<p>I just submitted the FAFSA and my EFC was extremely high. I am a single parent who works as a teacher and the EFC was about half my salary. I don't have any investments other than my kids 529's. Could I have made a mistake or do they really expect that much? I'm very discouraged.</p>
<p>My EFC was WAY, WAY more than my parents' annual combined income at $999,999, nearly a million dollars. Perhaps it'd be more, but the system obviously couldn't go up that high :P.</p>
<p>I think it is normal for the EFC to seem outrageously high, b/c it doesn't monitor "cash flow", i.e. how much disposable cash you have. Instead if you have several properties, or just for some reason pay a ton of taxes, the number will be artificially high.</p>
<p>Call up somebody and double check the numbers. It could be a mistake, so I wouldn't risk anything leaving it alone. But know that pretty much nobody is willing to pay their EFC.</p>
<p>"But know that pretty much nobody is willing to pay their EFC."
I no my parents would love to pay their EFC :-)
take a guess at it</p>
<p>mbogtog - run your numbers through one of the EFC calculators to see if you can pinpoint where the high number is coming from. Finaid.com has a pretty accurate one at <a href="http://www.finaid.com/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.finaid.com/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml</a>
You did show the 529 as parent assets right? That is a new rule this year and parent assets are hit at 5.6% while students are hit at 20%.</p>
<p>Something isn't right.</p>
<p>Without any significant reportable assets, with income in the 50K range (just guessing), your EFC should be no more than 9K. If AGI is under 50K, and you can file short form, you might qualify for the simplified needs test, where all assets are excluded.</p>
<p>My guess is that you listed the 529's in the student's name, where they get assessed at 20% per year. Big mistake. This year, you can list the student's 529's as a parental asset where they'll get assessed at a much lower rate (5.65% max, and perhaps not assessed at all if total parental assets fall below the asset protection allowance).</p>
<p>Use the FinAid calculator to find out where the high EFC is coming from, and what your allowances are.</p>