<p>For the institutions that say that they meet 100% of demonstrated need (most Ivies), how exactly do they calculate that? I know it depends mostly on your family's yearly income, but what do they consider in that? Do they use the most recent tax year, or current employment?</p>
<p>My situation is a little weird. Let's say Parent 1 has been making about 60K a year for the past several years, while Parent 2 has been unemployed for several years. Thus, our most recent tax records reflect a family income of about 60K.
However, Parent 2 started a job this week with an income of 150K. So now the family income will be about $210,000, which doesn't qualify us for much, if any, financial aid even from the really generous institutions.</p>
<p>So will colleges consider our yearly income to be 60K or 210K?</p>
<p>Your income from 2013 will be used for aid for the 2014-2015 academic year. HOWEVER, you apply for need based aid annually. With a $200,000 income in 2014, it is doubtful,that you will get need based aid for,the 2015-2016 school year…your sophomore year.</p>
<p>You and your family need to consider that college is a four year proposition, and figure out what you can afford for ALL four years, not just your freshman year.</p>
<p>It is the income you actually had for base year. So if your income was $60k in 2013, 2014-2015 aid will be based on that. Of course you have to reapply every year, so if your income is $210k in 2014, 2015-2016 aid will be based on that income.</p>
<p>Best would be to run each school’s net price calculator based on the 2013 income (probably about $72,500 assuming a month of parent #2’s $150,000 annual income) and future income ($210,000) to see what you might expect in the future.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that many colleges that meet 100% of need do their own calculation of need, that may be different from the EFC on the FAFSA. The calculations can be different because the colleges that provide the most aid typically ask more questions than are asked on fafsa (such as on the Profile forms).</p>