<p>if a family makes 300k a certain year but loses it all due to investment losses, unemployment, fines, or lawsuits etc, what will the EFC be like for a student from that unfortunate family?</p>
<p>Your FAFSA EFC is based on income and assets for the prior year. If a student’s family had a 300K income in 2008, their EFC for the 2009-10 academic year would be quite high.</p>
<p>If the family lost that income – say it went down to 0 in 2009 – then their EFC would adjust downward for the 2010-11 year. (I am leaving out consideration of other assets, which are also part of the formula. If, even with 0 income, they had significant assets, that would be reflected in their EFC.)</p>
<p>If the family had a student that had a very high EFC due to their previously high income, and then they suddenly had no income, that student could ask for a professional judgement by the college’s financial aid office for the current year. The student may or may not get some aid at that point, depending on the family’s current circumstances.</p>
<p>To clarify the income is your adjusted gross income from the tax return.</p>