At Lehigh, we take the process of determining “need” very seriously.
How do we determine need? We take into account both the federal methodology and our own institutional calculations. A wide range of factors are taken into consideration, including parental income and assets, family size and number of dependent children in college, student income and assets, and many more. We may also take into account special circumstances such as loss of employment, loss of income due to disability or natural disasters, separation or divorce, death of a parent, and more.
To further enhance the university’s commitment and support for need-based financial aid, Lehigh recently introduced its Loan Elimination and Reduction Initiatives. For students who are eligible for financial aid, and whose family’s calculated annual income is less than $50,000, their financial aid package will not include any loans to meet their calculated financial need. For students who are eligible for financial aid, and whose family’s calculated annual income is between $50,000 and $75,000, the loan portion of their need-based financial aid package will be limited to a maximum of $3,000 per year.
Not sure you should apply for financial aid? There are a variety of custom resources on the web that can help you to calculate your Estimated Family Contribution and figure out how much your education will cost, how much you need to save, and how much aid you'll need. If your Estimated Family Contribution is lower than the cost of attendance, you may be eligible for need-based aid.
As a convenience to you we offer this list of a few of the most useful resources:
The College Board
A comprehensive site that provides an opportunity to calculate estimates of family contribution under both the Federal and Institutional methodologies. You can register for, and actually complete and file, the CSS Financial Aid PROFILE Application, required by Lehigh University for aid consideration, by using this site. View the College Board's
Expected Family Contribution Calculator.
The most popular calculators are the College Cost Projector, Savings Plan Designer, Financial Aid Estimation Calculator, and Loan Payment Calculator.
Sallie Mae College Planning Calculators
These college planning calculators are available in two forms--you can download free CollegeCalc software for your computer or use online tools: Forecasting college costs, Savings calculators, Estimating borrowing needs, Monthly budget calculator/worksheet or repayment estimator.
At this web site, you can obtain information about federal student aid as well as complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is required for all federal aid and most state grant programs.