UNDERSTANDING THE COLLEGE FINANCING PLAN (CFP)
WHAT IS THE COLLEGE FINANCING PLAN?
The College Financing Plan (CFP) is a standardized document created by the Department of Education that helps students easily compare financial aid offers from a variety of schools. The CFP summarizes information like cost of attendance components and aid sources to provide the student with an overview of their financial aid offer. The CFP is not a bill. It is an estimate of your costs and aid sources as of the date the CFP was created.
COST OF ATTENDANCE
The Cost of Attendance (COA) is a figure schools must create to provide the student with an estimate of how much it will cost to attend the university for an entire academic year. Each school is required to estimate the costs for tuition, fees, housing, meals, books and supplies, transportation and other personal expenses.
The COA consists of both direct and indirect costs. A direct cost is a cost that will appear on the student’s bill. Examples of direct costs include tuition, fees, on-campus housing and meal plans purchased through the university. Indirect costs will never appear on the bill but are estimates of the costs the student may incur as a result of being enrolled at the school. Indirect costs include books, transportation, personal expenses, commuter and off-campus housing and meals.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS
This section of the CFP summarizes the students’ sources of gift aid, which is aid that doesn’t need to be repaid. These include grants and scholarships from the federal or state government, the university or an outside scholarship agency.
NET PRICE
The Net Price shown on the CFP does not represent the actual out-of-pocket costs the student is expected to pay each year. The Net Price shown on the CFP takes the Cost of Attendance and subtracts all grants, scholarships and VA benefits the student is entitled to receive. The Net Price shown may be a bit misleading, due to the inclusion of the indirect costs. For example, the university is required to estimate the housing costs and meals for a commuter student, even though the university would not add that charge to the semester bill. This example also applies to the estimated costs for books and supplies, personal expenses and transportation. These costs will not appear on the semester bill but are included in the COA and the Net Price estimates.
HOW TO BEST ESTIMATE THE ACTUAL NET PRICE
To ensure the most accurate net price estimate, students should only consider the direct costs listed on the CFP. These costs would include tuition, fees, on-campus housing and meal plans purchased through the university. A summary of these costs may be found at www.gannon.edu/financial-aid. When determining your direct costs, you should always exclude the COA line items listed for off-campus residence and meals, books and supplies, transportation, and other educational expenses. Once the direct costs have been identified, you will then subtract the Total Scholarships and Total Grants to get a Net Price before loans.
NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING THE CFP?
If you have any questions about the CFP, a Financial Aid Counselor will be happy to assist you. Walk-ins are always welcomed, no appointment is necessary.
HOURS: Monday - Friday | 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
MODALITY: In person, virtual, by phone