Sample financial aid package

Now that we've discussed financial aid packages in general, let's take a look at a few example packages for students at Stanford University.  These packages  are not meant to indicate exactly what you would receive if you were accepted at Stanford; rather, it is meant to give you a sense of how financial packages can be constructed across a variety of income levels.

You can find more information about financial aid awards at Big Future.

First up, we have an example financial aid package for a student coming from a family of 5 that makes $41,000 / year.  This package is built assuming that the student is the only child in the family attending college (if multiple children are attending at the same time, it can increase the amount of need-based aid a family receives).

The cost of attendance per year is listed at $63,206.  The student received a total of $60,206 in need-based scholarships/grants, covering nearly the entire cost of attendance.  This leaves a net cost for the student of $3,000/year which he/she can cover through work-study as recommended below:

Next we have an example financial aid package for a student coming from a family of 4 that makes $85,000 / year.  This package is built assuming that the student is the only child in the family attending college (if multiple children are attending at the same time, it can increase the amount of need-based aid a family receives).

The cost of attendance per year is listed at $63,206.  The student received a total of $50,706 in need-based scholarships/grants, leaving a net cost of $12,500/year for the family to cover.  The package recommends that the parents contribute $7,500 and the student contributes $2,200 from earnings or savings; however, those amounts could be supplemented by Federal Loans if desired.  Finally, it is suggested that the student cover the remaining $2,800 through a work-study job:

Finally, we have an example financial aid package for a student coming from a family of 4 that makes $185,000 / year.  This package is built assuming that the student is the only child in the family attending college (if multiple children are attending at the same time, it can increase the amount of need-based aid a family receives).

The cost of attendance per year is listed at $63,206.  The student received a total of $8,206 in need-based scholarships/grants, leaving a net cost of $55,000/year for the family to cover.  The package recommends that the parents contribute $50,000 and the student contributes $2,200 from earnings or savings; however, those amounts could be supplemented by Federal Loans if desired.  Finally, it is suggested that the student cover the remaining $2,800 through a work-study job: