• Financial Aid
• Current Students
• Your Award Letter

Your Award Letter

Financial aid at Occidental College is need-based and can change from year-to-year. If you have questions regarding a change in your award from prior years, we encourage you to call the Financial Aid Office and speak with a counselor.

Re-Determining Eligibility

When we receive your FAFSA, Student Supplement, Parent Supplement, and supporting documents (such as tax forms), we reassess your eligibility for all financial aid programs. We use these documents to determine your expected family contribution (EFC). Your EFC is a measurement of what your family is expected to contribute towards college costs.

If your parents are divorced/separated, Occidental also takes into consideration the resources of your noncustodial parent when determining overall financial need. If your parents recently divorced/separated, this information is collected through the Noncustodial Parent Statement.*

Your EFC is determined by (but not limited to) some of the following factors:

• Total Parental Income (taxed and untaxed)

• Total Parental Assets (cash, savings, stocks, bonds, 529 accounts, equity on real estate property, etc.)

• Household Size

• Number of children enrolled at least half-time in undergraduate college

• Total Student Income (taxed and untaxed)

• Total Student Assets (cash, savings, trust funds, UTMA/UGMA investments, etc.)

Changes in these factors could impact your financial aid eligibility. For example, families may see a significant change in financial aid eligibility when older children graduate from college and are no longer considered "in college" for financial aid purposes.

Special Circumstances

When we determine financial aid eligibility we also consider circumstances which affect the family's ability to contribute such as, but not limited to:

• reduction in parental income due to lay-offs or furloughs

• loss of employment

• high medical/dental expenses not covered by insurance

• support of an elderly parent(s)

• other critical living expenses not previously considered

These special circumstances are captured by the information your family reports on the Parent Supplement and any subsequent forms your family may have submitted.

Financial Need

The full cost of attending Occidental involves more than tuition, fees, room, and board. It also includes books, supplies, transportation, and personal expenses. To determine your eligibility for financial aid programs, we take the cost of attendance (COA) minus the expected family contribution.

COA - EFC = Financial Need

Financial need determines eligibility for the different types of financial aid awards: scholarships, grants, work programs, and loans. 

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