<p>My EFC per the FAFSA is calculated at 000000, which to my understanding is really good when it comes to college. My problem is that the CSS profile account for the SSI income we receive (whereas the FAFSA doesn't).</p>
<p>My income still falls low, but if the SSI were taxed income or required on the FAFSA form, my EFC wouldn't be 0. Does this have a significant impact on my financial aid packages?</p>
<p>CSS PROFILE looks at things that FAFSA does not, so , yes, there are a number of students who do not get the same institutional expected contribution as the FAFSA EFC. However, there is not a single school I know that guarantees to meet need as defined by FAFSA. The schools that use PROFILE tend, as a group, to provide more financial aid, and they do include schools that most often and consistently offer large financial aid packages. </p>
<p>All the FAFSA EFC guarantees anyone is PELL money if the EFC falls under a threshhold, and subsidy of the DIrect loans (up to $3500 freshman year), if college cost warrant. Anything else is up to the college. Your state residency can also make a difference in some entitlements. </p>
<p>So the Zero EFC you have gives you a start on your aid package with PELL. But your actual need calculated by schools using their institutional method may well be different. Also, do be aware that most PROFILE school, do have a minimum student contribution in their formulas so that even with a zero by their calculations, that 's thrown in there. </p>
<p>So you qualify for federal and possibly some state money based on FAFSA EFC, but for the college money, the need is defined by the college. THe way it often works is that the school will give you the guarantees that your zero EFC entitles you to get, then uses, their own formulas to fund the rest, up to what their formula says you need though some, very few, but some, may allow the PELL to go on top. ALso some schools are loan free for high need students, and so the loan won’t be in the package and left available on a non subsidized basis to use towards EFC. But the chances are miniscule that you will not be expected to pay a cent, and your package will likely have some form of self help like work study and loans. </p>
<p>Thank you for clarifying. I fully expect the work study but my parents are completely incapable of taking out loans on my behalf (my dad is 70 and my mom is more than $100,000 in debt). Could you possibly give me some tips on loans that dependents can acquire or just general alternative means of financing ones education? I know I could get a free ride at my state college (haha, the estimated package covers up to like $250 which I’m sure I can find the money for) but I really want to attend one of the private schools I’ve applied to.</p>
<p>You would be able to take the Direct Loan in YOUR name only. For freshman year, this is $5500. That added to the full Pell $5600 would be $11,100. This would lay your costs to attend a community college if you were able to live at home.</p>
<p>Does your state have any grant money for low income students (CA and NY do, for example)? Do any of your colleges offer specific additional aid to low income students? </p>
<p>Are you saying you would get a FULL free ride at your state university (tuition, room board, fees)? If so, that is terrific.</p>
<p>ETA…have you run the Net Price Calculators on those private school websites? If not…do so ASAP. They will give you some indication of your potential aid at each school.</p>
<p>Then just wait and see. If one of those private schools comes through with sufficient need based aid, thn you can attend. If not, be prepared to WALK AWAY if the aid is not sufficient. You are fortunate to have an affordable option in your state school.</p>
<p>The top private schools, often leave about $3-5 as a contribution expected, though many of these most selective schools do not include loans in the package. COincidently, you can get up to $5500 in Direct student loans yourself. Beyond that, it’s up to the school, or involves your parents. It is possible if your EFC is zero or very low that you can still get loan subsidy on part of the Direct Loan as well. </p>
<p>When your packages come out you can then directly compare. Right now it’s sheer speculation. With a very affordable state school, option, you are covered. Our state, though we do have state money for college, it has to be used in state and our state schools only guarantee to meet need up to tuition and fees. You want to go away to school, it’s on your tab. </p>
<p>What schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>You can’t take out private loans by yourself. You can only take out the following amounts:</p>
<p>Frosh 5500
Soph 6500
Jr 7500
Sr 7500</p>
<p>And MOST schools will ALREADY have those loans in your FA pkg so you won’t be able to take them out to also cover any gaps in aid.</p>
<p>Did you run the NPC’s on those private schools’ websites? If so, what were the results? </p>
<p>Thank you all for your feedback.</p>
