Your EFC is the number colleges will use to calculate your need for financial aid. You can get an estimate of your EFC at the College Board. When developing a college list parents and students tend to focus on key college criteria such as location, size, courses of study offered, campus life and admission probability, but what about financial probability?
Parents with lower EFC’s might be surprised that private colleges might actually be less expensive than schools in their state’s University system. Understanding your EFC prior to developing college lists is vital to optimize student opportunities.
The table below provides an example of how a selective private school might compare to a selective flagship University.
University of MD Dickinson College
Est. ’18-’19 Cost of Attendance $30,789 $66,779
Family EFC $15,000 $15,000
Need $15,789 $51,779
Avg % of Need Met 75% 99%
Gift Aid vs Self-Help (work study/loans) 67%/33% 87%/13%
Immediate Cost of Attendance $18,947 $15,725
Self-Help (work study/loans) $ 3,860 $ 6,688
Total Cost Before Merit Considered $22,807 $22,413
Average Merit Given $6,682 $10,517
Taking the time to understand the student, his/her learning style, personality type, careers and majors considered as well as college values would determine whether MD or Dickinson should remain on a college list. Knowing an estimated EFC and average need met allows a broader range of options for students and their parents to consider.
At CPC we take all variables into consideration and invest in specialized resources to help to expand each student’s educational opportunities.
College Placement Consulting offers comprehensive college planning services. In helping to identify each student’s next best step in the college process, our goal at CPC is to eliminate stress, de-mystify the process, and internally motivate each student by using state of the art resources and top notch specialists. If you are interested in learning more, you can schedule a consultation here or contact us at 410-822-4500 or info@teamcpc.com