<p>my family's efc is 40000 because we have a lot of money in the bank but my dad got laid off a year ago and my mom does not make a ton of money. will colleges realize we can't afford 40000 a year because of the unemployment or will they not care?</p>
<p>Are you still in high school? When you complete the FAFSA for next fall, you will be using 2010 income. If your dad worked for most of this year, has since lost his job, and either has no job or a job paying significantly less by next spring, you will be able to petition each college for a special circumstances review (based on expected income, rather than past income). </p>
<p>Even if your EFC remains high, you will be eligible for $5500 in unsubsidized Stafford loans at the very least. If you go to a community college or commute to a state school near home, it should be affordable. It’s only if you choose a more expensive school with no way to pay for it that things get sticky. You can certainly apply to more expensive schools & see what kind of aid comes your way … but also apply to & decide to be happy at a couple schools you know you can afford, in case that is what ends up being your best bet.</p>
<p>tutu…</p>
<p>There’s no way any of us can know how schools are going to handle your parents situation. We don’t know how much $ your parents have saved/invested, nor do we know how much your parents earned/will earn in 2010… We also don’t know if your dad will be re-employed by the time you could make an appeal.</p>
<p>You REALLY need to protect yourself from a possible negative outcome by applying to at least 1 or 2 schools that will give you HUGE assured merit for your stats.</p>
<p>If your parents cannot pay the $40k per year, and the schools won’t significantly reduce their costs, then you’ll be glad to have those safety schools in hand. </p>
<p>you don’t want to be desperate in the spring.</p>
<p>If your EFC comes out to $40k based on savings, you will be expected to pay $40K in most cases. There are lots of people who don’t work but have lots of assets.</p>
<p>You need to sit down with your parents and discuss your options. You need to identify financial safety schools. If you don’t qualify for guaranteed merit-based aid anywhere, your safety may be a community college or a public university that you can commute to from home.</p>