<p>Yes, the state university will more than likely cover me a substantial amount (I know other students with lesser stats than me that got in with near full merit aid/FA; also, their standards aren’t subjective, they’re SAT/GPA based).</p>
<p>My NPC says that before loans, I have to pay about ~$5000 at Colorado College, Reed College, Occidental College and University of Virginia (give or take $1000). With the direct loan, I should be covered in full. I only worry that these estimates are inflated and that they won’t actually cover me as much as they claim. But if I’m not accepted into any of these schools (and a rejection from UVa and Reed is very likely), I may have to just do the state school route, which is fine.</p>
<p>I guess my question now is basically how accurate are these measurements and what is the likelihood of real life reflection?</p>
<p>Well…I’m not sure how those schools’ NPC’s handle income that isn’t from a job. Where did you mention the SSI income? Income that isn’t from a job usually has a harsher calculation. </p>
<p>Doesn’t UVA put loans in their FA pkg? If so, then were all costs covered?</p>
<p>I believe UVA puts loans in their packages for students with incomes above a certain level. This was a change instituted this year.</p>
<p>LOL They’re harsher on income that goes toward a dying old man? That’s weird. Screw these private schools, I’ll stick it at my crummy state school. The costs are genuinely too outrageous for anyone to cover. It’s a double bind: attend an affordable state school through which you won’t acquire a good job OR bind yourself to debt at a school with true career potential, despite the fact you’ll probably never achieve what is promised to you anyway. It’s a very stupid game.</p>
<p>I’m not too concerned about UVa because I’m probably going to be rejected anyway. </p>
<p>Whoa, there Zamitoa. Don’t know until you get your numbers. With a zero EFC, you are likely to get some good packages. Just wait and see how the schools’ formulas treat the social security income. The thing is, with income that is earned and taxed, the formulas, reduce the AGI by taxes, so the NET income is reduced which will not happen with SS and other income that doesn’ t get assessed. So, it’s not so much that they are harsher, but that you don’t get the add in that might in the formulas that are estimators. Those NPCs you ran are “ON AVERAGE” estimators and things like SS income, home businesses, and other things that don’t fit the average mold CAN, not WILL, but CAN throw them off. </p>
<p>Colorado COllege, has merit money and does not guarantee to meet full needs, so their figure is an average. These calculators tend to do better for schools with no merit awards and when they guarantee to meet full need, or if they have a formula rather than any holistic way that they give out awards and financial aid. So you have to wait for the final numbers. </p>
<p>Also there are some dying men who have some substantial incomes. I have a MIL (not dying any faster than anyone her age, so the dying part doesn’t count) who doesn’t need her soc security check, Not at all. She has assets up the hoo haw from her parents that she inherited, and she doesn’t pay penny one in taxes most years on that social security which is all fun money for her. She was surprised she even qualified as she did not work a day in her life–a benefit she got for having been married more that 50 years ago for 10 years to a high earner. My mother, a widow of a veteran and lifetime government worker is one of the 50 or so % that have to pay taxes on her paltry, not even what my MIL gets pension because it is not exempt like SS is. Fair? Not at all, and yes, she is officially terminal with this year. Has to pay about $180 out of pocket each month out of her measly check to keep her alive and reasonably comfortable and is taxed to boot. Yes, if she had a college aged child, that income would for FAFSA , unlike your dad’s check. so you are complaining to the WRONG person here.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The difference is only in that financial aid formulas don’t give ‘credit’ to this unearned income for having paid social security and medicare tax as well as income tax on the income like they do for earned income.</p>
<p>Ha! I’m sorry, I’m not trying to complain like a brat. I really don’t mind my circumstance, the admissions process has just taught me the way capitalism reflects on post-secondary education and it’s like… ridiculous.</p>
<p>I completely sympathize with how annoyed you are, cptofthehouse. You completely deserve to be. My brother-in-law’s VETERAN father is having his benefits cut to the point of near homelessness. But honestly, my father (with no savings, no assets) is not just dying in theory, he’s in the hospital as I type, and my mother is going to be left with her low salary and other dependent bodies when he’s gone and I’m going to be off plunging myself into debt. But it’s not as if I should just get my education for free because I want it that way, that’s not the way this country is set up.</p>
<p>I understand the way SSDI is calculated better now that I’ve looked into it. Again, thank you all for your feedback.</p>
