The Department of Education defines need as the difference between how much college costs and how much you can actually pay for it. The Financial Aid Office uses the following federal need-analysis formula to compute need for every student who applies for federal aid:

Cost of Attendance (COA)
-Student Aid Index (SAI)*
=Financial Need

Catholic University does not meet full need. Your financial aid offer generally will not meet your entire calculated financial need because each federal aid program has annual and aggregate limits per student.  The difference between the Financial Need and your financial aid offer is considered unmet need. Unmet Costs is calculated by taking the COA and subtracting the financial aid. However, there are several aid programs and options that families can consider to fill the unmet costs.