<p>Hi, I literally know nothing about financial aid and need your help.</p>
<p>I am a permanent resident of Canada. I've tried EFC calculator but it's so confusing with all their technical words, especially since I don't live in the US. and I don't know how it works so I thought I'd ask here.</p>
<p>Yea I probably do qualify for a lot of financial aid because of the low income but I was just wondering how much, because I am thinking whether I should apply ED to an American university(Columbia to be specific) or just stick with an UK univ I'm applying to. I want to go to Columbia if I am getting a lot of aid, if not UK, where I'd have to pay full fees.</p>
<p>I don't know which factors go into the finaid calculation and which don't, so I'm just gonna list everything I know. All are in Canadian dollars which are very much equal to American(1CAD=0.97US)</p>
<ul>
<li>Sister in her 2nd year of college</li>
<li>12 years old brother</li>
<li>Own a small commercial building $220,000 (no mortgage)</li>
<li>house $300,000 (no mortgage)</li>
<li>very low income, probably around $25,000 combining both of my parents(all from the building rent)</li>
<li>Mom doesn't work</li>
<li>Bit of savings we've been living off of</li>
</ul>
<p>okay these were all in Canada, but my dad actually works in Korea but nothing gets reported here. He hasn't been officially working for an year or two but he recently started (like only few weeks ago). Does this count? or no because it hasn't been an year since he started working? And he owns few condos in Korea too. Technically nothing about this is reported in Canada... so this won't matter? I'm confused here.. Since our income is so low, are they going to think it's weird? hmm would my EFC be 0???</p>
<p>I know nothing about finaid.. any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>You say you are a permanent resident of Canada...are you a US citizen?</p>
<p>Then, income regarding your father: the condos he owns are considered assets. Also, did he have any type of income (taxable or untaxable) during 2007? If so, it needs to be reported on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>The condos in Korea: do they generate any type of income (taxable or untaxable)? If so, this needs to be assessed to one or both parents as earned income.</p>
<p>The small commercial building: may be considered an asset. Is it used to generate any kind of income (taxable or untaxable)? If so, the income needs to be assessed to one or both parents as earned income. Depending on the overall income, assets may not matter, but be prepared with a dollar amount, just in case you need it.</p>
<p>no I'm not a US citizen, I have a Korean citizenship.</p>
<p>Yes, the commercial building does generate income from the monthly rents and that's included in our income, which is $25,000. All of our income comes from that building since none of my parents work.</p>
<p>and i forgot to mention that my dad incorporated when purchasing the building(I don't know if I'm saying this right), so is this building still a personal thing that has to be reported as his asset? or is it just separate(as a corporation) and it doesn't need to be reported in my financial aid? I don't know if I'm making any sense here but thought I'd ask.</p>
<p>Technically he's not getting any income such as monthly rent from the condos he owns because he leases them on a deposit basis(thats usually how it works over there I think). I don't know if this counts as income? And nothing gets reported here in Canada so they won't even know if I don't mention it...</p>
<p>Given your information, your first hurdle is qualifying for FAFSA. To qualify for the FAFSA, you have to be a US citizen or an eligible non-citizen.</p>
<p>When you say he incorporated, are you saying that he has his own "business" and that business is what rents the commercial building out? If so, then the number of employees he has matters...if it is just him or him and your mother, then the building would be considered an asset. Small business owners, regardless of incorporation, have to list all business assets on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about the deposit basis...if he received any funds from the condos during 2007, that money would definately have to be reported as income. Also, the condos are considered an asset.</p>
<p>Even though it isn't reportable according to Canadian law, we aren't dealing with Canadian law. The FAFSA relies on American law and, as such, even non-taxable income, such as untaxed social security or child support received, is considered on the FAFSA. Omitting information just because it isn't reported in Canada is fraud. </p>
<p>But, as I stated, the first hurdle is qualifying to file the FAFSA.</p>
<p>you are will be considered a international student when applying to colleges in the US. there are threads at the top of this forum with lengthy discussions about the questions you have. The short of it is that you don't get any US federal loans and many (but not every) school will take ability to pay when offering admission to international students.</p>
<p>IF you can get into Columbia (and that is a really big if for any student), they will meet your need (as they define it). I have no idea how properties will affect what they expect you to pay.</p>
<p>According to eduPass website, it says international students are not eligible for the US government aid programs but it says that many schools will ask international students to submit a FAFSA so that they may use the data for assessing financial need. So I'd have to file one for Columbia.</p>
<p>Columbia is need-blind to Canadians and Canadian permanent residents, so I don't have to worry about that stuff unlike other univs. And as sueinphilly said they'll meet my need.. I just have to get in :(</p>
<p>Yeah, he doesn't have any employees under him, he only owns the building under the corporation and thats all.. So I guess it counts as our asset nevertheless..</p>
<p>ok yea so eveything will be counted.. it kinda sucks then. The Korean condos worth more than stuff in Canada.. like $500k/700k ish. Does anyone know how much assets affect financial aid? how much aid do you think I will be getting?</p>
<p>You may find that the building your father owns is a problem, although each private school has its own method of taking real estate into consideration. But that is what the building is ... it's not an asset, it's real estate ... which is treated a bit differently in the financial aid equation. I believe assets are generally protected more than real estate, although as I said, each college can have its own set of rules. You may want to talk to the financial aid people at Columbia to get an idea of what your situation would look like. If they ignore assets at low income levels, the real estate may not be an issue at all.</p>
<p>Okay they won't expect me to pay the whole tuition+everything else with 25k income, right??? I'm afraid because I think if I do include my dad's condos in Korea, the assets will be well over a million..... it's too much to ask to dissolve them.</p>
<p>love xoxo....why are you applying ED if you are SO concerned about financial aid? Seems to me that you would want multiple financial aid options and acceptances to compare so that you can get the best value for your educational dollar. If you apply ED, you will have your ED acceptance and financial aid...and that's it. If you apply RD to several schools, you may find that your offers will vary and some will be higher than others....because for institutional methodology, the SCHOOLS determine how they will use the assets (including real estate) that you have. Columbia also requires the CSS Profile for the disbursement of financial aid. It asks many many more questions about financial assets than the FAFSA. The rental property values will need to be listed on there as well.</p>