Needs Analysis and Packaging
How a family's contribution is determined
The factors used in the process called "needs analysis" that determine a family's ability to contribute to college costs are: income, assets, total number of family members, and number of family members attending college. The computation allows for necessary family expenditures such as taxes, reasonable living costs, and unusual medical/dental expenses, and protects a portion of a family's assets as a retirement allowance. A portion of the family's assets is protected for family emergencies and college savings for younger children. A part of the remaining income and assets is assumed to be available for college expenses. If more than one child is attending college, the family contribution is divided accordingly. Student applicants for Pomona College aid are also expected to contribute between $1,900 and $2,200 from earnings during the summer and a fraction of any personal savings.
How financial aid eligibility is determined
Financial aid eligibility is the difference between the total cost of attending a given college and the family contribution. This total cost includes tuition and fees, room and board, an allowance for books, supplies, and other incidental expenses, and a travel allowance where warranted.
For example, assume an estimated cost of $25,000 at a state university. A student whose family contribution is $15,000 would have a financial aid eligibility of $10,000 if he or she lived in a dormitory at that state university. The same student would have a financial aid eligibility more than $42,000 if he or she lived on campus at Pomona.
How a student's financial need is met at Pomona
Since 2008, Pomona College has met the demonstrated financial need of a family using a combination of gift aid (scholarships and grants) and student employment. Any federal or state grants a student receives will replace Pomona Scholarship dollar-for-dollar.
EXAMPLE 1: Financial aid package for a first-year non-California resident whose financial aid eligibility is $34,000 might look like this:
| Pomona Scholarship | $31,500 |
| Student Employment | + 2,500 |
| Total Aid | $34,000 |
EXAMPLE 2: California resident receiving a federal Pell Grant whose financial aid eligibility is $34,000 might have a package that looks like this:
| Pomona Scholarship | $21,877 |
| Cal Grant | 9,223 |
| Federal Pell Grant | 400 |
| Student Employment | + 2,500 |
| Total Aid | $34,000 |