Hey guys I’ve not done the FAFSA yet, waiting for some checks to clear, but my DD is cooping this semester. I’ve read her coop $$ doesn’t count against her. Is there a line item that specifically asks how much $$ she’s made from co-op or do we just exclude that from her income? Thanks 
Her income from 2017 isn’t ON this FAFSA. Income from 2016 is used for the 2018-2019 fafsa.
^@kelsmom posted some info about the new DRT on this thread which is stickied on top of this forum.
It addresses the rollover issue and others
@thumper1 duh, you’re right not income her savings from her co-op. I was thinking she wouldn’t have to include the savings is that not right??
https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1718/help/totalcoopEarnings.htm
@SeeksKnowledge coop earnings are reported in question 44f
Thanks @mommdc!!
Financial aid like loan or Pell grant refunds don’t have to be reported as assets I believe, but I don’t think coop earnings are treated the same.
Can she spend down her coop earnings on next semester costs before filing FAFSA, or put them in a 529 account (making them a parent asset)?
@mommdc I keep reading conflicting info regarding her earnings and FAFSA. She can’t spend down and I need to get it filed because other DD needs it done for some grants she gets that are first come first served. I guess I could open a Roth IRA and put her coop money in there before filing. It’s easy enough to do with Capital One (used to be ING) and it’s just invested in a typical savings account so no worries on losing it.
edit to say I already paid this semesters tuition out of her 529 before we knew she’d get a co-op, so that is sitting at the college as a credit to be applied to spring semester. Geez this is all getting complicated!! She has about $4k, so that would only be assessed at 20% so $800 how much would that make our EFC go up if it was around 6300 last year??
What does your other DD have to do,with the COOP one? Their FAFSA forms do not have to be filed at the same time… do the DD who has the deadlines now.
New Q here: Is there any way a bank would let us take some money out of a CD before the maturity date to open an IRA?
We have some money we can put into an IRA now but not enough to reach to maximum allowable amount. And if we had an emergency like a car repair we would have a problem if we used all our savings.
What does your IRA question have to do with financial aid…or the fafsa? If you could,explain that…maybe we can answer.
Most banks will let you withdraw from a CD but not without penalty…unless the provisions of the CD allow that.
@thumper1 I’m just hoping to reduce the amount of our assets that will be considered in the FAFSA.
Of course it will be added back to get an income amount but it won’t be assessed as assets if it’s in an IRA.
I guess I’d have to compare if we’d lose more with the penalty than anything we could gain. … Now that I think about it, I’m not sure if it will make much difference for our EFC since it will be above our costs anyway…at least instate tuition.
Assets are only assessed at 5.6% of their value for FAFSA purposes…"y
Also…your 2016 income will be used. NoT 2017
@thumper1 Yes, I have to remember the ONLY 5.6% part and stop being obsessive.
Do you just have FAFSA schools @MACmiracle? If your income was under $49,999 in 2016 and you received reduced lunch, then simplified needs test would apply for FAFSA, and assets would be disregarded.
@SeeksKnowledge did you have one or two in college last year?
The parent EFC is calculated from income and assets, then divided by number of kids in college.
Then each kid adds to that their portion from assets (and/or income)
The college board EFC calculator is updated with 2018/19 formula (use federal methodology), you can enter different amounts of assets to see the final EFC.
I have a new question: What does the EFC really mean?
I got my EFC number in the email and my brother’s increased greatly for some reason. You’d think the number would decrease because now my family will have 2 students in college… Is the EFC representing how much my family can pay in total towards college for both of us? Or is it how much they can pay just for me?
It is really a number that tells you what federal government aid to expect. If your EFC is under ~$6000, you’ll qualify for a Pell grant. You’ll also qualify for a Direct loan of $5500 (freshman), some which may be subsidized by the government while you are in school. Many schools use the EFC to award school funds (and sometimes state funds) too. It is not a number that tells you what you will be expected to pay for college. Most colleges do not award full financial aid to meet the need of all students.
Did your brother put on his form that he will have a sibling in school? Unless one of you has a high income or money in the bank, your EFCs should be about the same, and about 1/2 of what it would be if only one child was in school.
Does my child need to request a FAFSA ID first, before a parent does? And should the child’s portion of the FAFSA be completed before the parent’s?
https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm
You and the student both need to get your own FSA ID. Ideally a few days before filing FAFSA because it needs to be cross checked with the SSA.
The student starts the new FAFSA application with their ID and later in the application it will ask for parent financial info and at the end you and student sign with your IDs before submitting.
Thanks @mommdc. I wasn’t sure if the student had to request an ID before the parent does. Seems like it doesn’t matter what order we request in.