Here's information that may surprise you ... Colleges with the lowest "sticker" may end up costing you more out-of-pocket than a lot of private colleges with high "sticker" prices.  Here's why: Many higher priced colleges (think Harvard, Princeton, Duke and many others) will meet 100% of a student's demonstrated financial need with financial aid.  I'll explain more about that below.  But first, it's important to know that to keep college costs as low as possible, one of the most important things you can do is to choose a college that meets 100% of your family's demonstrated financial need.  Let's look at why this is the case:

• In determining financial aid, your demonstrated financial need is not the amount that you, based on your current budget, think you need in order to afford college.  Instead, your financial need is the difference between the cost of the college and your expected family contribution (or EFC).  Your expected family contribution is not the amount you think you can contribute.  Instead, it is determined by the income and asset information you provide on financial aid forms like the FAFSA, CSS College Profile, or some other form that the specific school may require.  So ...

        Demonstrated Financial Need = Cost of the College – Expected Family Contribution.

• Take the following example:

Student A has completed the FAFSA and/or the CSS Profile form, which has determined her expected family contribution (EFC) to be $20,000.

Student A’s chosen college costs $60,000 a year to attend. Therefore, Student A’s demonstrated need is $40,000, or Need = Cost ($60,000) – EFC ($20,000).

• With this example, a college that meets 100% financial need would award a financial aid package that totals the entire $40,000 needed to fill the gap between what the family is expected to pay and the cost of the school.

• Here's the shocker for a lot of families: Many schools don’t meet 100% of a student’s financial need.  So, with the above example, assume that the college is only willing or able to meet part of the need … let’s say the college has awarded $10,000 in financial aid.  This means that college for that year would be paid as follows:

$20,000                Student-paid expected family contribution

$10,000                 Financial aid met by college

$30,000                 Student-paid gap not covered by the college financial aid

$60,000                 TOTAL

• Schools can meet financial need with grants (free money), need-based scholarships (free money), work-study and/or loans that have to be repaid. It’s important to understand how your chosen school awards financial aid/money.

Get your list of the most generous colleges ... that is, the colleges that meet 100% of a student's financial need by clicking below.

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