If EFC on FAFSA says $20k, and the school offers $10k as a university grant, $9k as Cal Grant, and $8k as work study, and the tuition without room and board is about $60k, is this about what we can expect from the school?
Is the school expecting parents to borrow the rest? Income is just at about $100k, no mortgage, high equity, high COL, very little assets otherwise.
ETA: Is it the equity that is the problem? And are there some schools that will ignore equity? We’re in the Bay Area.
Is this a FASFA only school or did you also have to submit the CCS profile?
Assuming this is a California school since you mention Cal Grant?
Did you run the Net Price calculator on the school prior to applying? Is the estimate very different from your current offer?
The FASFA EFC is only used to determine Federal aid and the number listed is not what you are expected to pay. If the CCS was required, then EFC is not applicable. Most schools do not meet need and need is defined by them.
It’s in California. And CSS was required. Our situation changed which is why they gave us Cal Grant for middle class earners and work study. Prior to this change it was just the school grant. We knew it would be high but also knew there could be a change. The school did allow us to refile FAFSA even though the change won’t officially happen until this summer.
What is considered federal aid? Is it the loan that they offer at $5500 per year? I haven’t seen anything other than this in terms of federal aid.
So just making sure, whatever is the amount on the EFC that we should be able to pay does not mean that the school will give us enough so that we can pay tuition without borrowing?
I think I understand now. This may not be the school that overlooks equity. I think some schools do not consider it, but this school does.
The college grant will stay the same at $10k for all years according to the financial aid office. I don’t think work study can or should increase. Cal Grant is at its maximum. If the college were to give more aid, it would be from the school as opposed to the federal govt? And if they won’t budge with the college grant, then that’s the end of the appeal, correct?
I just reread your post and it’s starting to make sense. So the CSS trumps EFC. CSS can’t be revised but the school said it would be fine since they know the FAFSA was changed.
I don’t understand your post. The school cannot allow you to refile a FAFSA. That is a federal form and it is a snapshot of your income and assets as of the day it is filed. You cannot include future changes to income when filing a FAFSA, it is all based on what it is on the date of filing (and the tax filing for two years prior).
The school can consider special circumstances and adjust the EFC. The school can adjust the fafsa if it feels income or assets were incorrectly reported, but cannot change it to reflect a future change to income.
EFC is for federal aid, but a school can grant its own aid based on it. Federal aid is a Pell grant, SEOG, student loans, subsidized or not, with a max of $5500 for freshman, work study (and $8k in work study is a lot)
What public school in California charges $60k to residents?
Does this school say they meet full need for all students? They used CSS Profile to determine what your level of need is. It does sound like the CSS calculation is quite a bit higher than FAFSA…are the parents divorced? Own a home and/or real estate beyond a primary home? Own a business? Have other non-FAFSA reportable assets?
FAFSA is what determines federal aid…Pell Grant, fed work-study, direct student loans and their subsidized portion($5.5K total limit first year). I don’t understand the point about refiling FAFSA…there are some corrections you can make and some the school can make, is that the situation? It would help if you tell us the school.
Agreed, $8K will require a lot of hours, and obviously is earned as the year goes on. The school may not guarantee that much each year either. But, depending on location the student may be able to make more $ off campus.
Yes, most aid will come from the school. If your income dropped significantly you could qualify for a Pell grant. In the absence of extenuating circumstances, the appeal is likely to not result in meaningful change.
I didn’t see that OP said this is a public school? Some private schools disperse Cal Grants too.
The school is SCU. How do you determine which schools are meeting full need?
CSS couldn’t be corrected after submission so it’s not going to reflect what is on the FAFSA. And other than the primary home, there is not much of other assets.
According to the counselor, SCU will include Cal Grant.
There were 2 private schools that suggested refiling of FAFSA, but all it yielded was work study and Cal Grant which help but not enough. But I think I understand now that FAFSA deals with aid from state and federal level, so these colleges didn’t offer any more school aid other than the initial offer.
I don’t know the exact number for work study since I don’t have access to the letter right now. But it was a few thousand dollars. How do I determine how many hours the student needs to work? Do I use the city’s minimum wage?
SCU does not meet need for all students. Did you run their Net price calculator before applying? If so, what did that show for an estimated cost?
At this point, it does not seem SCU is affordable. What is your budget per year, plus the $5500 student loan, but no parent loans?
Eta: For work study assume a max of 10 hours per week. Ask SCU what their average work study hourly rate is.
The work study pay can vary on a campus. Most are paying higher than minimum wage now. $8000, would be roughly $15 per hour x 17 hours per week x 16 weeks of the semester x 2 semesters. (For reference for others, I have high school students clearing way more than that right now at all kinds of jobs. And colleges can hardly get kids to work on campus, so they can increase the rates and # of hours for those who want to work.) Just remember, work study comes as paychecks to the student…tuition is still due.
Concerning the FA packages - This is a frustrating process. Rerun the net price calculators with your new numbers and see if they come closer to the financial aid offers. If you updated FAFSA, you may need to update something in CSS, but they make that seemingly impossible.
Only about 100 colleges meet their definition of “meets full need.”
One thing to consider is trying to be an RA after freshman year. Many colleges provide some combo of room/board/direct pay. But they really need to want to take on this role.
You can ask SCU to do a special circumstance consideration if you have had significant income changes since the tax year the FAFSA was filed. You can’t just change that income amount on the FAFSA (or Profile) yourself.
SCU does not say they will meet full need for all. We don’t really know your full financial picture. It’s assets (and that includes a portion of primary home equity, I believe).
Do you have a significant financial change that could affect aid? If so…reach out to the school financial aid department tomorrow morning.
It may be that this school is just not affordable for your family.
SCU asked us to change FAFSA, so did another school. The income will go down a bit, but it’s from renting out the primary home, and the lease ends this summer, so we will move back. But I think even moving back will not mean more aid as there is equity and no mortgage.
The rental income equals the Cal Grant and work study. So I’m not sure if moving back will help with SCU. We could pay for year 1 with the hope that moving back would generate better aid in years 2-4, but it looks like SCU is not blind to equity.
D is very willing to work, and right now I don’t think Cal Grant plus work study is going to be more than the loss of rental income (as they are equal). If any of schools could give more aid in addition to the above, then moving back would work out. So if there are jobs on campus and not only reserved for work study students, then D will work.
Yes, if work study goes away in future years, there is no indication the job market recovers soon. There will be jobs on and near by off campus.
Seriously??? That advice is absolutely incorrect, and the schools that suggested that are in dire need of training (and a compliance officer). Did you do that already? If so, is there now an asterisk next to the EFC and a note that you were selected for verification?
Actually I do have another question:
For those getting financial aid that is not Cal Grant, federal loans or aid, but purely from the school, what would a school call it in the statement?
Is it a grant? Or some other name?
SCU mentioned today that the grant will stay the same for the next 4 years, given the same income and our moving back to the primary home (though that grant was already present without us moving back). Are they telling me that I don’t need to appeal because the grant which is the school aid will not increase at all? I think the counselor was trying to say that the grant is the same no matter unless something happens to income. I was trying to process what she was saying and not really understanding it. But a few hours have passed by and now that I’m reading replies here, I hope I have a better grasp. I need to move on to the next school.
If a school does not ask for profile, what does that mean for aid?
And thank you very much for responding. It really helped me with just figuring out everything.
I’ll go a step further than @kelsmom . Did you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when you filed the FAFSA? And if so…how did you change the income fields?
If you did not use the DRT, did SCU ask for copies of your tax returns from 2021?
How exactly DID you change the income field!