college?
We have no idea whether or not W&M would discount/change the initial FA package.
I do agree that FAFSA won’t change their current offer. If dad wants to negotiate the current offer he should engage with W&M now. Re-running the NPC is a good idea.
If dad is going to pay the W&M price no matter the outcome of the negotiation, then OP should pull their other apps/acceptances.
If there is at all a question whether the dad is going to pay, then OP should keep the apps/acceptances open.
Dad is in charge of the money, not OP.
IIRC, this kid is a quadruplet so there will be four in college at the same time.
delete
Also, we don’t know whether the myintuition NPC or the college board NPC was used. Both are suggested on the WM website. Myintuition (from my experience) always gives a lower net cost and more aid…and usually a range.
They should run the college board NPC.
Good point!
@Winsto7 – Here is the link for the actual NPC for W&M: Welcome | Net Price Calculator (collegeboard.org)
It will be the most accurate assessment of what your aid should be. But, as always, it may not be accurate for families that own their small business.
Here is the other calculator they offer: Welcome - William & Mary - MyinTuition (myintuitionapp.org) . This is usually much less accurate.
I suggest you run both and see what they say and then take the results of both to the meeting with the financial aid officer as a comparison to be used vis a vis their actual aid offer. Make sure they know you have 3 siblings who will also be in college. It may not make a difference anymore (new FAFSA rules) but it never hurts to let them know.
@Winsto7 I sent you a DM. Look at your avatar in the upper right to access it.
Do you think your father can actually pay? His responses are reminding me of my father, and I would be on the fence if I trusted whether he would pay or not- and ultimately I would guess he would. Do you think there is a chance your father is telling you not to worry and he won’t actually contribute or will leave you with the loans?
First: this is all going to be ok, you just have to do some steps
Second: tell your father, I am nervous (this is a scary unpredictable time for kids) and want some clarity. Are you saying you will pay the difference if financial aid doesn’t come through or is the expectation I would take loans, because in that case I am going to withdraw my ED
Third: If you think father will chip in (he might have more cash than you know about and maybe your siblings arent using it all) then withdraw from the other schools. If you are not sure he will chip in, call W & M and tell them its above the NPC and is there anything they can do to help? If there isn’t seek their guidance? (and likely withdraw the deposit). I think it was reasonable to assume the NPC would be accurate and they have certainly dealt with scenarios where parents are not forthcoming with financials