Scholarships & Financial Aid

How to Calculate Your Need

Each college or university to which you are accepted will determine your individual need based on the standard equation below. Our evaluation of your financial aid application results in an amount that you and your family will be expected to pay for the year's expenses. That expected family contribution amount should be approximately the same from one institution to another. As the costs of the various institutions differ, so will your need be different school by school. Let's take a look at the formula and what the various elements mean.

Determining Financial Need

Cost - Expected family contribution = Financial need
A college's or University's cost includes:

• tuition and fees,
• room and board,
• estimates for books, personal expenses and transportation to and from home each semester. (We estimate that you will need about $1,500 per year for books and personal expenses.)

The family contribution is based on:

• parents' income and assets, including home equity
• student's income and assets
• family size
• number of dependent children attending college in the same year
• other family income and expense information, excluding consumer debt

Need is the difference between the cost and what you and your family are expected to pay. Aid packages are designed to come as close as possible to meeting that difference.

Susquehanna expects all first-year students to have worked during the summer and saved at least $1,500 toward their expenses. Upperclass students are expected to save $2,000 each summer. Standard aid formulas calculate that students will use 20 percent of their personal assets (savings and investments) toward annual college expenses.

By entering your own information on the Internet, you can get an immediate calculation of your expected family contribution. One calculation option gives the results of the Federal Method for calculating eligibility for federal financial aid programs; another shows how some institutions (including SU) calculate eligibility for their own grant funds.

If you decide to apply, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the PROFILE form online. The FAFSA is required not only by Susquehanna but also by the federal government from each student who is applying for need-based financial aid. When filing your FAFSA online, you will need to obtain a federal PIN. The student and parent each must have his/her own unique PIN, which serves as an electronic signature. Susquehanna, along with many other colleges and universities, requires the College Scholarship Service (CSS) PROFILE form in addition to the FAFSA.