A formula that is administered by the College Scholarship Service and is used to determine financial need when applying for institutionally funded student aid.
Formulas used by many colleges, universities, graduate and professional schools, and private scholarship programs to determine an applicant's need and eligibility for their own private, non federal student aid funds. While similar in some respects to the Federal Methodology (see above), the Institutional Methodology differs in others. For example, the IM takes home equity into account and includes a minimum expected contribution from the student, but also permits more generous treatment of medical/dental expenses, elementary, and secondary school tuition paid, and child support paid.
An alternative method of needs analysis, used mostly by private colleges, to take a more detailed look at the family's income and assets, prior to disbursing their own grants and scholarships. Considers the home and the family farm as an asset.
A standard method of determining a student's or family's ability to pay for college used by individual colleges in awarding their own institutional funds for financial aid. However, colleges must use the Federal Methodology in awarding any federal funds.
A method of determining ability to pay for education from the student's and parents' current income and/or by drawing from assets and used to determine eligibility for institutional and campus-based federal financial assistance.
An alternative method used to calculate the family's expected contribution to college costs. This methodology is generally used by private and a few state schools to determine eligibility for aid funds under the school's direct control.Colleges that use the institutional methodology usually require completion of the PROFILE form.
The formula certain schools use in determining a student's financial need for non-portable financial aid.
If a college or university uses its own formula to determine financial need for allocation of the school’s own financial aid funds, the formula is referred to as the Institutional Methodology (IM).
A formula some schools devise to determine financial need for allocating their own institutional financial aid funds.
A formula more comprehensive than the Federal Methodology (FM) used by many colleges and aid-granting programs to determine student need.
A modified version of the federal formula used by some colleges and universities that looks at additional assets and/or resources in a student's household. The way student and parent contributions are calculated also is different. Use of an "institutional methodology" won't affect federal or state need-based grants but it may mean the college will expect more money overall from a family. Not all colleges use the Institutional Methodology. Most of the colleges that use the IM are selective, private colleges. Many colleges that use the IM require that students fill out a second financial aid form called the CSS Profile.
An additional formula for determining the family's ability to pay for college. Colleges use the results of the Federal Methodology to award federal financial aid but may use the Institutional Methodology to determine how to award institutional aid. The Institutional Methodology usually produces a higher Expected Family Contribution than does the Federal Methodology.