<p>My dad makes less than $95k a year. FAFSA just told us that our EFC will be $25,000.</p>
<p>They can't be serious. I have 4 siblings. My parents have two of them in private school ($12,000 a year total) because the area publics suck.</p>
<p>They cannot honestly expect my parents to contribute almost a third of our gross annual income. We would have to sell our house and buy a smaller one, take both my brothers out of a good school and put them into a crappy one, and sell the car! </p>
<p>My parents basically screamed at me that I'll be going to our state flagship now, regardless of which top tier schools I get into.</p>
<p>Your EFC is not calculated to be paid totally from current income. You are expected to contribute also from your savings and income. Your parents are expected to have saved money too. </p>
<p>The fact that your parents are paying for private school for your siblings is not taken into account. Why should it be? It is a choice your parents made. It makes no more difference than if I spent $24,000 on a new car. </p>
<p>Keepin mind that most schools don't meet 100% of EFC. Go to a cheaper school, take out loans that will cripple you, or take a gap year and work. There are ways.</p>
<p>They haven't saved anything. When they put the three of us in private school originally, they took out everything in my college savings plan to finance it.</p>
<p>and that's total BS about it being like buying a car. One is a service, the other is a product. One is designed to produce future benefits, one is purely experiential.
Can I get some educated advice here?</p>
<p>All of the schools to which I applied do meet 100% of demonstrated need.</p>
<p>Your EFC sounds about right for a $95,000 income with some assets (bank accounts, CDs etc). Some schools WILL consider the costs of private school tuitions for your younger siblings. The number of folks in your family IS considered when making the EFC calculation. </p>
<p>The EFC calculation makes the assumption that the EFC will be taken out of past earnings (savings), current earnings (income) and future earnings (loans). The assumption is that it will NOT solely be taken out of your parents' earnings for the upcoming year. Also, part of that EFC can be met with YOUR earnings. Some students take on multiple summer jobs to earn money to contribute to their college costs...sometimes several thousand dollars which is money your parents then will not have to pay.</p>
<p>Did you look at the costs of your colleges BEFORE you applied?</p>
<p>Perhaps some of your "meets 100% of need" schools have more generous institutional financial aid policies. Also, did any of them require the Profile because if they did, that considers other assets such as your primary home equity (although the amounts vary by school).</p>
<p>Also you say you applied to ALL schools that meet 100% of need. If that is the case, did you even apply to your flagship state university? If not, perhaps you should get that application ready just in case the institutional aid doesn't work out. Every student should have a financial safety in their application list as well as an academic safety.</p>
<p>First of all there must be more income coming in the house for an EFC of 25000. Does mom work or does your family have assets or a business?
FAFSA does not care if your siblings are in private school. That is a choice your parents made and with that there is a price to pay. You choose which to make. We opted for public education in order to save for college. Unfortunately many people find themselves in the same boat.</p>
<p>Many schools that meet 100% need require CSS. I believe CSS does ask about kids in private school. How they use this information will vary from school to school but it may have an affect on the EFC used for institutional aid. Schools that use FAFSA and CSS will use the FAFSA EFC to calulate your eligibility for federal aid (with a $25k FAFSA EFC just loans, and possibly WS depending on the cost of the school. You will not qualify for federal grant money) and CSS to calculate their own institutional aid. CSS takes more financial information into account which can be good or bad depending on individual circumstances.</p>
<p>If you have any FAFSA only schools you can tell them about the private schools and see if they consider it a reason for special circumstances adjustment. They may or may not - it is at their discretion. If they did make an adjustment it would still probably not make you eligible for federal aid other than loans and WS.</p>
<p>^ thumper and milkandsugar, there are no other assets (no home equity, no investments, no small business, nothing).</p>
<p>Once again, they have nothing saved.
Yes, they all required the Profile (which actually does ask about private school tuition, thereby proving that it's a legitimate expense, different than worthless purchases).</p>
<p>and yes, I meant besides my ultra-safety (UT-Austin).</p>
<p>UT Austin is an excellent school, and you can get a fine education there. It sounds to me that your parents have done their best to education all 3 children, on a limited income. Do well there, as I am certain you can, if it is a safety, and you will get into an excellent grad or professional school and the world will be yours. I know this sounds callous but you obviously have so much going for you.</p>
<p>^ That doesn't help. The only way in hell I would go to UT is if I decided that Plan II Honors was passable, if it was free, and (most importantly) if I didn't get in anywhere else.</p>
<p>It's allllllllmost free (like $1-2k a year after scholarships).
