Why is the NPC calculated parent contribution higher than the net price?
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Anonymous
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Out of curiosity, I completed the NPC for a top school. I didn't expect to get any FA.
But why is the Parent Contribution over twice as much as the Estimated Net Price? Surely I wouldn't be responsible for more than if I never applied for FA? I'm sure I'm misreading this, but I can't figure it out. |
Anonymous
| They don't charge you more. They are just showing you that they believe that you can afford to pay more than it costs. Expect to hear frequently from the development office. |
Anonymous
| Do universities with large endowments ever give aid to families above the tuition amount? |
Anonymous
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The parent contribution is the amount the college estimates that you would be able to pay.
The net price is what you will be charged. |
Anonymous
What do you mean by above the tuition account? |
Anonymous
I know a child attending a meets full need school who is coming from foster care and has no money. In addition to a scholarship covering tuition, room, and board, she also gets a stipend that covers books and supplies. |
Anonymous
| Does it include books or something like that, that might not be included in other "net" prices? |
Anonymous
The family contribution is not the amount you have to play. If you fill out the FAFSA it gives you a number that used to be called the Estimated Family Contribution, but is now called the Student Aid Index. It is an estimate of how much your family could theoretically pay. So, if your SAI is $100K you won’t get need based aid anywhere. If it’s 60K you won’t get aid at UMD instate where the cost is $35K, but you probably would at Harvard where the cost is well above $60K. (Note: many schools that meet need now use a different system called the CSS). My guess is that the schools you are looking at are using software that estimates a SAI and then gives aid based on that number. So they tell you the number, and they use the old language. My kid will likely qualify for aid. At schools that don’t meet need, they give him three numbers: 1 How much they think we can pay (SAI or EFC) 2. How much he would have to pay. 3. How much unmet need there is. |
Anonymous
Eek, I’m sorry, first timer here. I meant the family contribution amount. |
Anonymous
It means you are no where near qualifying for aid and could afford about twice as much as the estimated net price. In other words, you have a household income or net worth or both in the top 1% or close. Youre rich. |
Anonymous
| My husband completed the NPC and added extra zeros on value of the house. It said it expected 40 K more than the cost of the school and board etc. I am guessing it is doing this in case the cost of school skyrockets while the kid is in school - perhaps on the 8 year plan, instead of completing in 4 years - but that is just a guess. Was surprised to see it- mostly because it didn't make sense based on running the numbers previously when it didn't thing we had the biggest, most expensive house in the neighborhood. |
Anonymous
The big endowment schools are much more likely to meet full need, but they are also much more likely to calculate need based on the CSS, not just the FAFSA. Some of those schools are very generous, and may offer a student aid when maybe it looks like they shouldn't get any. Princeton has a reputation for being the most generous, so if you want to find out the highest amount of need based aid your kid could possibly get, run the Princeton NPC. The exception to this is if your kid has a non-custodial or joint-custodial parent who has resources. Princeton requires information from both, while FAFSA requires from just the primary parent. There is, of course, also merit aid which is a different calculation. |
Anonymous
No, the calculator just runs in three steps. First, it figures out how much they think you could afford to pay. Then it compares that number to the cost of attendance. If the amount you can pay is less than the COA it makes a plan. The number is just the answer to the first question. So, they aren't saying "you would pay this much here". They are just saying "you won't qualify for aid until you hit this number". Some schools still consider other siblings, so it might be a total figure you could pay for all your kids. |
Anonymous
+1 Some international students get a stipend to cover a round-trip flight home as well. |
Anonymous
It's telling you they'd expect you to be able to pay that much. So while they wont charge you that, you are not getting any form of financial (need based) aide |