How does home equity affect the calculation of the parent contribution?
The family that has equity in a home is typically in a stronger financial position than one that does not. For that reason, we believe that it is important to include home equity in the consideration of a family’s ability to pay for educational costs. However, a large amount of equity is not particularly helpful if the family income does not support use of that equity. In Stanford’s calculation of the expected parent contribution, we cap the amount of home equity considered at 1.2 times the total family income.
