The first step in figuring out how much financial aid you receive is determining how much you  are eligible for HMC is committed to providing 100 percent of your demonstrated financial need. But how does HMC figure that out?

We use a standard equation used by colleges and universities all across the country. It looks like this:

But how do we come up with these terms? Let's break it down:

Cost of Attendance
Your Family Contribution (FC)
Family Contribution (FC) vs. Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

Cost of Attendance
Cost of Attendance (COA) refers to all the various costs associated with attending HMC, not just your tuition. The final tally includes tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, personal expenses and a transportation allowance. This is basically your budget for an academic year at HMC.

Your Family Contribution (FC)
How do we figure out how much you and your family can spend on college? Simple: we use the information you provide, to calculate how much each family should be able to contribute.This equation includes:

Your Parents' Contribution
Using your FAFSA, CSS/PROFILE and the other supplemental documents you provide, we  calculate how much your parents will be able to afford for college. Most HMC students are considered dependent, so it is rare for parental income or assets to be excluded from this equation. HMC expects both parents to contribute to your educational expenses, regardless of marital status. The custodial parent completes the CSS/Profile and the non-custodial parent must complete a CSS Non-Custodial Parent's Profile.

Student Contribution from Income
Based on your grade level, HMC requires a minimum expected contribution from summer earnings:

Freshman: $1,500
Sophomore: $1,750
Junior: $1,900
Senior: $2,000

If you typically earn more than this minimum expectation, your contribution from income will be higher. You're expected to contribute either 50 percent of after tax income or the minimum expected contribution (listed above), whichever is greater.



Student Contribution from Assets
We also figure in your assets (cash, savings and checking accounts, trust funds such as Uniform Gifts to Minors, stocks, bonds, savings bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, real estate equity).

When the federal government determines your aid, they assume you can contribute 35 percent of your assets per year. By contrast, HMC assumes you can contribute 25 percent of those assets each year.

Family Contribution (FC) vs. Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
The FC is not the same thing as your EFC (Expected Family Contribution), which you'll find on your Student Aid Report (SAR). The EFC is a figure the federal government calculates using your FAFSA information; it's used to determine how much federal assistance you'll receive. The EFC and the FC differ because they are derived using two different methods. Both methods use the information you supply when you apply for financial aid. The two methods are:

Federal Methodology
To determine your eligibility for federal aid (such as Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, Perkins Loans, the Pell Grant and FSEOG),  HMC uses a national standard called the Federal Methodology.The Federal Methodology considers the information provided on the FAFSA, including your family's income, assets, number of family members and number of family members attending college at least half-time (excluding parents).

Institutional Methodology
To get a more complete picture of your family contribution, HMC considers more than just your FAFSA. We also use information from CSS/Profile to determine non-federal aid, such as need-based scholarship awards from HMC.  About 60 percent of the funds HMC administers in Financial Aid come from our own resources (grants, scholarships or merit awards), rather than from the government. So the institutional methodology is very important to the evaluation of your need.

This institutional methodology starts with the FAFSA, but also includes the information you provide on your CSS/Profile and other forms. Because we use this additional information, we're able to take into consideration your family's home equity, business and other losses, as well as other indicators of financial strength. HMC also considers federal and state taxes paid, allowances associated with a reasonable cost of living and a reasonable protection of any parent's assets (using a standard allowance) for both emergency reserves and an assumed savings for younger siblings' college expenses.