They are provided adjusted info (not sure whether it’s from the Fafsa folks or some other source) and required to correct to it. That’s what happened to us; I think it was about one D’s summer earnings. And they have a time frame to meet.
The general “rule” is that colleges can change the info they then run through their formulas. But, they need to treat all individuals within a category the same.
Thanks, @CCDD14. What exactly is this rule? And are they allowed to make changes without informing families?
Not sure how “widespread” it is but the same thing happened to us.
We have had our FAFSA changed on two different occasions. We were informed that it was being done but we were not contacted to discuss what the change was or to get clarification from us. We had to wait until we saw the change and then compare it to our previous submittal. In one case, it was an error on our part and their correction was valid. In the other there was a reason for the discrepancy (which they assumed to be an error) and talking to us beforehand for clarification probably would have cleared things up.
It does seem odd, that schools just change it without first discussing it with the applicant to see if there is a reason for what they believe is an error.
@PleaseTalkToMe , the post you are quoting was not mine.
It seems they are allowed to make changes without informing families. Majority of the changes are probably valid.
@PleaseTalkToMe : please focus on NPC 's.
Look at NYU ‘s for example, and compare to other universities’ ranked 30-35 by usnwr.
EFC errors aren’t the main issue. NPC 's - their existence, their accuracy - and readable, standardized financial aid packages are a bigger deal for way more people. Pretty much every family’s encountered a problem with those.
Then look at public universities ’ cost. THAT is one of the very important problems - if you have a 3.75 GPA and your family makes 60k, how much will it cost you to attend your public flagship in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York State, Florida, California, Virginia, Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, Colorado, Arizona ?
I wrote that quote and you’d need to google to find it, at this point. Or ask one of your FA contacts. As I understand, it IS Fafsa which informs you of the change.
Right, @MYOS1634. Where kids get more often screwed is by certain public U’s which don’t have much to give, in the first place. They are they stories we most often (already) hear about kids racking up monster debt, even in-state.
@MYOS1634 The confusion surrounding NPCs have been written about extensively. How else would you like to see them covered?
As for NYU, it is well known that the school is unaffordable for most students, although many don’t seem to care, and are willing to take out whatever loans they have to in order to attend. Its NPC represents the academic year 2014-2015, in itself a big problem. But it’s not news. What more would you like to see on the subject?
And public universities becoming out of reach for in state students with great GPAs IS a tremendous problem, especially when more and more out of state students with lower GPAs are being admitted, often with significant merit-based discounts they don’t even need, because they still pay more than in-staters.
Very little has been written on NPC’s actually (unless you count college-admissions-specific blogs.) I would very much like to see an in-depth article about problems of financial aid that start with NPC’s and dig.
I’ve also never read any article about NYU or its financial aid practices (in particular if you set aside NYC heop vs. 'regular ’ freshmen?) I was referring to NYU 's NPC not the University as a whole - the whole topic of NPC’s, how they can be unhelpful, how they can lie or confuse, deserves a full article.
What about the financial situation for transfers, either from a community college or another 4-year? The absence of NPC for them?
It’s news if it informs. It’s news if you offer an analysis of key problems. It’s news if you uncover something - NPC 's formulas are different from University to university, for example - how? Why? How do specific colleges skew toward which group of people?
What about the situation of children from divorced families - how often does the father refuse to pay his expected share of the css ‘efc’? What are the effects? Possible solutions? Can you find mothers, children affected by this issue? Which universities allow no ncp’s information on a case by case basis? Which don’t ask for it at all? How has that affected their application patterns?
Are donut hole families and lower income on opposite sides when it comes to college costs?
Do some universities present Parent PLUS loan as financial aid? In the NPC results? Where does it appear on their fa letter? Are there systematic abuses at some places? Which ones? Why?
It’s good you’re looking at FAFSA irregularities but all in all, in this whole system, FAFSA is the most predictable part of the process. FAFSA also tells very little since almost ALL universities couldn’t care less what your FAFSA EFC is, and either use CSS Profile (a few colleges, the most generous ones but wih huge variation as to whom), and the vast majority don’t meet need. Your EFC could be 8,000… how does it help if cost of attendance is 29K and you have zero aid beside the federal loans (which are capped at 5.5K for freshmen)?
