<p>BC takes the data from the CSS profile and has their own rules on how they use it - for example 100% of your home equity is considered as an asset to be used to pay the bill. Other schools can use 0% to a max of 2.4x your annual income. We’ve used the EFC calculators on a couple different sites and BC was off by ~$20K with what they gave. I don’t believe they consider the cost of living in the area where you live in the equation either, so if you are paying $10-15K in real estate taxes you are treated the same as the guy in a lower cost state that is paying a fraction as much.</p>