Thoughts on Financial Need

How do we determine financial need?

For the first time, we will be using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Student Aid Index (SAI) in combination with several other factors, including number of children in college, adjusted gross income and primary home equity, to determine a financial need score for each applicant.

You will be required to provide a copy of your FAFSA Submission Summary, a document that shows the information you submitted on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The summary contains your Student Aid Index (SAI), a calculated number based on the information you submit on your FAFSA application and is intended to represent your family's financial strength and ability to pay for college. The index ranges from -1,500 to 999,999. 

You can access your FAFSA Submisson Summary after the Education Department processes your FAFSA, typically one to three days after you submit the form. To find your FAFSA Submission Summary, log into your StudentAid.gov account and check your main dashboard. You'll find the date you submitted your FAFSA, the date it was processed and a link to view your summary. To download a copy of your summary, select the "Print FAFSA Submission Summary" button in the upper-right corner of your dashboard, and save the document as a PDF.

The FAFSA is scheduled to open on December 1st. We strongly encourage families to submit the FAFSA as soon as it is available. The 2025–2026 FAFSA is expected to be available to the public on or before December 1, 2024. If you need help applying for FAFSA, a helpful resource is the MEFA website.

If you do not plan to submit the FAFSA, contact us at brunner@sudburyfoundation.org to discuss.

How do we use THE FINANCIAL NEED SCORE?

Once we calculate a financial need score for all of our applicants, we look at the range from the current pool of applicants and set the score ceiling for the current year. Students with scores above the ceiling are taken out of consideration.

Even if a family meets the financial need threshold, their level of need still plays a role in their overall assessment process. We score applicants based on three factors: Financial Need, Academic Performance (GPA) and Merit (which includes extracurricular activities, community service, work experience, letters of recommendations, and essays). Scores from the three factors are combined to generate an overall score. Students are then ranked based on this overall score. Students with higher overall scores will be invited to interview.

Will you qualify for an Atkinson Scholarship?

Families often 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. It depends on the pool of candidates each year.

Please contact Tricia Brunner at 978-443-0849 if you have any questions or would like to discuss your financial situation before applying.