The Choice has invited Marie Bigham, a former college admissions officer and veteran college counselor, and Mark Kantrowitz, a financial-aid expert, to answer your questions about comparing financial aid offers and deciding where to enroll in the blog’s virtual Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.
 
The moderated Q. and A. session, which began on Monday, concludes with this post.
 
In this fifth and final installment of answers, the panelists respond to questions about replacing need-based aid with merit aid, the benefits of the International Baccalaureate program, how to calculate your expected family contribution, and options for undecided students.
 
Some questions, and answers, below have been edited, including for length and style. — Tanya Abrams
Replacing Need-Based Aid With Merit Aid

Q.My daughter has just accepted an offer of admission to a college that gave her a large, no-loan, financial aid package including both merit-based and need-based aid. She is also a National Merit finalist, and the college is a sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship. We learned through a call to the financial aid office that they will give her the National Merit Scholarship, but at the same time will reduce her need-based aid by the same amount. Her total award would be no different, therefore, with or without the National Merit Scholarship. I feel that this is reasonable; she however, sees it differently. Can you help us make sense of this? Is it common practice, and is it fair?
 
— JK
 
A.Mr. Kantrowitz: Receipt of a merit-based scholarship reduces the student’s financial need. The need-based financial aid package must be reduced to compensate.
 
At a college with a generous no-loans financial aid policy, there are no loans to reduce, so the receipt of a scholarship (regardless of the source) leads to the displacement of need-based institutional grants.
 
Displacement is a widespread practice. Unfortunately, federal, state and institutional rules currently preclude a student from using merit-based aid to reduce the family’s share of college costs.
 
In this example, all of the funds, need-based and merit-based, are coming from the college, so it would seem to be fair. But it is less fair when some of the funds come from a private scholarship provider, since the student gets no net financial gain from the scholarship. It is also frustrating for the scholarship provider, who awards a scholarship to try to improve outcomes for the particular student, not the institution as a whole.
 
A possible workaround would involve appealing to the college to increase the student’s cost of attendance, if there are family financial circumstances or unusual expenses that would justify an increase. For example, the student should keep receipts from the purchase of textbooks and appeal for an increase in the textbook allowance if actual costs are higher. Since financial need is the difference between the cost of attendance and the expected family contribution, increasing the cost of attendance will increase financial need, perhaps allowing the student to keep more of the need-based aid.

Calculating Savings From International Baccalaureate Credits

Q.I am trying to assist my nephew, who is No. 1 in his high school class and a member of the International Baccalaureate program. This program is said to offer lucrative financial awards and college credits. He has been accepted at the University of Miami and the University of Florida. Financially, his family is not in a good place because of a pending divorce. I am wondering if and how I could help him to sell himself to the private university in order to get more assistance than has been offered. Also, how do I calculate the credits he has earned in the I.B. program into the four-year costs in order to determine if he will be able to attend the college of his choice?
 
— Ronnie Snitker
“While I.B. and A.P. courses are rigorous, they aren’t always as rigorous as college-level courses.”
 
— Marie Bigham
 
A.Ms. Bigham: The I.B. program offers an outstanding, rigorous preparation for college. I wish that theory of knowledge, a class required for the I.B. diploma, would be required of every student.
 
I’m not sure if the I.B. program offers financial incentives, though some colleges may award advanced placement or academic credit. Reach out to the advising offices of both universities and ask them to assess the I.B. credits. They may not be able to give your nephew a full assessment until he finishes his I.B. exams at the end of the year, as the credits or placement awarded may be linked to a score threshold. They will also be able to tell you a maximum number of credits he can gain.
 
A thought about getting advanced placement or credits via I.B. or A.P. courses: I don’t always encourage students to take advantage of this, particularly in sciences and math. While I.B. and A.P. courses are rigorous, they aren’t always as rigorous as college-level courses. Even if a student earns a 5, the highest score, on A.P. Calculus, that class may not be as in-depth or challenging as the college equivalent. (Dartmouth recently announced that it will no longer give college credit to students who score well on A.P. exams.)
 
Perhaps it’s better for a student to take the college-level course, dig further into the topic and hone their understanding than it is to push ahead.
 
You can help your nephew appeal his financial aid decisions, but the colleges will not make changes without compelling information that was not presented before. Information about the divorce will be helpful, but won’t have an impact until the parents actually divorce.
“It doesn’t hurt to ask for more financial aid, so long as you ask politely. But recognize that it is the information you provide that will potentially result in more financial aid, not the request itself.”
 
— Mark Kantrowitz
 
Mr. Kantrowitz: When colleges offer merit-based or need-based aid, it is often awarded in a very formulaic manner.
 
Appealing for more aid generally does not result in an increase unless the family provides information that was not previously available to the college. This is especially true of unusual financial circumstances. For example, when the divorce is final, the student can ask the college for a professional judgment review to adjust the amount of financial aid. (College financial aid administrators rarely make an adjustment in anticipation of a future change.)
 
It doesn’t hurt to ask for more financial aid, so long as you ask politely. But recognize that it is the information you provide that will potentially result in more financial aid, not the request itself.
 
Each college decides how A.P. and I.B. credits translate into course credit at the college. In some cases the credits will substitute for general requirements but not substitute for a particular course. The amount of course credit will also depend on the score achieved on these exams. Some colleges require a minimum grade to qualify for course credit, and higher grades lead to more course credit. There may be a cap on the total amount of credit for which a student can qualify.
 
Look on the college’s Web site for a chart that shows how the A.P. and I.B. credits translate into course credit. For example, the University of Miami and the University of Florida provide information on how I.B. credits translate into course credit on their Web sites.

