<p>thumper, the 10% rule applies to comprehensive fees, not just tuition. I asked a Harvard adcom that question specifically.</p>
<p>Well hookemā¦then you are better off than I assumed. Stillā¦you have to wait and see. It may all work out fine. Nothing you can do except wait.</p>
<p>Hookem, the car analogy is absolutely valid. It is a discretionary expense just like private HS. As far as FAFSA is concerned they both do nothing to lower your EFC. That is the way it is. </p>
<p>You are getting good advice here - listen to it!</p>
<p>My familyās gross income was roughly 99k and our EFC was almost 4,000 dollars.</p>
<p>^^^ that is an insanely low EFC for an income of 99K. I would recheck your numbers.</p>
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I still think that there has been a mistake made somewhere. That EFC is too high given a family size of 7. Did your Dad accidently list some asset twice? We have higher income, smaller family size, and our EFC was lower. It would be worth it for your Dad to look at his input data to see if he has made a mistake somewhere. (Unless you are misunderstanding his current financial situation. Is the money he makes gross or net? If he nets $95,000 it means he actually earns moreā¦Does he own a business? Have a vacation home or share of a home? A large 529 account? Other savings?)</p>
<p>Like people have said, CSS goes much more in depth at what your finances are like. So, it might end up being way different. For instance, my parentās have a combined income of $350,000 and my EFC was $18,000 (they are divorced, so only my motherās information was given).</p>
<p>Iām sorry, but I will never understand this attitude that you deserve something that your parents canāt afford. Whose responsibility do you think it is to pay your way through school because you think youāre too good to go to UT Austin?</p>
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<p>Was this for a FAFSA only school that your momās income was reported only? I think itās a shame that the parent earning $330,000 isnāt required to contribute to your college educationā¦but thatās the way the FAFSA works.</p>
<p>The OP of this thread applied to schools requiring the Profileā¦the nonācustodial parent info would have been required for most of those schools.</p>
<p>Iām sorry hookem, but you need to CHILL. Obviously you canāt do anything but wait until your financial aid packages come in. Just relax and donāt freak out until you get the actual numbers, then you can go from there. Ranting on this board isnāt going to help your financial situation, and either is dismissing the advice that CC member have kindly given you.</p>
<p>C H I L L .</p>
<p>sueinphilly, we only provided estimates, as we have not filed our taxes yet. It is low, but I think it will be around 6,000 to 8,000 after we get the accurate info down. Part of that EFC is that my parents have 3 kids and all three will be in college next year.</p>
<p>that makes more sense since each of the 3 kids will get a similar (exactly the same ?) efc.</p>
<p>^ Yeah, but that would still be under $15k, which seems superlow</p>
<p>Well, everyone has different factors in their FAFSA that contributes to their EFC. By using those FAFSA calculators, I always ended up with about 6000.</p>
<p>hookem - my son is in similar situation - $35K EFC, but no way we can swing even a fraction of this (lower income this year, no college savings) - he is in @ UGA & Ga Tech honors (free tuition in GA), first in class of 500, 2330 SAT, ECs, leadership & essays strong> He applied to Vandy, Duke, and other top SE schools but will only be able to attend if he gets merit aid. Son realizes it doesnāt make sense to go into debt (him or us) when he can go to a top state school, but no, they are definitely not his top choices. So, I wish you the best, we feel your pain.</p>
<p>How does an EFC like 25k factor into tuition for a school that was less than that? Would it be absolutely no aid?</p>
<p>^ I guess. But there are very, very few schools that cost less than that, other than in-state publics.</p>
<p>A very important reality to keep in mind: āMeets 100% of needā means meets 100% of need that is calculated using a standardized formula. It does NOT mean meets 100% of the need your family feels it has.</p>
<p>I just canāt get over the fact that the OP seems to have no problem accepting that the family is paying private K-12 school tuition ā¦ but somehow expects to be able to go to a school costing much, much more for almost free (consider that 25k is essentially half price & OP thinks thatās a joke to expect of the family). Just had to vent. Sorry.</p>
<p>I guess that is true hookem168. I plan on going to Rutgers next year, which will cost about 25k (10k tuition, 10k room and board, and the rest are fees and inflation etc), but that is in-state public.</p>
<p>For the question of how an EFC of 25k factors in for a school that costs less: You would still be eligible to borrow $5500 unsubsidized Stafford student loan freshman year.</p>