Determining Financial Need

Financial need is determined based upon the information provided on the FAFSA and need analysis. The need analysis formula is termed Federal Methodology (FM) and is applied as set forth by the Department of Education. Federal Methodology was passed into Congress under the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended by the Higher Education Amendments of 1992.

Expected Family Contribution

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the amount that the student is expected to contribute towards his or her educational costs. The EFC is federally regulated and is established by the income, asset, and household information provided on the FAFSA. All graduate and professional school students are considered independent for financial aid need analysis purposes. Therefore, students are not required to report parental information on the FAFSA.

Financial Aid Eligibility

The financial aid eligibility amount is determined by subtracting the student's expected family contribution from the cost of attendance.

The need analysis calculation is as follows:

Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution = Financial Aid Need

Estimated Eligibility Notification

Once the Office of Financial Aid receives the electronically transmitted FAFSA information from the federal processor, each student who has been admitted to the School of Public Policy is reviewed for financial aid eligibility. The Office of Financial Aid offers financial aid packages that include scholarships, Federal Work Study, and Federal Direct Loans, Federal PLUS Loans for graduate students, and/or alternative loans. All estimated eligibility notifications total the full cost of attendance. The estimated eligibility notification serves as a listing of all of the financial aid that is being offered to the student. The estimated eligibility notification is available via WaveNet (student portal).