Calculating Your Family Contribution

Q.How do we calculate our “expected family contribution”? We can contribute the same amount we pay to have our child at home with us, but no extra. But what is that amount? How can we figure out how much it costs to have person at home? I can get as far as dividing our grocery bill by number of eaters and determine what it costs to feed her, but then…? I cannot find a calculator online.
 
— Shannon Jones

A.Mr. Kantrowitz: The expected family contribution is calculated using a complicated formula based on the income, asset and demographic data provided on a financial aid application. The general philosophy is to assess a portion of discretionary income, where discretionary income is what’s left after mandatory costs are subtracted from total income.
 
Total income is the sum of adjusted gross income and certain discretionary types of untaxed income, like voluntary retirement plan contributions. Mandatory costs include allowances for taxes and a minimal living expense allowance.
 
The easiest way to calculate the E.F.C. is to use an E.F.C. calculator, like the one at FinAid.org, or the Department of Education’s Fafsa Forecaster.
 
The E.F.C. is usually a very harsh assessment of the family’s ability to pay and is often more than what the family feels it can afford.
 
Ms. Bigham: While you can get a general idea of your E.F.C. via the Fafsa Forecaster, keep in mind that some colleges will use their own methodology that will take into account more than the Fafsa Forecaster considers.
 
Do not assume that the E.F.C. you see early in the process will be the same E.F.C. that colleges will assess when they have a full picture of your financial situation.
 
Additionally, if the Fafsa or the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE (another financial aid form used by many private colleges) cannot adequately cover all of the circumstances of your financial picture, you should write a “special circumstance” letter to each colleges’ financial aid office.

Options for Undecided Students

Q.My daughter has just been accepted to two good universities, but she is not sure of what she wants to study (hence, she applied to arts, undeclared). The cost in tuition and room and board would be quite high. Should she just look for a vocational program instead? What are the chances today of transferring from community colleges to universities after two years in California? (This would be an out-of-state option, so we would not be saving money.) How critical is it to have a bachelor of arts degree out in the job market, as opposed to a vocational two-year certificate? Would she have very limited options without the degree? She is considering taking a year off to figure things out, just working.
 
— Michael
“Majors do not matter as much as one may think.”
 
— Marie Bigham

A.Ms. Bigham: Many students are undecided when they enter college, even if they don’t know it. The majority of students change their majors in college, and several major changes are not unusual.
 
Consider how much students are intellectually exposed to in college that they had not explored in high school. High school students may say they want to study business, engineering or a pre-med track because that’s what they know in high school. Then college exposes them to a wide range of academic disciplines they did not delve into in high school. The higher education system in the United States, for the most part, encourages exploration and even major changes while still allowing students to graduate in a reasonable amount of time.
 
I suggest that your daughter chooses a four-year college with a broad range of offerings and a strong advising system. Encourage her to take a broad range of introductory courses to see what piques her interest.
 
Additionally, check out the career services office at any college she’s considering. How do they work with students who have broad interests? How do they help students identify their skills and potential careers?
 
A recent study shows that employers are more concerned about skills like communication, interpersonal skills, and the ability to handle complex situations. Majors do not matter as much as one may think.
 
Finally, the economic downturn of 2008 showed that people with four-year degrees fared better in the job market than those with associate vocational degrees. I would encourage your daughter to attend a four-year college, if at all possible.
“If her goal is to ultimately obtain a bachelor’s degree, taking a detour through a community college may ultimately cause her to miss her destination.”
 
— Mark Kantrowitz
 
Mr. Kantrowitz: If your daughter’s goal is to obtain a certificate or associate degree, a community college is a good choice. But if her goal is to ultimately obtain a bachelor’s degree, taking a detour through a community college may ultimately cause her to miss her destination.
 
Among students who intend to obtain a bachelor’s degree, only one-fifth of those who start off at a two-year college graduate with a bachelor’s degree within six years. This compares to two-thirds of the students who start off at a four-year college.
 
Most students who transfer from two-year colleges do not end up at the most selective colleges. Your daughter might not be able to get into the same colleges after spending a year or two finding herself.
 
It might be better for her to start at whichever of the colleges has a broader variety of options and a stronger advising system. She could start off taking survey classes to help her decide what fields spark her interests. It can also help for her to make a list of the topics she likes and dislikes. Her high school guidance counselor might have tests she can take to help her identify her strengths and goals.
 
Another possible solution is for her to look through the college’s course catalog, circling every class that strikes her as interesting. Then count the number of classes she circles in each major as a way of ranking the majors.
 
If she decides to take a year off between high school and college, she could ask one of the colleges to defer her admission for a year. But she needs to have a plan on how she will figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. Spending the time without a plan will just be a way of avoiding the decision instead of facing it directly. Procrastinating won’t help her.
 
The income from working as a high school graduate will be much less than the income from working as a college graduate, so there’s no real advantage to taking off a year to work before college. (Plus, she may find it difficult to get a job without a college degree in the current economy.)
 
I don’t recommend taking a year off between high school and college because students get out of the mode of studying. Students who take a year off are also less likely to graduate.
 
Whether a job requires a bachelor’s degree or an associate degree or a certificate depends on the job. Some jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree may pay better than some jobs that require a bachelor’s degree (e.g., an electrician’s certificate or H.V.A.C. tech). On average, however, the jobs that require a bachelor’s degree earn higher salaries.
 
Going to a two-year college will not necessarily solve your daughter’s indecisiveness, since she will still need to decide what she wants to do at the community college or vocational program.