<p>Though not merit aid, we were surprised to discover that the tuition benefit we get from our university employer reduces need, rather than fall on our side of the equation, in terms of a way we meet our EFC. </p>
<p>Until then, we always assumed that the tuition benefit would be how we met our EFC. Nope. Online calculators showed that we were full pay EFC because the tuition benefit counts as resources available. Makes sense, in that it is similar to college savings etc, but certainly changed the way we approached college costs.</p>