<p>My husband and I have worked so hard (almost every weekend, my husband works three jobs, no vacations, etc.) and finally we have gotten our income to a peak at $143k this past year in preparation for paying for college. Needless to say we haven't saved much for college. We have one other child (other than the one applying for next year) but he is attending a military academy so doesn't count as a dependent. We have $11k in savings, most of which was earmarked for our quarterly taxes. I was shocked to see the FAFSA stated an EFC of $35,550!!!! Does this sound right to you or am I just deluded expecting our EFC to be lower?</p>
<p>That sounds right for an income of $143k.</p>
<p>It is correct. Mine was very similar</p>
<p>That sounds right for that income level. </p>
<p>The EFC is very income driven. Your $11k savings will likely be having 0 impact as it is well below the asset protection allowance. The high EFC is based on your income.</p>
<p>What were you expecting it to be?</p>
<p>Your income is several multiples of the median family income. And if your child got into a school that covers full need, you’d get around $25-30K in aid. The rest you’re responsible for.</p>
<p>Colleges expect costs to be covered by past income (savings), current income, and future income (loans).</p>
<p>I’m confused. Wouldn’t a school have to cost $65k for them to get $30k in aid if their EFC is 35k?</p>
<p>
Yes.
Im also confused.
You say youve got your income up to $143,000 in preparation to paying for college, but that your savings are earmarked for taxes & you cant pay for college?</p>
<p>How much do you need to live on exactly?
If your FAFSA EFC is $35,000 ( and that sounds accurate), that is likely to be less than what PROFILE will say you can pay.
Can you pay $25,000?
You hopefully will be able to find some instate schools that are affordable.</p>
<p>Ok, I guess I was being naive. It’s too bad they don’t do income averaging. We have one really good year and it seems the assumption is we’ve had this kind of income in the past too. Seems like a disincentive to working as hard as we have…</p>
<p>If you don’t expect that type of income in the future, it may be advisable for your son to take a gap year.</p>
<p>Not really. Remember the vast majority of schools do not meet full need without loans. You are in a much better position to pay for college than someone with a low income is (except for at the rare full needs met schools).</p>
<p>emeraldkity4 - I was referring to the $11k in cking/savingsas being earmarked for taxes. I was out of work for 1.5 years undergoing cancer treatments 3 yrs ago and that caused us to go into debt so while we live a middle class life ($300k house with mortgage of $150k but with two economy cars averaging 12 years old) we don’t have as much disposable income as the income may indicate.<br>
Re: payment, I guess I assumed we’d pay $20-25K per year, so the $35k is 50% higher. We have to be saving for retirement too, we are old parents (54 and 58 yo).</p>
<p>Do you still have debt from medical expenses? You may be able to get some sort of professional judgement adjustment made if that is the case. You would have to talk to each school.</p>
<p>Is your child going to a school that will cost $35k or more?</p>
<p>Well given this EFC my child definitely won’t be going to a school costing $35k!!! </p>
<p>We have paid off most of our medical debt, we only have $20k left, but maybe it is worth mentioning to the schools. Thanks for that idea - I guess I feel funny calling them to tell them additional info but it sounds like lots of people do that from what I am reading here.</p>
<p>“we are old parents (54 and 58 yo)”</p>
<p>OUCH! :)</p>
<p>I feel your pain collegeparents, but since I know lots of parents who didn’t start their families till they were 40+, I still feel pretty young ( comparatively)</p>
<p>Did your child apply to any financial safeties? These would be schools that you KNOW you can afford? These would be schools that will give your child large merit for his stats or maybe a local public?</p>
<p>I’m curious…did you not use any of the NPC’s last fall???</p>
<p>You may not get much/any adjustment for medical bills when income is that high. It’s an odd formula that uses income.</p>
<p>Quarterly taxes…sounds like someone is self-employed. If so, then a CSS school may even expect you to pay more. What schools did your son apply to?</p>
<p>If you can pay $25k and your child has good stats, find a school that will give merit. There may be some whose deadlines haven’t yet passed.</p>
<p>What are his stats?</p>
<p>What is his major?</p>
<p>Yes. The EFC is seems right. Bear in mind that in most cases the EFC is the LEAST you will probably be expected to pay at schools that cost more. Few schools will use the EFC to determine your need package, and meet full need according to that figure. The schools that use EFC alone do not guarantee to meet need, and usually do not. The ones that do guarantee to meet need often us a more draconian formula as to what you and your student are expected to pay including things like your primary home value. </p>
<p>Why would your child in a militiary school not count? Is s/he at a US Military acadamy, post secondary like West Pt? </p>
<p>As others have said, your assets are below the allowance so your EFC is income driven. That’s what it is under current formulas.</p>
<p>College Costs are expected to be met by past, current and future income on part of the parents and students. You and and your student are expected to have saved some money, both of you are expected to work and put some of current earnings towards the cost, and you are expected to borrow as well. If your student has good test scores and grades, look for schools that have scholarships for those with her/his numbers. </p>
<p>At the $25K mark, most state schools will be affordable. Private schools , are just that, private. You expect to pay premiums for them k-12, don’t you? Well, the same goes for college.</p>
<p>
I know you’re just phrasing it in the most practical way, but personally I dislike the use of the term “expected” as it sounds like some kind of demand. The schools don’t DEMAND that the student work, or that the parents have savings, etc. They don’t particularly care HOW you come up with your share.<br>
You need to rethink this idea so you come to terms with it. I call it “attitude re-adjustment time”.</p>
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</p>
<p>Wait, you’re upset because you worked hard to have money and now, <em>gasp</em> the school expects you to pay for your kid’s education? </p>
<p>The horror. The horror. </p>
<p>You could always quit your jobs and have your child take a gap year. Would the 5k-ish in Pell be worth living on < ~40k? Guess that’s a decision you have to make for yourself. Personally, I think the extra 100k in income is much better than the extra aid you might get, but what do I know!</p>
<p>I disgree there is a disincentive to earning more $.
We found that for those who arent self employed, or own rental property, that FAFSA EFC is roughly 1/4 of before tax income for incomes of below six figures & 1/3 of gross for that above six figures</p>
<p>When my oldest applied to colleges our EFC was roughly $14,000 or the amount of the in state school she was interested in attending.
As our before tax income was around $56,000 this corrolated with 1/4 income, leaving us $42,000 to live on (less after taxes,etc)
We needed more than $42,000 to pay all our expenses, so we had to look elsewhere other than current income to pay the EFC.</p>
<p>If we had $143,000 in income & only needed to pay $35,000(less than 1/3, btw), we would still have had $108,000 for living expenses!</p>
<p>Additionally, most instate schools have a COA of much less than $35,000, so our expenses could have been even lower.</p>
<p>Hearing someone say their EFC is $14,000 and their child is attending a school that meets 100% of need and has a COA of $50,000, may seem frustrating for a minute, until you remember they are paying that from a gross income of $56,000.</p>