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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My HHI is 105k.  My expected family contribution is 24k.  My son could take a 5500 loan (not Pell Grant), and then I was responsible for the rest, either through savings or a Parent Plus Loan.

That's the difference. If I hadn't saved he would have to take out private loans with huge interest rates.  Your kid won't be playing on the same field as you did 30 years prior. State schools costs 20k with room and board. I'm not willing to tell him here's 80k debt for an average state school, with huge interest rates on top of that. [/quote]

I thought the expected family contribution WAS what the parent could pay from income and savings? That's why they consider income and savings when calculating it. Right?

Or they tell you what they expect you to pay (24k) and then the amount they expect the student to take out in loans?

NP. Didn't realize it worked like that  :/ I thought the rest was what they were giving in a "coupon" or "discount" off the sticker price, or whatever you want to call it. [/quote]

Yes, the EFC is based on a calculation of what you *should* be able to pay from savings and income (mostly income-driven) based on the FAFSA calculation.  But that doesn't mean that's what colleges will expect you to pay.  Very, very few colleges are "meets need" (i.e. you only have to pay your EFC) and those that are are highly competitive for admission.  Other schools don't care what your EFC is, just what their budget is for aid and how they can most effectively distribute it to yield the class they want.  They may start with a sticker price of $70K, give you a little need-based aid, some merit aid (aka discount) and expect you to take loans to cover the rest.[/quote]

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