If I don't get into HYPS, Duke, or Vandy, UT becomes a semi-viable option.</p>
<p>I've lived in Austin for 8 years, and I really really really do not want to go to UT unless I have to. The campus sucks, and it has an undergraduate population the size of New York.</p>
<p>That EFC sounds wrong if your income is $95K/year and you have no assets. Last year's FAFSA formula included the following:</p>
<p>Adjusted Available income (AAI) = income - FICA - federal income tax - state income tax - income protection allowance </p>
<p>Income protection allowance depends on the number in the family - are there 7 in your family?</p>
<p>Here's what I get:</p>
<p>A. Age of older parent 50
B. Number in family 7
C. Number of children in college 1
D. Parent income 95000
E. Parent assets 45000</p>
<p>Parent FICA 3800
Parent federal income tax 10450
state income tax 3800
Parent income protection allowance 31760
Employment expense allowance 3100</p>
<p>Available income: 42090</p>
<p>Contribution from AAI (32% of AAI < 26K, 47% of the amount > 26K): 2003</p>
<p>If you really have no assets, then your parent contribution should be around $2003 (based on last year's formula: this year might be different).</p>
<p>You need to add the student contribution to this, which would be based on your income and assets (if any) with $3080 of your income protected.</p>
<p>ok, well neither of them is over 50, and we don't have state income tax in Texas, and apparently we don't have "employment expense allowance" either.</p>
<p>But those are the only differences I can find.</p>
<p>Look, I know it's tough right now, but you can't make any decisions until you get admissions decisions and financial aid packages back. Financial aid packages can vary quite a bit from college to college even though you submitted the same financial aid information to all of them, especially for those using Institutional Methodology (Profile).</p>
<p>This is why so many nice smart kids from nice hardworking middle class families end up at their local community colleges and home-state public universities. Very few parents can pay their EFC out of pocket. Lots of families have no significant savings for many different reasons. Even those with significant savings may not be able to spend those savings on their kid's college educations because they have other commitments and concerns (private schools, aging grandparents, jobs at risk of disappearing in the current economy, fill-in-reason-here).</p>
<p>I ran the FinAid calculators today because Happykid is a junior and I want to be forewarned: Family income approx 90k. EFC approx 21k. Yes, there are approx. 70k in savings (which raised the EFC by about 2k) BUT neither Happydad nor I have secure positions. That 70k can't go for college expenses. It's for when we both lose our jobs, and still have to support Happygrandma.</p>
<p>Be SURE you have an acceptable financial safety. Keep focused on schools that require a CSS Profile in addition to the FASA. With no assets or equity you are likely to do better with a CSS school. Also, many schools have a "special circumstances" form they allow you to complete for private school expenses. In some cases, they will not accept special circumstances until after your initial FA determination has been made. </p>
<p>A lot of people talk that private school education is a choice, that is true, but in some area's of the country there may be a considerable difference in the quality of education received. Is it really a choice when that choice is to go to one of the worst public school systems in the nation versus an above average private? A lot of colleges will be intimate with the school districts and will understand the desire to keep the siblings in private schools. </p>
<p>Based on the top tier schools you are looking at, you are probably a good candidate for merit awards. You may need to drop a tier to make it financially workable. Combine the merit with CSS Profile schools and the net cost may be less than you think. Don't turn your nose up on that next tier as they can provide some of the best educations in the world.</p>
<p>^ OK, all the of the advice about which schools to apply to is not helpful. College application is over. Completely.</p>
<p>YES, for the thousandth time, I have my financial ultra-safety (UT-Austin) which has already accepted me, and which is practically free.
and YES, all of my remaining schools get the CSS too.</p>
<p>vballmom - there is no way an income of $90k+ is going to produce an EFC of 2000. Your calculations are off.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Contribution from AAI (32% of AAI < 26K, 47% of the amount > 26K): 2003
[/quote]
</p>
<p>32% of 26,000 = 8320
47% of 16,000 = 7520
......................= 15,840
I don't know where you are getting 2003 from</p>
<p>25,000 does seem highish for a $95k income considering the family size. Is that all the income taxable and non taxable (before tax of course)? No deductions for IRS contributions etc?</p>
<p>Contribution from AAI (32% of AAI < 26K, 47% of the amount > 26K) = </p>
<p>32% of 26,000 = 8320
47% of (42090 - 26000) = 7562</p>
<p>Contribution from AAI = $15,882</p>
<p>The age of your parents affects the calculation of their asset protection allowance, but if their assets are truly zero then their age won't matter anyway.</p>
<p>hookem...I know you are worried about the financial situation, but folks here ARE trying to give you sound advice. No...it's not what you want to hear. But it's the way it is. At this point, all you can do is wait until your acceptances and financial aid packages come. At that point, you will know what the schools are offering you. Since it sounds like most of your schools required the Profile, you have already given THEM the information about the private school tuition for your sibs. At this point, you just need to wait. There isn't anything else to do. Your FAFSA EFC is what it is. You can't change the figures on there unless there is something that was inaccurately reported. Schools using the Profile use the information in varying ways to award THEIR institutional monies. </p>
<p>If you get into Harvard, for example, I understand that their costs are capped at 10% of your income which would be $9500 on a $95K income with "typical assets" (whatever that means). This is JUST AN EXAMPLE...not to be presumed to be what YOU will be awarded. But you get the idea. </p>
<p>At this point, your applications are sent. Your FAFSA and Profile have been sent. You have nothing else to do but wait.</p>