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by Garth Robertson

Seven Standout Colleges – Need-based AND Merit Aid

It’s appropriate that “HYP” is the commonly used acronym for the triumvirate of schools often considered most elite in the U.S. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are indeed exceptional schools; I very nearly went to Princeton both for undergrad and graduate school (twice for graduate school, actually). However, the “hype” that these schools garner is inappropriate in comparison to the lack thereof received by a good number of schools around the country. In this short post, I’ll thrust some of my own hype on some very deserving schools, following the money theme of my most recent posts.*

I wrote a recent post about colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated need for all students, and another post that highlights some private schools that offer some generous merit aid packages for students who do not qualify for need-based aid.

There are a very few, very select collection of extraordinarily unique, special, and elite (*cough* …hype) schools that do both. These schools meet 100% of all demonstrated need AND offer generous merit packages.**

Bryn Mawr College
Mount Holyoke College
Oberlin College
Rice University
St. Olaf College
Scripps College
University of Chicago

Only seven schools in the U.S. meet those standards; naturally, it’s hard to make a more exclusive list (for those into exclusivity/hype).

And because I like to toss hype on a lot of schools (apparently I’m a bigger fan of hype than of exclusivity), let’s make an honorable mention list of schools pulling in those that meet more than 90% of demonstrated need or are otherwise very near misses for the strict categories above.

Grinnell College
Harvey Mudd College
Occidental College
Union College
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of Southern California
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University

That’s sixteen schools that are (comparatively) extremely generous with both merit aid and need-based aid. Notably, only one public university makes this list; Virginians, be thankful for your incredible in-state option!

*I don’t mean to diminish Harvard, Yale, or Princeton in any way, and need to readily highlight here that these three schools are among the very best at making themselves affordable for anyone who can get in.

**I’ve defined schools that offer “generous merit packages” as those that give non-need-based merit awards to at least 10% of their students and those awards average more than $10,000 per year.

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by Garth Robertson

But I don’t qualify for need-based aid…

While my posts of late have highlighted need-based aid and how that can impact college choices, there are a good number of families whose fiscal success leaves them ineligible for need-based aid. Yes, for many of these families, financial aid and cost of college is a non-issue, but there are many families right on the edge – families who make just enough to not qualify for any aid, but for whom paying $50,000 or $60,000 per year will seriously tighten the budget. For families in this situation, this post is for you.

If I don’t qualify for need-based aid, which colleges will be most affordable for me?

The short answer to this is to look to your in-state public schools. The difference between in-state tuition and private school or out-of-state tuition is significantly greater than the vast majority of merit aid awards. However, some private schools are quite generous with merit aid for students demonstrating outstanding academic potential. Somewhat ironically though, those schools I highlighted in my post entitled – “Colleges that are Truly Affordable” – are in many cases those schools that will be most expensive for families who do not qualify for need-based aid, as most of these offer no or extremely limited merit aid.

In short, for families that do not qualify for need-based aid, these school types will generally be the most affordable.

1. In-state public school

2. “Second tier and lower” private schools

3. Out-of-state public school

4. “First tier” private schools

Here are some examples of the above in action, assuming a California-based student:

1. The University of California, Berkeley’s in-state tuition is $11,220. The average non-need-based merit award, which is received by 6% of students, is $6,000. Therefore, the net tuition for those 6% would be $5,220, and of course, $11,220 for students who did not receive merit aid. For the record, merit aid at UC Berkeley is extremely competitive.

2. Case Western Reserve University’s tuition is $41,420. Case is a great school, but its lesser name recognition leads it to aim to lure talented students away from the bigger name schools through financial awards. 25% of Case students earn non-need-based merit awards that average $23,372. For these students, then, the net tuition cost is $18,048. While this cost is noticeably more than even the full tuition cost at UC Berkeley, it is clearly much more competitive than the ticket price suggests.

C. The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor charges $40,302 for out-of-state tuition. Michigan offers much better merit aid on average than UC Berkeley; 20% of Michigan students receive merit awards averaging $6,816. The net tuition for such students is $33,486.