Are you digging into factors that result in a certain EFC? Are you trying to criticize how the efc is calculated - fact is, the expected family contribution is almost never affordable… so ow can the system expect families to pay more than they can?
Changing FAFSA only matters if more universities meet need.
This is an excellent point. A “mistake” on Fafsa, or a Fafsa correction is only relevant to the student if the college is going to meet their need or if it changes eligibility for Pell grant.
Not sure I agree. Doesn’t meet need doesn’t mean gives no aid. My school gives out some financial aid, but doesn’t meet need. Correcting my FAFSA meant that I got a grant, when I wouldn’t have otherwise, because I guess I triggered some internal threshold the school uses – not need as determined by the FAFSA, but some benchmark.
Thanks for your detailed answer @MYOS1634. My article is about what practices factor into students having to take out more loans than they expected to, or even had to. That’s about all I want to say about it on a public forum, however I’m happy to discuss more through pm. But NPCs, as infuriating and quixotic as they are, are not a part of that – although I agree they warrant an article of their own (or a few) in general interest publications read by the college bound and their parents.
Very interesting … what practices factor into students having to take out more loans than they expected to, or even had to. It’s not the first part that I find intriguing, but the second. I am curious as to how a college’s practices would have anything to do with a student taking out more loans than he or she has to. Colleges publish actual costs, and they publish estimated costs. They cannot possibly tell each student how much he or she will actually spend. It has to be the responsibility of each student to determine that for him or herself. With the internet, students can find out how much various things they think they will need might cost. But every student is unique, has unique needs and unique wants … so how on earth can a school be expected to help them to budget any more than they do with the existing published budgets? If you will be using your article to inform, please do let students know that they can return any portion of their loan refunds within 120 days to cancel that portion of the loan (and of course, they can prepay their loans at any point in time to reduce amount they will owe in the long run).
One of the biggest things I be seen on this forum is the “dream school” notion. The idea that only one school can fulfill a student’s college needs. In some cases, these schools are unaffordable to the family from the get go.
If students are willing to cast a broad net AND keep finances in consideration, AND their families are willing to share what they WILL be able to pay annually, then students application lists should be able to be realistic ones.
And if a student does not want loans, there are plenty of ways to NOT have loans and still go to college. But these options are often not considered because they are not satisfactory college options…not the typical college experience…or not the “dream school”.
There are a lot of issues with the NPC regarding sale of assets. If you sell a stock, say, for $50K profit you have increased your income by $50K and you have not decreased your assets. You also owe $10K+ in taxes which also does not show up. You have actually decreased your wealth, and increase your potential college expenses. If you had done nothing your EFC would be a lot lower. I think that is one major source of confusion for many families.
Only a taxpayer in the top bracket (taxable income of $466,950 for MFJ, $415,050 for single) will owe 20% LTCG tax. Some taxpayers will pay no tax on a $50k LTCG. And what do mean when you write that the potential $10k+ in taxes “does not show up”?
If you own a stock in an unprotected fund, it’s already a tappable asset. On the CSS Profile, you include current values (so, what it would sell for, which includes that profit.)
From CB:" beginning with the 2017-18 financial aid cycle, PROFILE, the Institutional Need Analysis System (INAS), Institutional Methodology (IM), and the FAFSA, will all use prior-prior year tax information as the basis for assessing a family’s financial need.) And Fafsa.
If you’re selling stock for a 50k profit, it’s fairly likely that you don’t live in an income bracket where you’re getting need based aid. You’re certainly not getting federal aid.
You never know. Someone could have purchased (or inherited) stock at the market low in 2008/2009 when they had a better income or pre-retirement, and it’s certainly possible for that stock to have doubled in value. Let’s say that person now has an income of $53k plus the $50k gain from the stock sale (for an AGI of $103k) and claims the standard MFJ deduction with 4 exemptions. Their taxable income would be in the 15% bracket and they would owe zero tax on the stock sale. There are plenty of schools that provide need-based aid for families with an AGI of $103k, and although the one-time sale of stock might disqualify them from federal aid for the year of the sale, their regular income of $53k certainly would get them at least some federal aid in other years.