Paying Your Part of the Bill

Our Financial Aid Committee carefully considers all of your family’s detailed information from your financial aid application, which is used to determine your family’s ability to contribute to the costs of a Swarthmore education.

Expected parent contribution

Parents are expected to contribute toward college costs. The expected parent contribution is based upon our analysis of your family’s financial need. Our need analysis includes basic factors such as cost of living, family size, and taxes, as well as special circumstances like the cost of unusually high out-of-pocket medical expenses, elder care and child care expenses, and parents’ repayment of their own college loans.  

Expected student contribution

Students are expected to contribute an appropriate amount toward the cost of college. The expected student contribution consists of what you could save from working a summer job, what you might earn from a part-time campus-based job, and a portion of your assets (such as a savings account). Learn more about campus jobs and summer earnings expectations.

Other resources

Families may pay for their portion of the bill using several other resources, including:

If you receive veterans’ educational benefits, state rehabilitation benefits, or tuition grant money from your parents’ employers, you must report this aid to the Financial Aid Office because it is factored into our need analysis when determining your expected family contribution and may reduce the amount of need-based aid that you receive from Swarthmore.