<p>Well, my mother gets a near poverty level income and she would likely be homeless if I didn’t have her here. She has no SS benefits the way government pensions work, so she may not even be eligible for Medicaid for a nursing home. Her health care premium is high and the cost of her med which she needs to breathe still is a big hunk of change. her glasses, her dental care ,her hearing aid, none of them covered. Oh, yes, we’ve kicked granny down the stairs and taken her eyeteeth, we sure have. And truly, her pension would not even be exempt, I don’t think as your dad’s SSDI is on FAFSA. She frigging pays taxes, do you read me? She’s got some money saved up as she was a frugal as a miser, and so if she did have a college aged kid, no zero EFC. </p>
<p>I don’t know how your BIL’s veteran father is having his benefits cut as the bill to do so has to do with COLA increases, does not take place till 2015, and probably won’t happen. And it should not happen. Reneging on contractual promises to those who served our country is really a low blow. </p>
<p>In most states, certainly mine, anyone with a zero EFC would be able to commute to a local CC or state college and afford the tuition. Why should you be entitled to go to a private school, board there and eat there on the tax payers dime? So, yes, if a private should want you, they have to pay for you out of their own coffers. Do you go to private boarding school now? The continuation of a public education is to the local public college/university. And some states even make that difficult. Anything else you gotta come up with the $s.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I can think of at least 3. There aren’t many but they are out there. </p>
<p>Which ones? I don’t don’t know any. Albright has a new policy where will meet need of tuition, fees, room, board as defined by FAFSA, but not discretionary expenses. That’s as close as it gets, that I know. The military academies and other such schools wiil pay it all, but that’s for everyone; FAFSA has nothing to do with it. I’m curious as to what school will do that without exceptions and stipulation for first year mainstream students, of course. </p>
<p>Um, I recognize your problems and genuinely empathize, but are you insinuating that public school students shouldn’t be allowed to attend public schools? Please don’t be aggressive toward me, I think I clarified that I don’t fault the government for my predicament, I’m only frustrated by it. And on the veteran note, I can admit this came from my mother’s mouth, I don’t know the man that well (nor do I know what current legislation is being enacted on the topic).</p>
<p>cptofthehouse: As a QuestBridge Finalist, I actually find your point about public school students being expected to attend public local schools a little silly. The reason the systems are set up like that right now are so that they can prevent low income/middle class students from attending the elite schools deemed fit for only savants and any kid with enough cash. I have no problem attending a public school if that is what is absolutely necessary, but I also have a strong interest in fields that aren’t accessible to people who go to state schools. The ivory tower mentality pervades too strongly.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Apparently, UVA used to meet full need with an ESC of $0, which was very unusual (most meet full need schools have an ESC of $4,000 to $10,000; the “no loan” schools have ESC in the lower end of the range, expecting students to use work earnings). It changed its policy to require an ESC of $7,000 (based on net price calculator results); this is generally considered more than what most college students can self-fund completely through work earnings (so direct loans are typically needed to help cover that ESC).</p>
<p>Private colleges are just that–private. Just like private high school. You have to pay tuition. You can apply for financial aid and they may have some scholarships, but the bottom line is that they do not have to accept students and they can charge what they please and if a family can’t afford to pay, it’ s out they go. There are NO government programs on a wide scale to help fund private school.</p>
<p>But then when it comes to college, all of a sudden, families and kids who had no thought of going private for k-12, suddenly think they have the right to go to these privates and the government or someone should pay for this. And oh, they need their meals covered and a place to live as well, right? Well, not right. It’s not a RIGHT to go to private school or to go away to school. COlleges do have financial aid in place to get a diversity in economics for student and due to the way they have to set up this aid, actually kids who get accepted to schools that have the money to spend for full need, can be better off, in that tiny niche of elite school attendance, than their peers with well to do parents who spent up their money or don’t want to pay for their kids. Those kids can’t get financial aid. Life’s not all fair, and that’s just the way it works. But the truth of the matter is that it’s only a small fraction of kids in difficult financial situations that get enough money to go away to a private school, especially these days when the tab can come to $60K+.</p>
