<p>So, I see a lot of questions about EFC on here, but none fit my question. I am an independant student with an EFC of $3900. I knew that I would have to pay some, but that seems so steep, considering I only made $15,582 last year (and all of that went to bills and tuition at my community college!) I didn't qualify for a Pellgrant like I was hoping, but I am still waiting to receive word from the school I am transferring to in the fall. On Collegeboard.com, they estimated the expenses at the school I am attempting to transfer to, to be $14,000. Does that mean that I would need to pay out of pocket for the $3900 EFC or does it mean that that is the part I will take out loans for? I am sorry if it is a confusing or even stupid question. I know I really just have to wait until I receive my acceptance letter and my award package, but it just seems like so long to wait. In the mean time, I am working 2 jobs and saving every cent I can that doesn't have to go to bills, I just hope it will be enough :(</p>
<p>First make sure you're really independent-- some students think they are becaue the've been living away from home and supporting themselves for a few years, but that's not the criteria the Feds use.</p>
<p>For $15.5K that EFC seems way high, unless you've got some assets that are getting assessed heavily. Try the FinAid calculator to see whether the EFC is coming primarily from income or assets. And with income under $20K, you may be eligible for the simplified needs test that excludes all assets, if you can file the correct short form 1040. Search here or at FinAid for "simplified needs test".</p>
<p>Oh-- in answer to the remainder of your question-- EFC is an estimate of how much the formula predicts you will be able to contribute to your education next year. $14K cost of college (including room and board, probably) less the $4K EFC leaves about $10K. The college will try to put together an aid package (grants, loans, and work study) to meet most of the 10K. Their package will include any federal aid you're eligible for.</p>
<p>OK, a couple of things. If you did the FAFSA already, and it reported EFC=3900, you might want to fine tune it some if possible to get EFC lowered to 3850 or less. 3850 is the Pell Grant cut off, and also the threshold for some other goodies.</p>
<p>Your other question reflects a common misunderstanding about EFC. EFC is not the amount you have to pay, though that would be a logical conclusion and nice if it were that simple. It is the minimum amount you have to pay, and your actual amount will probably be a lot higher. EFC is just the bottom number in a range of possible numbers. The gap between what the college charges and what you actually pay will be filled by grants and loans.</p>
<p>Koinaka-- did you by any chance list assets (probably checking/savings accounts) of about $19? That would account for the $3900 EFC in full-- and it would certainly argue for you to explore the simplified needs test, or as an alternative, see if you have any major purchases you've been putting off that you should make now, before filing FAFSA, in order to reduce the assets. Be aware that (although some say that you can't) that you can revise FAFSA to change asset numbers as well. It's a snapshot on the day you last hit the "submit" button.</p>
<p>And the flip side of that dt123 typed-- sometimes you'll end up paying less than the EFC. That's been our situation the last two years-- the college has a high estimate of the cost of attendance, including miscellaneous expenses, medical insurance (which we already cover), transportation, and a very high books estimate. Our actual cost of attendance was several thousand dollars lower than the estimate, which reduced the actual family contribution. (Noting-- that there are student loans included in the finaid package).</p>
<p>OK, so I went and checked my actual FAFSA form, my income was actually 15, 852 and my EFC was 3923. My assets are listed as $19. I am actually independant since I am 24 years old. Thanks for all of your replies. I guess I will just hope for the best. :) How would I go about "fine tuning" my Fafsa? I checked everything and it is all correct.</p>
<p>Fine tuning seems to be out of reach if you have no adjustments you can make to assets that would matter and your wages are accurately stated.</p>
<p>Maybe if you had a cooperative employer you could give back $150, or get that last paycheck in Dec. 06 in Jan. 07 instead, or reduce your hourly rate a little for the last few months, or something, which would reduce the available income by $150 or so and reduce EFC $75 to below $3850. Off the top of my head I can't think of any reason why it would not be kosher to play with your wages after the fact, as long as you are really giving the money back and the tax forms reflect the new numbers, but this is a definitely on the leading edge and it might not work.</p>
<p>The minimum Pell grant is $400, and for you might be a lot higher even. Plus you could get an ACG grant or SMART grant and subsidized loans, all of which depend on Pell grant eligibity.</p>
<p>Your assets were $19? or $19K?