D. At Dartmouth College, the tuition is $43,782. Since Dartmouth offers no non-need-based aid, the net tuition for this family is $43,782.

The idea behind need-based aid and demonstrated need is that a family should be willing to invest a certain percentage of their assets in education. For many families, that number – and the ultimate dollar value it amounts too – is higher than they’re willing to pay. In such situations, the above should be a helpful road map for expectations for what kind of aid you can expect from different schools.

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by Garth Robertson

Affording College: What are “Demonstrated Need” and the “EFC”?

I wrote a piece a few weeks back about colleges that are “truly affordable.” I defined such colleges as those that meet 100% of demonstrated need for all students.

So, what is demonstrated need?

The demonstrated need is the difference between the total cost of attendance – tuition, room and board, and diverse fees – and the estimated family contribution, or EFC.

There are two major pieces that together comprise the EFC for most families, assuming a dependent student. The first of these is the family’s “available income,” and the second is the parents’ “contribution from assets.”

The EFC calculator is a lot like a simplified form of filing your taxes.

Calculating “available income”

The “available income” results from calculating a family’s “total income” and subtracting a certain number of allowances, which include tax paid allowances, social security allowances, income protection allowances, and employment expense allowances. These are very direct and simple to fill out. Again, subtract the total allowances from the total income, and you get your “available income.”

Calculating “parents’ contribution from assets”

To calculate the estimated contribution from assets, add all cash, savings, and checking funds to the net worth of investments and any farm or business. Subtract from this total an amount that is derived from a given table (again, it’s very simple to follow) to yield the “discretionary net worth.” Twelve percent of the “discretionary net worth” comprises the “parents’ contribution from assets.”

Calculating EFC

Adding the “available income” and the “parents’ contribution from assets” yields the “adjusted available income.” For most families, the EFC is $8,007 (27% of income $29,600 or less) plus 47% of “adjusted available income” greater than $29,600. If there are more than one dependents from the family enrolled in college in the given year, the EFC is divided by the number of college students.

This sounds complicated, but it really is simple when you fill out the form.

And just to give some quick reference, if a family income is $100,000, probably around $40,000 of that (after allowances) will be deemed “available income.” If that same family has $50,000 of combined savings and investments, probably $40,000 of that will be protected (this allowance is 100% dependent on the age of the parents – it is not a percentage, and for families with the older parent in their 40s, it will be around $40,000), so the contribution from assets will be 12% of the remaining $10,000, or $1,200.

Thus, $41,200 (available income plus contribution from assets) would be deemed the “adjusted available income.” The EFC is then $8,007 + [.47*($41,200-$29,601)], or $13,451.53. Let’s say this family has two children both in college this year. Then the EFC for each child is $13,451.53/2, or $6,752.77.

Let’s say that one child is attending Macalester and one is attending Brown. Since both of these colleges meet 100% of demonstrated need, this family will be required to pay $6,752.77 to Macalester and $6,752.77 to Brown. According to statistics from each institution’s recent Common Data Set, the total cost of attendance at Macalester is $55,456 ($45,167 for tuition, $10,068 for room and board, and $221 for other required fees), and the total cost of attendance at Brown is $57,232 ($44,608 for tuition, $11,620 for room and board, and $1,004 for other required fees).

Therefore, the demonstrated need at Macalester is $55,456 minus $6,752.77, which equals $48,703.23. The demonstrated need at Brown is $57,232 minus $6,752.77, which equals $50,479.23.

Since Macalester and Brown both meet 100% of demonstrated need, the financial aid packages offered by Macalester and Brown will add up to $48,703.23 and $50,479.23, respectively, for the particular year described above.

The composition of each aid package is important though – a better aid package will include more grants and work-study with fewer loans. Princeton and Swarthmore are two schools that guarantee no-loan aid packages, but for almost all other schools, expect to see loans. On average, Macalester students graduate with $23,285 of debt, and Brown students graduate with $20,455 of debt. Each of these numbers is on the low side as far as overall averages go, but nonetheless represent substantial debt to carry on into an entry-level career.

