<p>Ask the ivies at what age they consider a student independent? I would think 25 is old enough!</p>
<p>Are you an undergrad? or is this for grad school?</p>
<p>Ask the ivies at what age they consider a student independent? I would think 25 is old enough!</p>
<p>Are you an undergrad? or is this for grad school?</p>
<p>Our EFC is 21,000, that would not have been so bad if we had not had to use our D’s college fund to pay the mortgage after the last four years of a drop in household income of over 60,000 per year. We have been continuing to decrease our budget but many of the expenses were already there and non negotiable. health, life, housing… at least spouse working even though part time.</p>
<p>Is the EFC high because the college fund is still in her name? Would the EFC be lower if it was in a savings with parents names only? When money is in parents’ names, then there is asset protection and a lower % is expected for college.</p>
<p>Yo lets suppose my EFC at a school that costs X is Y. My EFC at a school that costs 3X = ?</p>
<p>My EFC is $3,500, much lower than expected. I’m worried that colleges will reject me when they see it.</p>
<p>*Yo lets suppose my EFC at a school that costs X is Y. My EFC at a school that costs 3X = ? *</p>
<p>Your Federal methodology EFC doesn’t change no matter how much the school costs. however, many privates use CSS Profile and that may result in a different expectation (but that isn’t EFC).</p>
<p>Also, EFC is not a guarantee that that is the minimum that you’ll pay. Most schools cannot meet need.</p>
<p>no…not you… :)</p>
<p>MissPickwick…won’t you qualify for some scholarships at your schools? Don’t you have strong stats (if I’m remembering correctly. Where did you apply? If you have good stats for the school, then they WANT to be more generous.</p>
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<p>Yes, when parents don’t step up to help their children launch into adult life, it’s up to the children to be self-reliant, contrary to the assumptions of most financial aid programs. That limits the college choices of many children, but there may still be a way to get through college, just not the first-choice college.</p>
<p>In the 8 years I did the FAFSA, the EFC was NEVER even CLOSE to what the actual amount of money our family could actually afford to contribute to education cost. I believe the number is primarily generated based on income, and it does not take into account any expenses, COL, or long-term debt that the family is paying. I believe that at least one of the F’s in FAFSA stands for FANTASY.</p>
<p>Fortunately, my D’s school also required a College Board financial form be filled out, and the CB DOES allow for debt, and family circumstances, consequently, the amount of aid was based on both, and did allow my D to attend NU, normally a very expensive private school.</p>
<p>So, OP, I suggest contacting your schools of choice and be ready to support your argument with numbers, and before you panic, find out if any of your schools also use the College Board form in addition to the FAFSA prior to making aid decisions. Good Luck!</p>
<p>^^^
Yes, his colleges use CSS Profile, but that is the problem. His CSS schools use noncustodial info (while FAFSA does not). Another problem is that these ivies are not allowing him to be considered “independent” even tho he’s 25 years old. 24 is usually the cutoff age.</p>
<p>Yes, the FAFSA EFC is income-based. If a college requires the CSS Profile, that takes assets into account.</p>
<p>Our EFC my son’s first year was a joke - it said we could afford to spend 35% of our GROSS income on his college. Last year (his 3rd year of college) our FAFSA EFC was $200 higher than the total cost of his college. We made exactly the least amount of money you can make without getting any aid at all. :(</p>
<p>This year I will have 2 kids in college, and we will finally qualify for aid. But then my son will graduate, and I’ll have to pay the next 3 years for my daughter in full.</p>
<p>I will bet that all of the people complaining that they can’t get a free ride to college are the same people who believe that those who can’t afford healthcare on their own should NOT receive assistance.</p>
<p>Objective789 is a ■■■■■. Smile, wave, back away slowly.</p>
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Yo, your EFC is the same regardless of how much each college cost.</p>
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<p>Even ■■■■■■ have moments of brilliance.</p>
<p>I haven’t filed yet because my mom had to find out some other numbers for her taxes, but I agree that the CSS saves partially, only to kick us where it hurts. The CSS shows all our debts rather than just incomes, but jeez…once the non-custodial comes into the picture, it’s even WORSE than the EFC I might’ve gotten before.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Haha, I actually agree with Objective. I’m willing to be the same people who scream and holler about healthcare want free rides to school and government money to go.</p>
<p>I’m still bitter about this and I’m already a 2nd year college student, haha. My parents make 70K a year and are strictly middle class. My FAFSA was 20K (expected). But what really shocked me was when I applied to George Washington University that requires both FAFSA and CSS, aside from a 15K merit scholarship I got 0 financial aid. The total annual cost at GW was 55K the year I applied. So that meant my family contribution was expected to be 40K, more than half of what my parents made in a year! Absurd. Just because my parents paid off all their debts and actually own their house doesn’t mean that my family should be expected to pay $40,000 a year for my tuition. Fortunately I ended up going to a school that was much more affordable. But I guess this is just reflective of the drastic changes that should be made regarding financial aid for middle class students here in the U.S…</p>
<p>My EFC is 12055 … so I suppose it’s not bad</p>
<p>Yes, the FAFSA EFC is income-based. If a college requires the CSS Profile, that takes assets into account.</p>
<p>FAFSA also takes assets into acct. It doesn’t take your home into acct, but if you have a lot in savings/stocks/investments, if you own a second home, or rental property, those will figure into EFC.</p>
<p>We have a huge EFC which would be ok if we didn’t have an equally huge mortgage- and second mortgage and student loans from putting the other 4 through school. Unfortunately they’ve all graduated so we can’t get the multiple benefit. We can’t sell the house, because it is worth less than the mortgages, so… Financial aid officer came to our school and I asked if they would consider our situation, and he said “no”. So will be looking for merit $$; unfortunately DS gpa is low compared to his test scores and at his school the highest gpa is 93- he’s got an 87, pretty much smack in the middle. That puts us at a disadvantage scholarship-wise.</p>