What the Fafsa 4caster does is estimate the EFC amount the government eventually calculates for you…if you use the tool, it shows the estimated EFC in tiny little letters. This, coupled with those net price calculators (though these don’t work as well for transfer students as they are geared for freshmen)…helps to figure out how much may be out of pocket.
College Cost You Entered $ 35,000
Total Aid Available
This includes the federal student aid we estimated and any of the other aid you entered. (note: I did not add scholarships)
$ 8,965
Difference $26,035
Your estimated EFC is ____.
Above is what the end result is on the Fafsa4caster…the estimated EFC I left blank here. Mine will be different than yours. My EFC is too high to qualify for more aid.
If you enter a cost for college…I just chose state flagship college at $35,000… Fafsa4caster calculated I COULD be eligible for $8,965 in workstudy/loans (not free money) . The other 26,035 would have to be made up in cash,more loans or scholarships depending on that EFC…, which for most like me in the “middle class” is a number that likely will eliminate much else in federal/state grant aid.
So basically, the “award” could be just potential work study (limited opportunity) and loans unless you fall into a merit or “special interest” category for a scholarship. When they call work study and loans “federal student aid”…it sort of implies that it is free…and that the “difference” is all that you have to worry about (which is surely enough as it is lol)
Here’s the full report, https://trends.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/2016-trends-college-pricing-web_1.pdf
Re: #41
Better would be just to use the college’s own net price calculator, rather than try to extrapolate FAFSA4caster results to anything other than federal aid programs.
@calmom17 Thanks for pointing out the “netting” involved in these graphs. If student loans, parent plus loans, and work study is involved then that explains everything. It definitely makes sense that people are paying $14K/year for a private school with the rest coming from loans. From the numbers I am seeing that is borrowing $30K/year. I guess that is the answer. The student takes out his $5,500 loan and the parent takes out a $25K loan. Who says college is not affordable? .
It might be easier to get into the top 100 colleges, but it is way harder to get into the top 10 or 15
Are there reliable data on the number of schools applied to per applicant? My impression is that the applicants with top stats are getting multiple acceptances, though they may be truly interested in a few schools and, obviously, can only attend one. I think the big spike in UC applications this year probably made it a lot harder for the Admissions people to determine which applicants are sincerely interested in their specific campus.
This season feels like an arms race. Back in the day, I applied and was accepted to one UC campus. Not so now. I think the article is misleading. Yes, it might be getting easier get into college. Just not the one you want.
It will be interesting as the parent demographic changes from Boomer to Gen X. Overall the Gen X generation was hit really hard by the housing crisis and doesn’t have the accumulated wealth to float college costs the same way, generally speaking as in the past. And college is more expensive. Bad combination.
Gen X is also a much smaller demographic. There was a significant decrease in the birth rate from 1965-1980.
You are correct. We are a high need, single income family. Middle Class is no way $150K a year, that would be a luxury. My daughter is graduating with a 31 ACT and 4.85GPA, and has been offered very few scholarships and even the need based has been loaded with loans and student debt. It is a toss up to what and who each college is really looking for and willing to provide for aid and merit.
@MommaLama What is she interested in majoring in? Would she be interested in a small private college? With those stats she could possibly have qualified for a full ride. Not sure how flexible she is with regard to college or region…
I agree…there are some need blind schools or just other schools that would love a student with those stats that might be able to give her enough money to make it work.
Getting in is NOT getting easier. And top colleges don’t offer merit scholarships, or even try that hard to make you like them. But I can say with 100% certainty that if you apply “beneath” yourself, you’ll get lots of merit scholarships, like me. I have terrific extracurriculars (music, Eagle Scout), but weak leadership and no athletics. I have @ a 3.85 GPA, 4 AP classes senior year, and a 33 ACT. I was accepted into “junior IVY’s” (the highly selective schools that are just half a step down from IVY’s), without any $$. I was accepted into 3 more middle-reputation schools (3.65 GPA average) with $20,000 to $25,000 per year in merit scholarship. When I visited one, they gave me an extra $5,000 award. There are definitely options for middle class kids that do well in high school. Many of my neighbors chose schools that were “beneath” them, and they are a better fit and the price tag works.
They’ll have plenty of company. That’s where the majority of lower income students are.
I completely agree with the “beneath” yourself comments. If you are a good student, you can find money.
If a student is obsessed with an Ivy or an elite school, they will have a hard time getting into college. A top student can get decent scholarship from a lesser known, but good school. There is nothing wrong with being a big fish in a small pond. I went to a top state college and my coworkers went to smaller LAC schools, we all get pay the same. Not every one who went Harvard is rich and famous.
^ “There is nothing wrong with being a big fish in a small pond.”
I don’t fully agree with that. It is fine to be in the 75% to 90% percentile on stats for that school as that is typically the range for merit scholarships and honors college places. However, I would be wary of any school where my kid is above the 90th percentile as there is a chance that your kid could often be “the smartest guy in the room” and hence he/she would not be fully challenged intellectually.
Totally agree… Specially for Asian kids although there is substantial decrease in birth rate.
I partially don’t agree with this statement. Although the lower ranked schools are getting somewhat easier to get into due to a low demand, the higher ranked schools have become such a nightmare to get accepted into. These days, kids submit more and more apps, driving the acceptance rates down.
Of course, most colleges aren’t bad and anybody can succeed in any of them, but I felt this article was a little misleading especially in regards to the more “prestigious” institutions.
It does seem like the hardest schools are harder than ever to get in, but that it’s getting easier at the, for lack of a better word, “non-elite”. If there truly is less demand overall (due to population?), it will be interesting to see if more elite and top schools start using their waitlists more.
Sorry if this has been asked already but when a school accepts someone off of their waitlist, does that action get incorporated into their RD or overall acceptance rate?