I got into a college that meets 100% financial need. My family is low income (30k) but my family owns a home and business. Through the net price calculator before applying, my estimated family contribution was from 10-15k yearly
However, once accepted and upon receiving a estimated financial package… the EFC was around 40-50 k which is more than my family income. (Fafsa was not received yet). If through fafsa i have a sai of -1500 is it likely that my financial aid package will change? I am confused to how the expected and actual package was so different. Thank you!
You said it - home and business. Was it a CSS school ? Colleges often expect families to ‘invest’ in their child by selling off assets.
Always smart to have an affordable school on the list as a full pay.
Good luck.
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Schools that use the CSS Profile really don’t use the SAI from FAFSA for determining need based aid.
There are expenses that are deductible for business owners for IRS purposes that are NOT allowed for financial aid purposes.
The net price calculators are not often accurate for business owners.
Did the NPC at this school ask for home equity?
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You, along with your parents, can call the financial aid department and ask a director to go through the FA package. Assuming NPC inputs were accurate, I also expect it’s your parents’ business income/assets and home equity that are causing the discrepancy. Did the NPC ask for inputs about the business and home equity?
The school doesn’t really care what your FAFSA SAI is, but if you do qualify for a Pell grant, you will still receive that (SAI -1500 should qualify for max Pell of $7,495.)
You can appeal the FA package once you know the details. If this was an ED admit, and your family can’t afford the COA, you can back out of the ED agreement. As tsbna says make sure you have at least one affordable highly likely/safety school. If one CSS profile school sees your family’s ability to pay at $40-$50K, it’s likely others will too. Good luck.
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Yes it did ask for the home equity on the npc
Yes it was a css school. Thank you!
The npc dodnt exactly go into the specifics but it did ask for my parents to input the value of the home amd business currently
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Next step is to talk with someone in financial aid who can take you through their calculations. I would do that with one or both parents. Good luck.
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It’s very hard for anyone here to give you decent advice about this, as we don’t know how your parent business and business assets are structured.
Contact the financial aid office Monday early. They should be able to walk you through this…and explain. It is also possible that a mistake was made when you input your CSS Profile numbers…so check that too. Each line.
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Ok, i will do that! Thank you so much!
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