how do you know if you qualify for need-based scholarships?

Paying for College
1

<p>is there a particular form/calculator i can fill out online to determine how much my family can contribute to my total college tuition?</p>

2

<p><a href=“http://finaid.org/calculators/[/url]”>http://finaid.org/calculators/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Remember that none of the calculators and whatnot online are 110% foolproof nor are they carved into stone by Moses or anything:)</p>

3

<p>I am wondering too what AGI need based requires. Stanford, Harvard say below $60,000. Is this uniform? US News has list of best deals but if need based is 60 you might as well not bother if you make more than that?</p>

4

<p>No, $60,000 is not “uniform.” There is no uniform figure. Fill out the calculator. Most people will say you should fill out FAFSA no matter what. I don’t really agree with that, but I wouldn’t venture a guess on the income figure above which it is pointless. Maybe someone else is willing to guess - post on Parents Forum perhaps.</p>

<p>Also, read how the “best deals” in US News was calculated. Their list is for very selective schools. If you do not qualify for need based aid, and if you are a very good student, you may do much better at a school that is slightly lower in the rankings, but who offers good merit scholarships. You can see some info on merit money when you go to each college and click on Tuition and Financial Aid.</p>

5

<p>I second what weenie says about using the calculators. While Stanford and Harvard have intitiatives for “low Income” students, the school also requires the CSS profile which looks at your assets. Your income and assets (money in the bank, stock, home equity, monies collected for child support, stepparent’s income, having your own business or farm) are all used to calculate your EFC. So while someone may only “make $60,000 in income”, if they have considerable assets, they will not have met the conditions for low income.</p>

6

<p>thanks for the info</p>