KNIGHTDALE HIGH SCHOOL
OF COLLABORATIVE DESIGN
MEETING DEMONSTRATED NEED
Cost of Attendance
Expected Family Contribution
Demonstrated Need
Terms to Know
Cost of Attendance - total cost for one year as student, including billable items like tuition, fees, room and board, and non-billable items like books and transportation
Expected Family Contribution (EFC) -federal estimate of what a family can afford to pay toward the total cost of attendance
Demonstrated Need - the gap between the total cost of attendance and one's Expected Family Contribution
In terms of financial aid, demonstrated need is the gap between the cost of attending college and the amount that the federal government determines you can pay. Importantly, not all colleges meet full demonstrated need.
For example, if the cost of attendance is $10,000 and your family's EFC is $1,000, your demonstrated need is $9,000. A college can choose to give you...
1) a $9,000 grant (money that does not have to be paid back); or
2) a $6,000 grant and a $3,000 loan (money that does have to be paid back); or 3) a $3,000 grant and a $3,000 loan, and leave a $3,000 gap to cover on your own.
Some colleges offer financial aid programs that eliminate some of the less favorable options. Look below.
Full Demonstrated Need
No-Loan Policies
Colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated need look either like option 1 or option 2, above. They don't leave a gap in aid and cover all costs up to the full cost of attendance through grants, work-study, and sometimes loans.
No-loan financial aid policies, which look like option 1, go one step further: they meet 100% of demonstrated need with grant money and work-study only. Provided that the family can meet the EFC without loans, this gives a student the opportunity to graduate debt-free.
National Universities
Boston College (MA)
Brown University (RI)
California Institute of Technology (CA)
Columbia University (NY)
Cornell University (NY)
Dartmouth College (NH)
Duke University (NC)
Emory University (GA)
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (MA)
Georgetown University (DC)
Harvard University (MA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
Northwestern University (IL)
Princeton University (NJ)
Rice University (TX)
Stanford University (CA)
Tufts University (MA)
University of Chicago (IL)
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (NC)
University of Notre Dame (IN)
University of Pennsylvania (PA)
University of Rochester (NY)
University of Southern California (CA)
University of Virginia (VA)
Vanderbilt University (TN)
Wake Forest University (NC)
Washington University in St. Louis (MO)
Yale University (CT)
National Liberal Arts Colleges
Amherst College (MA)
Barnard College (NY)
Bates College (ME)
Bowdoin College (ME)
Bryn Mawr College (PA)
Carleton College (MN)
Claremont McKenna College (CA)
Colby College (ME)
Colgate University (NY)
College of the Holy Cross (MA)
Connecticut College (CT)
Davidson College (NC)
Franklin and Marshall College (PA)
Grinnell College (IA)
Hamilton College (NY)
Harvey Mudd College (CA)
Haverford College (PA)
Kenyon College (OH)
Macalester College (MN)
Middlebury College (VT)
Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Oberlin College (OH)
Occidental College (CA)
Pitzer College (CA)
Pomona College (CA)
Reed College (OR)
Scripps College (CA)
Smith College (MA)
St. Olaf College (MN)
Swarthmore College (PA)
Trinity College (CT)
Union College (NY)
University of Richmond (VA)
Vassar College (NY)
Washington and Lee University (VA)
Wellesley College (MA)
Wesleyan University (CT)
Williams College (MA)
Regional Colleges (Midwest)
Bethany College (KS)
Carroll University (WI)
Regional Colleges (North)
United States Merchant Marine Academy (NY)
No Loan Schools for Everyone
For all students regardless of family income
or state residency
Regional No Loan Schools
For students from a particular regional area and who meet income qualifications (only North Carolina Schools included)
Appalachian State University (Appalachian Access) – North Carolina residents entering as full-time freshmen students with incomes below the Federal Poverty Line
North Carolina State University (Pack Promise) – North Carolina residents with family incomes less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Line and “limited assets” [changed to maximum $3,500 in loans per year for up to eight semesters]
No Loan Schools for Low Income Students
For students from any region whose families earn below a certain income threshold only
Brown University (Commitment to No Loans for Low Income Students) – Students whose families earn below $100,000 per year
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)– US students with family income under $60,000 per year
Connecticut College – Students with income under $50,000 or EFC under $5,000 per year
Cornell University (Loan Initiative) –Students with family incomes under $60,000 per year
Dartmouth University (Tuition Plan) - Students with family incomes under $100,000 receive full tuition grants
Duke University (Duke Loan Awards)- Students with family incomes under $40,000 per year
Emory University (Emory Advantage) –Students with family incomes under $50,000 per year
Haverford College - Students with family incomes under $60,000
Kenyon College (Newman's Own Foundation Scholarship) – Available to the 25 students with the greatest financial need; priority given to those from underrepresented backgrounds, including first-generation students
Lafayette College - "Dedicated to eliminating or lowering the loan burden of students from families with incomes under $100,000"
Lehigh University (Lehigh Aid) – Students from families with incomes less than $50,000 per year
Massachusetts Institute of Technology –Students with family incomes under $75,000 per year = full tuition grant; does not include room & board, other expenses within billed cost of attendance. MIT also has a fairly high self-help expectation (work-study and outside scholarships) of $5,500 which has required some students to take out loans to cover some or all of this amount.
Northwestern University – Students with the greatest financial need. Majority will have incomes under $55,000. Students are required to be eligible for the Pell Grant and have need greater than 80% of the cost of attendance.
Rice University – Students who have family incomes under $80,000
Tufts University – Students whose families earn under $60,000
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Carolina Covenant)– Students whose families earn up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Line and who are enrolled full-time
Vassar College – Students whose family incomes are below $60,000 per year
Washington University in St. Louis –Students with family incomes below $75,000 per year
Wellesley University – Students with family incomes below $60,000 per year
Wesleyan University – Students with family incomes below $60,000 per year
Need-Blind Colleges and Universities
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Need-Aware Colleges and Universities
*Penn is need-blind and meets full demonstrated need for all students with Canadian and Mexican citizenship. For all others, the school is need-aware.
Students with citizenship outside the U.S. are often considered "international" applicants regardless of their current physical residence. Schools that offer financial aid packages that meet 100% of demonstrated need for such students fall into two main admissions categories: need-blind and need-aware. Regardless of the category, the schools below will meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted students. The difference is that need-aware schools consider a student's ability to pay, as part of the admissions process. Need-blind schools do not.
International Students
2015 FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
