<p>I double checked and our estimated EFC on the Rochester website was approximately $10,000 higher than the CSS, and the CSS was a couple of thousand higher than FAFSA.</p>
<p>This really isn’t an issue for us since we expect to be full pay anywhere other than the few Ivy schools with more generous aid to families in our income range. Even though at a CSS school we may get some money most of the schools will offer loans to meet that need or perhaps work-study so in my mind that is basically full pay.</p>
<p>I think it is really important to understand that until you have a definite offer in hand there is no way to be totally accurate-these are estimates. To have the EFC different by $25,000 though indicates to me something is wrong. </p>
<p>This is why we didn’t apply ED-we cannot afford to be a full pay at any school. The schools can tell us what they say we can afford-that is their right-but just because their formula says it doesn’t make it true in our situation. I caution everyone to check out the threads about the college loans bubble. It’s like when we went to refinance our mortgage several years ago. The underwriter kept trying to talk us into taking out a bigger mortgage than we applied for-after all, he said, rates were so low we could take the money and invest it in the stock market! We several times declined and finally had to tell him just finish the paperwork. Can you imagine if we had done that! First, the stock market crashed-goodbye to all that money-then the housing market collapsed-goodbye home equity. I can see why so many people got into trouble because they did things they were told they could afford. The reality is they couldn’t afford it-just like the reality is a lot of people are going to end up in debt for a college education they could not afford. </p>
<p>This issue isn’t specific to Rochester-it affects every college and every family involved. It can get very emotionally charged and upsetting and I do feel for this situation-but sometimes in life we have to know when something is beyond our ability to have.</p>
<p>My S loves this school but can only go if he gets significant merit aid. He understands that and accepts it-doesn’t mean he has to like it. I would like nothing more than to have a blank check so he could go here-but I don’t. </p>
<p>I think is also important to realize that this process is a good way to teach kids financial responsibility and the reality of how expensive life is and how choices need to be made. We can’t have everything we want-it is a hard lesson to learn like this but it’s the truth.</p>