Hello,
I am planning to transfer for fall 2017 with an associates degree, but am looking to get an estimate of expenses. I was recently accepted into SIU for fall 2017 and ran their net price calculator. It does mention that the estimate is from 2014-2015 academic year, so I am aware that the COA has increased.
Here is what it looks like-
Estimated tuition and fees $12,251
- Estimated room and board charges $9,694
- Estimated cost of books and supplies $1,100
- Estimated other expenses $2,941
Estimated total cost of attendance: $25,986
- Estimated total grant aid: $11,594
Estimated Net Price After Grants and Scholarships: $14,392
Does that $11,594 include federal loans and all available grants? I know for a fact due to my age as an independent student I will qualify for $12,500 in student loans, will get the full pell grant based on my income, and more grants depending on the state’s funds. I’m assuming that is why this is considered only an estimate?
Thank you to everyone in advance!
The net price calculator might not be accurate for you as an independent student…
Did it ask for parent income and assets? Or not?
Did the net price calculator ask for your age? If not, it might not include the additional independent direct loan amount.
Also…did it ask if you were a transfer student or what year in school you are? If not…the estimate is likely for incoming freshmen.
The net price calculator update you are looking for is the one that will happen either late summer or early fall 2016. Policies do change. So run it again when it updates…if it asks if you are a transfer student.
Also it says “total grant aid”. Grants aren’t the same as loans. I would call the financial aid office at SIU and ask them what this all means.
In addition, speak to the transfer advisor at your community college. Sometimes they are familiar with financial aid policies at their 4 year publics…for transfers from community colleges.
Yes, it did ask for my age. However, it did not ask if I was a transfer student or what year I would be attending.
Thank you for your reply and the clarification!
No. The NPC shows “Includes both merit and need based grant and scholarship aid from Federal, State, or Local Governments, or the Institution” Student loans are not included.
Agree with thumper that it may not be accurate for a transfer student, though.
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However, it did not ask if I was a transfer student or what year I would be attending.
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There’s the issue. It’s putting in a 9500 loan as an independent, but as a junior, you’ll qualify for $12,500
That said…
Estimated total cost of attendance: $25,986
Where will the rest of the money that you need come from?
You’ll have 12,500 from loans, and about $5700 from Pell…that’s about $18k…and I don’t think that counts health insurance…and it doesn’t count summer expenses.
Do you work full time over summers? Do you work during the school year?
Everyone above just said the calculator was not accurate.
I’m planning on taking a class during the summer and working as much as I can. Yes, I currently work part-time during the school year.
No… some of the posters above said it may not be accurate for an independent and/or transfer student.
Do we know if the OP qualifies for the Pell grant? I don’t think so.
OP, have you filed the FAFSA?
I do qualify for the pell grant based on my income, but I’m going off of that considering I received it at my current community college. I cannot file fafsa for the 2017-2018 year yet. I plan to transfer fall 2017, but am just trying to plan ahead now.
The 2017-2018 FAFSA will use 2015 tax year info…just like the 2016-2017 one. Assuming your assets don’t change much…your EFC for that 2017-2018 FAFSA should be very similar to the one for 2016-2017.
Not all net price calculators are clear or accurate. You may have to work with the financial aid office directly to understand the details. The fact that the cost of attendance estimate is from two years ago tells you that having a great NPC is not a priority for this school.
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I’m planning on taking a class during the summer and working as much as I can. Yes, I currently work part-time during the school year.
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Expect to be gapped. Also, since you’ll be taking max funding during the school year, you won’t get aid for the summer…even if you take a class.
I was wondering if the amount of FA indicated on the Net Price Calculator changes during the course of a year? Since it’s time to think about applying ED, I did a check on the NPC to confirm the amounts of indicated aid that came up when I ran the numbers in the spring. To my surprise, the numbers changed by a considerable amount (~$10k-$15k). The tax and asset information I used only changed very slightly. Has anyone else had this experience? I checked other school NPC sites and sure enough the FA indicated changed by a similar amount. This is worrisome for me, as I was thinking about applying ED. I asked a friend about this and he indicated that when he ran the numbers earlier, the NPC included a pell grant as part of his package. When he ran the numbers recently, the pell grant wasn’t included in his package.
The NPC should only change once a year, when the calculator is updated for the next school year. If you are asking about different calculators on different school webpages, then yes, they can be different. There are no regulations for the calculators so some schools ask for a lot of information and some ask only for income and number in the family. When other information is added, like real estate, assets the calculators will spit out different amounts.
If you put in different numbers, then yes, the EFC can be different.
In the case of the friend I mentioned, he actually ran his numbers on Oct 2, 2016 and came up with a package which included a pell grant and larger grant monies for a couple schools. He ran the numbers again today for those schools and the pell grant was no longer listed and the school based grant was reduced by about $6k. This is just within a matter of days.
@BaileyBoomBoom
is your friend sure he entered exactly the same numbers?
No way he answered the questions the same. Pell levels would not have changed at all with the same numbers.