<p>For the rental property, it probably doesn’t matter what was paid for the property; what matters is current equity which is the difference between current value and what is owed.</p>
<p>If your $800 was earned income, it makes absolutely no sense (as you say) that your expected contribution would increase by thousands just because of this income.</p>
<p>@Middkid86 Like I said to BrownParent, this is what USC financial aid told me. I’m looking at my CSS profile right now and there are no larger than expected numbers there. Unless the $900 rent, my grandmother’s home we live in, or my $800 of income last year is the reason to blame, then I do not know what is. I thought looking at the offer that USC was giving me a fair amount (66%). It wasn’t until we heard that the $23k left was partially based off my small income did we start questioning why FAFSA and USC were so off from each other.</p>
<p>If you don’t own your grandmother’s house, then it is not considered (you are a renter). What is considered is the value of the house you rent out and the income it produces. A $110k house you bought 14 years ago may be worth a million now. You need to know the equity. If the FA counselor said it was he $800 income to you, she is wrong, or you misunderstood her. Call the office again. Ask to go through your filings line by line if you think there is an error. Ask them how they figured your assets and needs. Yes, they might expect you to sell the house since it is just and asset, just like a bank account is just an assets (that you need to pay for food and clothing and housing).</p>
<p>The officers are very very helpful. I’ve been on the phone three or four times this week with the schools my kids are going to, just trying to clear up a few things, get copies of bills, ask questions. They are very patient, and I know they’ve answered the questions a million times in the last few days.</p>
<p>That $900 a month on YOUR house is income…and the equity in THAT house is an asset. if USC assesses home equity for primary home in its calculations, your equity in the half of grandma’s house that is now yours is also considered.</p>
<p>$800 in YOUR income alone would not give you the $23,000 balance. There are other contributing factors…or a mistake on your forms.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Assets for “Grandma’s house” would count at .50 of current value and the other home = current value minus amount owed. Plus income from the rented home. </p>
<p>They don’t have to sell the house–usually people borrow against it. thesportsman, if you personally earned 800 then half of that goes to your expected contribution. Maybe that 800 but you out of range of Pell Grant? Are you getting 5730 Pell Grant? </p>
<p>Do you see that you are not considering current market value of the house? You are only talking about what you bought it for and how much you owe. If it went up in market value, they will use that. But double check all your numbers again.</p>
<p>Um…no. If the student earns $800 and NONE of it is in the bank the day he files his FAFSA…then NONE would go towards the FAFSA EFC. There IS an income protection for the student. </p>
<p>If the $800 is in the bank, 20% of it would be added to the FAFSA EFC…$160. Certainly NOT $23,000.</p>
<p>@OP, are u including the 900/mo rental income in your parents’ 50k income? </p>
<p>thumper1 - Perhaps I’m misinterpreting what you’re saying, but I don’t think whether he has it “in the bank” or not makes any difference. If OP has $800 in cash under his mattress or $800 in a bank savings or checking account, it will still get treated the same for FA. Now if he spends the $800 before filing the FAFSA, that’s a different story; OP no longer has the asset for FA consideration.</p>
<p>20% of a student’s assets over the protect amount (which I think is $2000) is assessed. A percentage of earned money over the protected amount is also assessed. Never is 100% expected to be contributed by student. FAFSA asks what student earned in the tax year, and what is in the bank (or under the mattress) on the day the FAFSA is filed. Two different numbers.</p>
<p>$800 isn’t moving the EFC much, if at all.</p>
<p>Midd…right. If he HAS the $800 in any way, he has a 20% assessment on that $800. I didn’t think students had asset protection. The do have income protection. But I could be wrong about that!</p>
<p>Regardless…even IF the whole $800 is assessed at 20%…it would be $160. Not $23,000.</p>
<p>As has been pointed out, FAFSA and Profile are two very different systems. But even FAFSA should have used the value of the home (less any mortgage) the family is renting out as an asset, so the super-low FAFSA number doesn’t make sense to me. Perhaps the FA office adjusted the FAFSA? Are you still getting a Pell Grant? </p>
<p>Profile also adds back depreciation and amortization, so your family’s income can show up as quite a bit higher in that system, along with the assets being higher. Makes sense – a family with the same income that doesn’t own a rental property has less resources to pay for college.</p>
<p>Student has $2,500 in the bank currently, so perhaps that was included when he filed.</p>
<p>20% of $2500 is $500, not $23,000. </p>
<p>The 800 may have taken OP over some $ tier USC uses- " I had an income of $800 on our taxes" sounds like his parents included the amount on their taxes. Was it even taxable, at that low amount? As for the rental, I;d want to know what “current value” the family used. OP says he;s checking numbers and they look right-- but someone said he has to check he put those “right” numbers in the “right” places on the Profile. Eg, as soeone mentioned, “Your” income is you, the student, not you the parent filling it out. </p>
<p>Was the income on a W-2, a 1099-Misc or neither?</p>
<p>What Im concerned about - admittedly I don’t know anything about state aid in Ca, is that OP has mentioned several times that some of these scholarships are only for this year.
I dont know if he meant that the * numbers* are for one year of school, which admittedly is a lot to get your head around if that info is new to you, or that the scholarships may not necessarily be renewable for his course of study.
In which case Id say, try and get it in writing that the funds you need to attend, will be there.</p>
<p>I guess I am also confused by a full Pell grant, but a EFC of $23,000.</p>
<p>^I think USC or OP’s parents made a mistake, because a full Pell Grant means a very low EFC.
OP, call USC again, ask to go over everything line per line. Mention right off the bat that you’re full Pell eligible, as this doesn’t mesh with $23,000.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 @emeraldkity4 </p>
<p>The student seems to have a low fafsa efc (hence the pell), but a high css contribution. this happens frequently because css counts business assets, home equity, NCP info, etc. </p>
<p>I suspect the problem is assets and possibly business deductions.</p>
<p>I think someone misheard when they said that the increase is due to student earnings. the increase is likely due to other things.</p>
<p>OP…when you say that your family has a 50k income, are you including the rent?</p>
<p>half of the primary home is theirs, and paid for…so likely a substantial asset. the home could be worth a million dollars for all we know…and half is owned by the parents.</p>
<p>the rental home has a higher value than its purchase price…minus mortgage.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>MYOS and Emerald, the Op wrote this in his OP to this thread. I took that to mean that his FAFSA EFC was $4000. He would not get a FULL Pell grant, but would get $1600 in Pell money.</p>
<p>I’m thinking Kelsmom may have hit the nail on the head. If the family AGI was below $50,000, and the kiddo had a means tested benefit like reduced lunch or SKIP, he might have been eligible for the simplified needs test which ignores assets (and student income, I believe).</p>
<p>HOWEVER the Profile used by USC would NOT ignore assets. If the assets have equity of $500,000 (and that house the family moved out of could well have that equity…especially if it is fully paid for), then the family would be expected to pay over $23,000.</p>