In sum, determining which school will be most affordable for any family is a complex question, one that cannot be completely answered until they receive the official financial aid offer along with an offer of admission. Understanding of how financial aid works, however, and which schools offer (or do not offer) generous aid packages, will hopefully relieve anxiety regarding the theoretical vs. actual cost of admission.

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by Garth Robertson

College Affordability – Public vs. Private

A few weeks back I wrote a post about colleges that are truly affordable, highlighting the schools that are committed to meeting 100% of need for 100% of students each and every year. I had a couple acquaintances ask me how the cost of attendance at these schools would compare to that of attending a public school where a student would pay in-state tuition.

This is a complex question with a complex answer, but the short answer is this:

If a student comes from a low-income family, the private school will most likely be less expensive. If a student comes from a high-income family, the public school will most likely be less expensive.

In a future post I’ll break down how “need” and the EFC (estimated family contribution) are calculated, giving a better idea of just what constitutes a “low-income family” and a “high-income family.” But for now, in both public and private schools, there are winners and losers – schools that do better and worse in terms of making themselves affordable and keeping their graduates out of debt.

I recently created a new ranking of schools for my other website; the ranking assumes that a student is always paying in-state tuition for a public school, and is a 50/50 split between average debt at graduation and average cost of attendance after need-based aid. I’ll share the top 50 here (asterisks indicate private schools), but keep in mind that this is a ranking based on statistical averages, and definitely does not mean that a higher ranked school will be more affordable than a lower ranked school. Also keep in mind that the majority of universities and colleges in the US are not included. My ranking covers statistical data for 311 schools, including the flagship public school in every state and usually a secondary or more public schools with national reputations in each state.

And before the top 50, I need to highlight six incredible institutions that cover all tuition for attending students:

Berea College, Franklin Olin School of Engineering, Cooper Union, U.S. Air Force Academy, U. S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy

1. New College of Florida
2. California State University, Long Beach
3. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
4. University of California, Merced
5. San Jose St. University
6. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
7. *Barnard College
8. University of California, San Diego
9. University of California, Santa Barbara
10. University of California, Berkeley
11. University of California, Davis
12. *Brigham Young University
13. University of Florida, Gainesville
14. University of Washington, Seattle
15. University of Virginia, Charlottesville
16. University of California, Irvine
17. *Harvard University
18. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
19. University of Utah, Salt Lake City
20. University of California, Riverside
21. Texas A&M University
22. University of California, Los Angeles
23. Arizona St. University
24. Colorado St. University
25. University of Buffalo (SUNY)
26. Oklahoma St. University
27. University of California, Santa Cruz
28. University of Montana, Missoula
29. University of Illinois, Chicago
30. University of Wyoming, Laramie
31. *Vassar College
32. University of Georgia, Athens
33. University of Louisville
34. University of Nebraska, Lincoln
35. *Swarthmore College
36. North Carolina St. University
37. *Pomona College
38. Missouri University of Science and Technology
39. California Polytechnic Institute, Pomona
40. University of Nevada, Reno
41. *Grinnell College
42. *Princeton University
43. *Vanderbilt University
44. University of Tennessee, Knoxville
45. San Diego St. University
46. University of Hawaii, Manoa
47. University of Missouri, Columbia
48. *Earlham College
49. *Williams College
50. University of Mississippi, Oxford

(See the complete ranking here.)

There are two main points to highlight from this ranking. First, public schools do much better than private schools as a whole. Only 11 of the top 50 are private schools.

