Aid Eligibility

Your aid eligibility is the difference between the student’s budget and the family’s calculated contribution.

The student budget used to calculate aid eligibility includes the cost of tuition, fees, room and board as well as allowances for personal expenses, books, supplies and travel. For 2007-2008, the budget was:

 

Tuition	$30,438
Fees	222
Room	4,560
Board	4,220
Books and Supplies	800
Personal Expenses	900
TOTAL	$41,140

 

 

      It is important to note that student fees do not cover the actual cost of a Sewanee education. Gifts from alumni and friends and income from the University’s endowment provide every student with a subsidy to cover the difference between actual and assessed costs. Given every effort to keep costs down, they will nevertheless probably rise, at least to keep pace with inflation.

      As stated above, for the purpose of determining your aid eligibility, the formula is that a family’s calculated contribution, subtracted from the total student budget, determines aid eligibility.

Parents must provide detailed financial information on both the FAFSA and Sewanee Application and submit these forms as previously indicated. (It should be noted that all colleges to which a student submits his/her FAFSA will base their calculations on the same data; however, you should expect that different institutions will interpret and utilize the data differently.) Sewanee will merge the FAFSA data with the Application data and use both the nationally-mandated procedure and an institutionally-established methodology to analyze the data and determine the family’s ability to contribute to educational expenses. In addition to considering both income and assets, the analysis makes allowances for individual circumstances such as family size, number of children in college, and age of the parents. The Office of Financial Aid reviews the information, taking into consideration any special family circumstances (such as reported losses and situations which affect tax liability, but not usable family income), and arrives at an expected parental contribution.

 

In situations involving separated or divorced parents, Sewanee believes the non-custodial parent retains an obligation to assist the student with his or her educational costs. To this end, Sewanee will calculate an expected contribution from the non-custodial parent which is added to the calculated contribution of the custodial parent. Special circumstances regarding the non-custodial parent obligation will, as circumstances warrant, be taken into consideration.

 

In situations involving re-married parents, financial data from the step-parent(s) is mandated by law, and such data will be utilized in calculating the expected parental contribution. Pre-nuptial agreements do not apply.

 

Parents enrolling in college are not counted in the federal formula for determining a family’s contribution. Siblings attending graduate school will not be automatically counted in the “number in college,” as they qualify as independent students for federal aid purposes. If circumstances warrant, these situations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The University will confirm through the home institution the enrollment of any siblings included in your total number of family members in college. Should they not enroll as anticipated, your aid eligibility will be recalculated as necessary.

You will be expected to provide your own contribution toward your educational expenses from previous earnings, your savings, and any other external resources, such as government benefit programs, etc. A contribution from previous earnings will be included as a resource even if you chose not to work. This contribution from previous earnings will be used only for determining eligibility for institutional funds. While this expectation is in line with the documented earnings capacity of current students, the Office of Financial Aid is willing to work with students who, through no fault of their own, are unable to work. Twenty percent of your reported savings or any other assets (including the value of trust funds set up on your behalf) will be included as part of your own available resources. If you are eligible to receive Veteran’s Benefits these amounts will also be considered as part of your personal contribution. College pre-paid tuition plans established on your behalf are treated as an asset in determining the calculated parental contribution. Additionally, child support payments made on your behalf to the parent with whom you reside will be considered an available resource. As previously noted, you are also expected to apply for any outside awards for which you may be eligible.

      The parental and student contribution combine to make the family contribution which is then subtracted from the institutionally-determined student budget to arrive at your aid eligibility.

 

Your eligibility status as a dependent or independent student is currently determined by federally-mandated criteria. Students meeting one of the following criteria qualify as independent students:

            If you meet any one of the above criteria, you are considered to be an independent student, and the determination of an expected family contribution will not include consideration of your parent’s income and assets.

            If you do not meet any of the above criteria, you are considered to be a dependent student, and the income and assets of your parents must be considered in determining your expected parental and family contribution.

            If you qualify as an independent applicant, you will still be expected to file all of the forms a dependent student must file. Additionally, you may be asked to submit documentation of your independent student status. Whether you are single or married, your student budget will be identical to that of a dependent single student, due to federal requirements governing independent student budgets. Your spouse’s income (if applicable) will be included as a resource in determining your total aid eligibility, again due to federal requirements.