<p>I’m not saying public school kids should stick to public colleges, oh no, not all. What I’m saying is that they have to understand that when they go to private schools, there is that premium that often has to be paid, and they are at the mercy of the school’s fin aid policies and merit awards if the parents won’t or can’t pay. </p>
<p>PELL, Direct Loans, will cover a local state school most of the time. Not likely to cover sleep aways, even public ones and certainly not private, and that’s all the federal government guarantees. The rest is up to the school.</p>
<p>In most of our country, there are CCs available at reasonable costs to most all high school grads so that a start can be made for college by just about everyone. But getting a 4 year degree can be a challenge for some students who are not within a commuting distance to a school where one can get that bachelor’s. And some states have expensive tuitions, shame on them, for their public universities. </p>
<p>The system is not deliberately set up to exclude poor kids, it’s just that being a capitalist society, it works that way, and school ultimately are run to make money too. It’s no accident that the % of kids getting aid, number of PELL eligbile kids stay about constant, though the sad truth is a lot of the most selective schools give an admissions bump for those financially challenged and do their quotas giving such kids extra consideration, not a limiting percentage because so many poor kids are the top of the crop. </p>
<p>I went to college on fin aid. 100%+ fin aid. Went to top priced private too. So did my husband. So,yes, we appreciate that the schools do have merit and financial aid, as I know I would never have been able to go to a private college otherwise. But it’s not an entitlement. If I didn’t get the money, I knew where I was going–to a two year extension school where my father had benefits of free tuition for his kids, and then I’d try to transfer to the four year program and have to borrow and work to pay my way there. No money from my family to pay for private school or even sleep aways. </p>
<p>Eh, that’s all fine and well if you don’t consider the most important thing: rich people go to private schools and become successful people in professional fields (like law, politics, science, etc.) and perpetuate good policies for the rich. Poor people go to state schools, become apart of the both actively praised and crapped on working/middle class and are marginalized by a society that says they didn’t work hard enough in the first place.</p>
<p>I’ve seen a really disgusting habit on CC of parents who complain that their precious kids aren’t getting into good schools because of all those darn minorities stealing their slots. Yeah, well, a Black kid who overcomes poverty and ranks first in his/her class deserves a spot at MIT over some prep school yuppy who has had everything handed to him/her and shows no signs of individuality or creativity. And even then, look how few poor people and URMs actually make it into the big schools. It’s a very small amount. What people should be complaining about are the kids who buy their way into elite schools without any considerable academic merit. Capitalism disincentivizes academia and that’s just inefficient in terms of progress.</p>
<p>I guess I’ll just have to agree to disagree on this debate because it’s like this: you believe that education and capitalism can coalesce and it’s fine because the system seems to work, I believe it’s damaging to the whole point of scholasticism. Public education should be promoted and elitist private educational facilities (Harvard, Princeton, etc.) shouldn’t have a monopoly on American success.</p>
<p>If public schools weren’t regarded as pathetic (with the exception of a handful public ivies) and treated with a lack of respect, then this wouldn’t be problematic. But you know, and I know, that an employer will look more fondly at a Stanford 3.5 than a University of Houston 4.0. And what’s the difference between your average kid who went to the former and your average kid who attended the latter? Money.</p>
<p>I don’t think the government should fund my private education. But I also don’t think I should be professionally penalized, as I would be, if I attend public school.</p>
<p>(And all I can say on your “sleep aways” note is that it doesn’t apply to me. I know this shouldn’t be a conversation of personal issues, but I feel attacked and labeled ‘entitled’ when all I want is a good education so that I can achieve what I was told I never could. I don’t get the luxury of living with my parents because when my father dies, my mother will move into a small apartment with relatives. Unless I want to live on a couch where I’m not welcome, I’ll be staying in dorms.)</p>
<p>Can somebody close this worthless and derailed forum?</p>