In November, I ran the NPCs for all the schools I was interested in that had them and applied to the ones that had doable estimates (ranged from 46k-53k per year). Today, I went in to the Wellesley one to double check and I’m using the same information, but my EFC has gone up to 66k when before it was 48k. I tried other schools as well and they were also giving like 60-70k. I’m really confused and worried about this because I am using the exact same data as was already in there from November. What is going on? Any advice?
I got into Wellesley and really want to go, but I won’t be able to if it’s going to be that high. I didn’t get my financial aid package with my acceptance because there were documents that they requested that i don’t realize were requested so I only sent them in 2 days ago. For reference, my family makes 240k per year before taxes, our house is worth about 500,000 and 120k mortgage remaining, maybe 20k in checking but not much else that could be throwing it off. I will also be entering college at the same time as my twin so that should get us more aid as well.
I wonder if this is the issue. They used to take that into consideration (“sibling discount”), but I think now they don’t?
Oh. In november it definitely did. Maybe they’ve updated it. I tried putting only one student in college and it increased my EFC but only by a bit so that could be it.
I am just guessing. Hopefully someone else will be able to provide additional insight. It is definitely a stressful situation!
I’m not sure Wellesley policy on this. This two kids in college division has been eliminated on the FAFSA. Some colleges using Profile will continue to use the multi kid division, and some might not.
It’s also possible that Wellesley had not updated their NPC…some schools didn’t do so because of the flux with the FAFSA rollout.
See how your financial aid package looks. Then…if needed, contact Wellesley and have a conversation.
Ok, so it looks like it was just a Tufts and Wellesley (and maybe some other schools) thing. I ran it for Boston University, Brown, Williams (didn’t apply, just for fun), and Harvard and they all came back at 45-47k except Williams, which was 36k (??? I’m hard-pressed to believe that would stand if I were to apply and get in). This leaves me to believe that Wellesley and Tufts have since updated their financial aid calculation to not consider siblings in college (or at least not nearly as much as they used to). I remember in November/October when I originally ran the NPCs, certain schools came back at 70k ish (Northwestern, Barnard?, and another that I can’t think of) so I didn’t end up applying and assumed they had gotten rid of the sibling thing. I just find it weird that Wellesley and Tufts would change theirs in the middle of the year when they both are still listed as the 2023-24 NPCs. Why not release the new one for next year with the changes?
Anyways, if I were to get into BU, Brown, or Harvard (unlikely), are Wellesley or Tufts likely to adjust my aid if I negotiate a 70k EFC with a 47k EFC? If I don’t get into any of those, are my chances of successfully appealing aid good if I end up getting a not great aid package at Wellesley??
OMG you’re right. 
We ran the NPC in the fall for Tufts and it was about $50K per year. That was the top of our price range but let my son apply anyway because it seemed like a very good fit.
I just reran it with the same numbers and it was $76K !!! 
ETA: Also just reran it for Lehigh (the only other school he is waiting on) and it was $10K more than in the fall. 
I hope you get some acceptances at schools that are affordable and you are excited about!
I’m wondering if the schools have updated their NPCs with next year’s COA as well as updated financial aid formulas. Most of the NPCs we ran had pretty clear disclaimers about not being final numbers due to COA changes, etc.
@MAmomto4 will you also have more than one child in college at the same time in the 2024-2025 academic year?
And @milklover1 do you mean that your net costs went up that much per the NPCs?
I’m only asking because the term EFC used to be associated only with the FAFSA, and I don’t want folks to be confused.
Yes , we have a S23 and S24, both in college next year.
Wondering if these colleges are not doing the multiple siblings in college division. Or maybe they are but it’s not included in the NPC.
I’ll hope that your actual financial aid awards work.
Ok, so I just ran the NPC at Bucknell and it was considerably higher than a few months ago. BUT, they have a disclaimer on their NPC page that the calculator may not be accurate and that they still take multiples in college into consideration.
So what I wonder, the NPC is run by CollegeBoard in some fashion, so did the company remove the multiples as a factor in the calculation?
I also ran the calculator again at Denison where S24 will be going. His FA package has us paying about 9K more than what shows on the NPC so that is actually opposite situation. And we have multiples.
Ok, so I ended up getting accepted to Tufts as well and got my financial aid packages for both yesterday. They definitely took multiple siblings in college into account, but not as much as I’d hoped. Wellesley is coming in at about 55k/year (technically about 60 since 5k of aid package is loans) and Tufts around 51-52k/year (technically 56 since it includes 5.5k loans). These are both borderline unaffordable as my family makes 250k and will have 2 students in college next year (my sister is attending an OOS public for about 40k, making the total close to 100k. Our parents are also not paying for our college other than ~50k in out college savings accounts) I would really love to go to Wellesley but don’t want to be drowning in debt so I’m planning on appealing the aid package (using Tufts’ maybe?) Anyone have any advice for appeals?
Yesterday I was also notified that I am a Stern Scholar, which means that the loans in my package will be replaced by grant money, making it a more appealing option. However, this scholarship is only for school of engineering students (I assume, since it said it is given to outstanding SOE first-year applicants) and I am planning on changing my major. I applied biomedical engineering because it made the most sense with my essay (talking about some research work I did) but knew that I wanted to switch to biochem or another non-engineering biology/chemistry related major. I don’t think the scholarship will still apply if I leave the SOE, but I’m going to reach out and ask.
How have your aid packages been looking (if you’ve received any more)?
It’s been years, but my D had to turn down Tufts because it was too expensive. Great school, but if it’s not affordable, it should be a no.