Second, however, is that for most states, there are private schools that are ranked higher than the main public schools in-state. I grew up in Wisconsin, with reciprocity to attend public schools in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan at in-state costs. Of the main options in these states, only UIC made the top 50. For the flagship public schools in those states, 16 private schools ranked as more affordable than the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; 23 private schools ranked as more affordable than the University of Wisconsin, Madison; 29 private schools ranked as more affordable than the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; 37 private schools ranked as more affordable than the University of Iowa, Iowa City; and 64 private schools ranked as more affordable than the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

What should a prospective student take away from this? In short, keep an open mind. Again, if you’re from the lowest income brackets, top private schools will almost always be more affordable, and if you’re from the higher income brackets, public schools will almost always be more affordable. For everyone else, though, it’s difficult to tell until you receive your financial aid package along with your admission letter. With that in mind, alongside an acute awareness of things like average debt at graduation, college selection should highlight fit – how does a college meet your needs for vocational preparation, a social environment, and an intellectual environment? The simple public/private distinction isn’t enough to be a guideline, even for cost.

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by Garth Robertson

Colleges That Are Truly Affordable

One of the effects of the recent financial crisis has been a serious look at investments and debt. What is a worthwhile investment, and how much debt is too much? Anyone following higher education news stories will have been hammered by articles detailing the extreme cost of an American college education and the horror stories of student debt burying recent graduates. NPR recently ran a story on exactly this, US News offers some practical advice on students loans, and CNBC has even created a special report entitled, “The College Debt Crisis” which includes an original documentary film.

I recently completed collating financial data for my other website – Beyond College Rankings – of the majority of competitive colleges and universities across the country. In this post I want to highlight two sets of institutions: 1) those that meet 100% of need for all admitted students and 2) those that minimize loans in their financial aid packages.

The forty-nine schools in the first category are in many ways what I consider the country’s truly elite schools. In part, yes, they simply have enough money to be able to support anyone who can gain admission, but at the end of the day, these schools are the places where truly, if you can get in, you can afford it. It doesn’t matter what your economic background is. If you can get in, you can afford it.

Amherst College
Barnard College
Berea College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College
California Institute of Technology
Carleton College
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College
Colgate University
Columbia University
Connecticut College
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Duke University
Emory University
Franklin and Marshall College
Franklin Olin School of Engineering
Georgetown University
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Harvard University
Harvey Mudd College
Haverford College
Macalester College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mount Holyoke College
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Pitzer College
Pomona College
Princeton University
Reed College
Rice University
Scripps College
Smith College
St. Olaf College
Swarthmore College
Trinity College
Tufts University
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
Vassar College
Washington and Lee University
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University

Honorable Mention (these schools offered 100% of demonstrated need to 90% or higher of their admitted students): University of Rochester, University of Notre Dame, Occidental College, Loyola University (MD), Vanderbilt University, Skidmore College, Union College, Johns Hopkins University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Virginia, Middlebury College, University of Richmond, College of the Holy Cross, University of Southern California, Wake Forest University, Stanford University, Colorado College

The schools in the second category are the exceptionally responsible representatives of the  first. I think that $20,000 of debt is a reasonable and worthwhile amount for one’s undergraduate years. The schools that average less than $15k comprise this list, in order of average debt.

1. Swarthmore College
2. Princeton University
3. Berea College
4. Yale University
5. Harvard University
6. Franklin Olin School of Engineering
7. Amherst College
8. Williams College
9. Rice University
10. Haverford College
11. Wellesley College

Swarthmore and Princeton are notable in that each includes no loans in aid packages. Also, schools like Cooper Union and the U.S. Academies (Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine) have tuition covered completely for all students. However, they nonetheless don’t statistically meet 100% of demonstrated need for all students. They do bear mention though as very affordable, excellent institutions of higher learning.

In short, there are a group of schools with an exceptional commitment to educating the best fit students, regardless of their ability to pay (and these schools, through diverse means, have the resources to do so). What does this mean for prospective applicants? First, keep in mind that these schools are all highly competitive – as I mentioned, it’d be easy to argue that this list includes the best schools in the country. But for a strong student from a middle or lower class economic situation, these schools will usually be cheaper than the local flagship public school. For all such students and families who worry about the expense of college, I’d tell them to start their private school search with this list. While all these schools are highly competitive, the list does include a range – schools like Swarthmore and Princeton are reaches for any applicant, but schools like Berea and Hamilton are pretty safe for a top student.