If everything were to stay the same on both year’s FAFSAs … and I mean EVERYTHING … there still could be an EFC difference due to annual changes in the FAFSA formula. Basically, the take-away is that the tax year will stay the same for two years in a row. That’s it.
@kelsmom True, but I would hope that the formula would not lower the amount of money an independent student can earn. Right now, $12,000 gives you an EFC of 0 and that is not even enough to live on, pay health insurance, etc., let alone pay for school.
@kingpin2 No one here is a mind reader…so no one can tell you if or what changes in the formula will take place. For example, the asset protection allowance for parents has significantly decreased. That could happen again. The income level for auto $0 EFC has decreased, and that could also happen again.
No way to predict…no crystal ball.
ETA…schools also change THEIR formulas and policies for awarding need based aid as well.
@thumper1 Right… and college costs just continue to skyrocket. VCUs tuition and fees went up ~$1400 for the 2015-2016 school year. College is becoming just for the rich again… I’m glad I’m already halfway through.
Not to mention, robots and AI are bound to replace 50% of the workplace at some point… probably in the next 10-20 years. And then society will have a bigger problem than our current college crisis.
Today, I spoke to a family friend, who is a former Director of Financial Aid. She stressed that the Department of Education can certainly mandate that universities use 2016’s tax information for verification purposes, which is something that will be determined by the Department of Education. Basically, she said that while they are switching to the new prior-prior year to make the FAFSA application more in-line with the college application process, they will still likely want to verify (for some people) that there has not been any significant changes in an applicant’s financial status before handing out aid in the fall. This would require the use of the current year’s tax information, which will readily be available by the time aid has to be dispersed for most students. If a student and/or his parents file for a tax extension, then the appropriate paperwork can be submitted as a supplement for verification.
So, until the Department of Education says otherwise, we can’t assume that 2016’s tax information won’t be a part of the financial aid process at some point (i.e. verification). For those who are selected for verification, the process will be even more gruesome. But, the percentage of people who are selected for verification versus those who are not is quite small.