Understanding Costs
College can be expensive, but it’s worth it!
Click here to view a presentation that will help you gain a better understanding of the financial aid process.
Financial Aid is designed to augment family contributions, not replace them. To the extent that they are able, parents have the primary responsibility to pay for their dependent children's education. Students also have a responsibility to contribute to their educational costs.
CLU endeavors to provide financial assistance to help students and families to make attendance at CLU affordable and fair. Each student and family is different - our commitment at CLU is to evaluate and aid each student fairly and equitably so that we may aid as many families as possible.
- Cost of Attendance Calculation (COA)
- Tuition, Fees, Room and Board
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
- What is Financial Need?
- Categories of Financial Aid
- Guiding Principles
- The Financial Aid Package
Cost of Attendance Calculation (COA)
Direct costs: Tuition, Fees, Room and Board (if applicable)
Indirect costs: Books, transportation, etc.
Direct costs + Indirect costs = Cost of Attendance (COA)
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Two components: Parent contribution and student contribution
The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is calculated using data from the FAFSA and a federal formula. The need analysis formula is not a cash flow analysis but an attempt to measure the relative financial strength of a family to meet educational expenses over time.
The following calculators can be used to estimate a student's EFC. These are all free services and they will only provide an estimate of your EFC. The student's actual EFC is only determined by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
EFC Calculators
What is Financial Need?
Difference between COA and EFC:
Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need
Categories of Financial Aid
Need-based:
Student must demonstrate Financial Need in order to be considered for Need-based aid
- Grants (Federal, State, and CLU Grants)
- Federal Work Study
- Loans (Federal Stafford Subsidized Loan, Federal Perkins Loan)
Non-need-based:
All students will be eligible for Non-need-based aid, regardless of Financial Need
- Scholarships (CLU and Outside Scholarships)
- Loans (Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loan, Federal PLUS Loan, and Alternative Loans)
Guiding Principles
The awarding of financial assistance is based on the following principles:
- To the extent they are able, parents have the primary responsibility to pay for their dependent children's education
- Students also have a responsibility to contribute to their educational costs
- Families should be evaluated in their present financial condition. Financial aid measures a family's ability, not willingness to pay for higher education.
- A family's ability to pay for educational costs must be evaluated in an equitable and consistent manner, recognizing that special circumstances can and do affect its ability to pay
- The level of gift aid is a reflection of students' academic accomplishments and their Financial Need as determined by FAFSA
- Federal and State regulations require that institutions consider all forms of assistance in the process of meeting a student's Financial Need
The Financial Aid Package
The financial aid package consists of any or all of the following:
- Federal Grants: Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- State Grant: Cal Grant
- CLU Grants and Scholarships: CLU Grants, CLU Academic Scholarships, Other CLU Scholarships
- Self Help Aid: Federal Work-Study (FWS), Federal Stafford Subsidized Loan, Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Parent PLUS Loans, Federal Graduate PLUS Loans and Alternative Loans
Please note, if the financial aid package includes institutional gift aid, all or part of that award may be replaced with a named scholarship funded by our generous donors.