$19K would fully explain that EFC-- it's all coming from assets, not income. Redouble your efforts to make the simplified means test work. Or spend down some assets.</p>
<p>sb7, I put his numbers in the FinAid EFC calculator and it came out like he said, with assets of $19. I have not had a reason to look at the calculations for an independent student before, and they do seem harsh.</p>
<p>Hmm. Was that with the box checked showing eligible for 1040a or ez? Seems high.</p>
<p>Just $19 dollars. I have no assets really. I mean, I am 24. Nothing I have is actually in my name. The amount of money I have in the bank varies from week to week depending on what bill I have. I live at home, but I have to pay a fraction of all bills (rent, food, gas, cable, internet) plus my car note, car insurance, cell phone and all tuition and books for my school now. It is a bit overwhelming to worry about trying to save up an additionally $4000 along with all of the other expenses that come with moving away to school.</p>
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Hmm. Was that with the box checked showing eligible for 1040a or ez?
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<p>A-firmative.</p>
<p>I think I read somewhere that independant students do not qualify for the automatic zero EFC even with income below $20,000. Seems really harsh.</p>
<p>That is about right,Koinaka. And at that rate you should be able to come up with the amount just from summer earnings if you live at home for the first 9 months of the year. It's about a quarter of your earnings that they expect you to pay for college.</p>
<p>That is not so much the issue, as you can borrow that amount of money if push comes to shove. The concern is if the college you are eyeing gives their students 100% of need. Otherwise, all that EFC means, is that you are eligible for some subsidized loans from the govt and if your state has some programs, it may make you eligible for some money there. If you look at USN&WR, they can give you some idea what the average financial aid package a given college awards and how its components. Most colleges do NOT give 100% of need, so it is doubtful unless you qualify for some special grant or merit in aid money that you are going to get every bit of what you need. The $19 is not your problem here as it is only assessed at 20%, a big $3.80; it is your income that is generating that number.</p>
<p><quote> That is about right,Koinaka. And at that rate you should be able to come up with the amount just from summer earnings if you live at home for the first 9 months of the year. It's about a quarter of your earnings that they expect you to pay for college. </quote> </p>
<p>True, I do plan on living at home until August when I will move onto a campus 3 1/2 hours away. I just hope that next year will be easier for me to get funding. I admit, I didn't really understand it everything about this. I never bothered to fill out a FAFSA when I was attending community college because it was relatively cheap and my parents always made too much. Now that their income isn't taken into account, I was hoping for more. I thought I would beable to just take out loans for the full amount of whatever I couldn't get grants for, I really didn't realize I would have to pay up front for up to and maybe more than a 1/3rd of tuition/expenses.</p>
<p>Koinaka, most parents I know who get their EFC are shocked. As one of the regular CC posters has said, "EFC stands for Every F...... Cent". The next shock comes when they get results from PROFILE that often goes into other assets that FAFSA ignores. That's when they realize that EFC didn't quite get it all. Single parents with deadbeat non custodial ex spouses especially get a slap in the face, and many of these kids find that a private college is not possible if that parent doesn't cough up an app and money. The next shock that occurs is that schools that use FAFSA alone very rarely give 100% of need. They gap. Sometimes they gap bigtime. The schools that do give close to 100% of need, and the ones who don't also tend to fill their packages with self help which are loans and work study, a real blow for those who were planning to meet their EFC with loans and jobs. If your package includes all of those, when will you have time to work, and you may get into dangerous amount to borrow. It is not a good situation for many kids. So actually you will be very lucky if that EFC is all you need to provide, as you should be able to save close to that amount over the summer, living at home. I just hope that your college comes up with a package that meets COA less your EFC without too many loans or work study in there.</p>