• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
The Sudbury Foundation logo

The Sudbury Foundation

Investing in People, Place & Possibility

  • About>
    • Trustees and Staff
    • Racial Equity and Inclusion
    • Governance & Financials
    • About the Atkinsons
    • Rent The Grange
  • Programs>
    • The Sudbury Program
      • Recent Grant Awards
      • Sudbury Doing Good
      • Sudbury Nonprofit Directory
    • Children, Youth & Families Program
      • Recent CY&F Grants
      • FAQs: Working with Consultants
    • Racial Equity and Inclusion Grants
    • The Farm & Local Food Initiative
      • Recent Farm & Local Food Grants
    • The Atkinson Scholarship Program
      • Recent Atkinson Recipients
      • Scholarship FAQs
      • The Opportunity Grant
      • Thoughts on Financial Need
    • Resources for Nonprofits
    • Sudbury Grantee Login
  • Sudbury Doing Good
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact

Assessing Financial Need

September 5, 2012

Will you qualify for an Atkinson Scholarship?

College application season is underway and while our scholarship deadline isn’t until February 1, it is time to begin thinking about scholarship support to help defray the high cost of college.

Families often call and ask whether they’ll meet our financial need requirements. We’d like to be able to say a quick “yes” or “no” but there is no easy answer.

We use the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculation (Institutional Methodology) to assess need. The EFC formula combines a variety of relevant factors (such as adjusted gross income, assets, family size, etc.) into a single number which we use to compare family circumstances.

Does that number represent what a family can realistically afford to pay for college in any given year? No. But it does tell us that the family with an EFC of $20K probably has greater need than the one with an EFC of $30K.

A reasonable predictor of our EFC calculation is available on the FinAid.org website. It may be worth the time it takes to complete.

To estimate your EFC go to http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml and complete the form.

Be sure to indicate:

  • Show: Detailed Output
  • Methodology: Institutional
  • Use Tables for Award Year: Whatever the most recent year available (right now it’s 2008-09)

Input your financial information based on your most recent 1040 form(s) for parents and student.

There’s no need to answer the questions about Scholarships and Other Resources or complete the section on Estimated School Costs.

Click: Calculate

Scroll down to: Total Estimated Family Contribution: $xx,xxx  (This is your EFC)

How do we use the EFC at the Sudbury Foundation?

We request financial information on our application form and confirm its accuracy by requiring submission of 1040 forms and W-2s for students and their parents. We run the calculation, look at the range of EFCs from the current pool of applicants and set the EFC ceiling for the current year. In 1996, the first year of the program, our EFC threshold was $15K. In the last few years, the ceiling has fluctuated around $50-60K. Students with EFCs above the ceiling are taken out of consideration.

Once you meet the EFC threshold, your level of need still plays a role in our overall assessment process. We score applications based on three factors: Financial Need, Academics and Merit (which includes Leadership/School & Community Service/Work Experience). A higher EFC means a lower Financial Need score, in which case students must earn high ratings in our other assessment categories to receive a scholarship.

If you’re concerned about your financial eligibility, we encourage you to run the online formula. Keep in mind, our threshold shifts each year and is not set until after all the applications are in.

If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to call us.

Photo courtesy of  jessiejacobson.

Footer

Connect

Connect with
Sudbury Foundation:

Connect with
Sudbury Doing Good:

Sign Up for Email Updates
For Email Marketing you can trust.

Contact

The Sudbury Foundation
326 Concord Road
Sudbury, MA 01776

Email: General Inquiry
T 978-443-0849
F 978-579-9536

Our Programs

  • Our Programs Overview
  • The Sudbury Program
  • Children, Youth & Families
  • The Farm & Local Food Initiative
  • The Atkinson Scholarship
  • Sudbury Grantee Login

RENT THE GRANGE

Rent the Grange Hall in Sudbury
Learn more about the Grange

Copyright © 2023 · The Sudbury Foundation · All rights reserved.

en English
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germanit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanish