Are you eligible for need based aid or merit money?

In 2025 the annual cost of attendance (i.e., tuition, room and board) at most US 4-year colleges ranges from $25K to $95K. One of our goals is to work with students and their families to ensure they're applying to colleges where they are 1) comfortable with the annual cost, 2) understand the likelihood of need-based and/or merit aid, and 3) understand how their long-term goals (e.g., grad school and/or career) may impact their return on investment (ROI).

Financial Calculators

• ​​Cost of Attendance (CoA) and Net Costs: see individual college websites, for example Claremont McKenna
• FAFSA Aid Estimator: In 5 min (with no PII) it provides you with your Student Aid Index (SAI). The lower you SAI (the range is -1,500 - 999,999), the more aid you're eligible for. To understand how the government calculates your aid, take the schools anticipated CoA - SAI - Merit Aid = Need (more on that here).
• UC Campus Aid Estimates: UC Website​​ 

​

Steps to Aid

1. Determine Cost of Attendance (COA)
2. Calculate Student Aid Index (SAI) with the Aid Estimator (formerly your Estimated Family Contribution or EFC)
3. Financial Need = COA - SAI - Merit Aid
4. Explore Ways to Pay
   • Scholarships and Grants
   • Work Study (or just getting a part-time job)
   • Tax Credits and Deductions
   • State Tuition Programs
   • Community and Military Service
   • Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
   • Student Loan 
5. Apply for Aid (estimated figures may be used and later updated)
   • Submit FAFSA: All students seeking aid must complete. Typically available October 1 (it was rolled out late for the 2025 2024 application season due to form updates).
   • Submit CSS Profile: Form required by ~150 private colleges (e.g., Stanford and Santa Clara). Available October 1. This looks for institutional (rather than federal) aid, but is still need based.
6. Conduct Scholarship Search
   • Raise.me gives out "micro scholarships" (starting in the 9th grade) for getting good grades and taking rigorous courses! Watch this video to learn more
     
   • Obtain local scholarship packets from high school
   • Research opportunities on Fastweb
   • Search for additional scholarships on Scholarship Search by Sallie Mae
   • Comb college websites for institutional scholarships.  

Books to Read

The Price You Pay For College: An Entire New Road Map by Ron Lieber