<p>My EFC says 48276. It says it is NOT what I am expected to pay, and it is NOT what I am expected to receive, but it is an index for colleges to use to determine financial aid. I thought EFC would give me a raw number. My dad wanted to have a ballpark estimate of what he would need to be prepared to shell out for college. I am probably overlooking something very simple. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. I just want to have somebody give me a number, and have them tell me what "48276" mean.</p>
<p>Roughly speaking, it means by the FAFSA calculations you and your family should be able to provide $48,276. for your college expenses for 2010-11.</p>
<p>Which is not to say it’s all you might have to pay, but at minimum that would be the amount by FAFSA’s reckoning.</p>
<p>If you go to a school with a cost of attendence that is that amount or lower then you would have no “need.” If the COA was higher you would have need in the amount that exceeds the 48,276… it doesn’t mean the school would meet that need necessarily, but it might. That depends on the policies of the school itself.</p>
<p>You WILL NOT get financial aid unless you go to a school that cost $100,000.</p>
<p>Oh. Heavenly. Days. Well, looks like I can kiss dreams of attending a really prestigious school good-bye! haha My Dad made 45,000 dollar this year; last year he made 240,000. Thank you recession!! I was naive to believe I would get financial aid. I need to stop before I rant about all of my “hard work”.</p>
<p>If you have applied (not sure if you are a junior or senior) I would definitely add a comment into your Profile (if you’re applying to profile colleges) and call finaid at any of the FAFSA schools and advise of the drastic income change between last year and this year. No guarantees about anything these days, but if it were me with that big of a difference, I’d be calling and e-mailing if nothing else.</p>
<p>Well, the most prestigious schools probably require the Profile form. Do a calculator and look at the “institutional methodology” estimate. That is what the top colleges will consider. </p>
<p>You said your dad earned $45K this year but it’s January. Do you mean that is what he is expected to earn in 2010? Will that be the norm from now on? Because, if so, you may want to wait a year to apply to those prestigious schools. (So if you are a junior and your dad will earn $45K <em>this</em> year, please realize that that is what counts. They look at all assets but income really is basically from the previous year although momofthreeboys is right-- it doesn’t hurt to try.)</p>
<p>How much can your parents contribute (including savings)? If you are competitive to top schools, you may be able to get merit $ from schools interested in attracting you.</p>
<p>You said he made 240,000 “last year” - do you mean 2009? Your FAFSA EFC is based on the previous year’s taxes. Saying that he made on $45,000 this year is confusing since it’s only January still.</p>
<p>Or do you mean he made 240,000 in 2008 and 45,000 in 2009? If that’s the case you EFC probably shouldn’t be so high since it’s based on 2009… unless your dad has lots and lots of assets.</p>
<p>Anyway, as Momof3boys says, if you’ve had a dramatic change in circumstances that is not reflected in the FAFSA you can always ask for a review and perhaps get an adjustment… that is up to the schools themselves.</p>
<p>Where have you applied?</p>
<p>Are you a junior or senior?</p>
<p>**If you are a senior, did you apply to any financial safety schools?</p>
<p>Did you apply to any schools that give merit scholarships?**</p>
<p>In what year did your dad earn $240k?</p>
<p>240,000 for 2008 and 45,000 for 2009. Yes, he does have lots of assets. He owns two furniture stores. He has one completely paid off that is appraised a little under a million, but he still owes about a half a million to fully own the other store. He is trying to fully own that store, pay for my sister’s college, recession hit hard this year, and I am in the worst position for finances at this point. I’m feeling rather pessimistic. I need to count my blessings. It’s pretty selfish to dwell on this when I do have a nice merit scholarship to a good liberal arts college, and there are people DYING in droves in Haiti. I need to be more positive and thank God for what I have. It just hurts to watch dreams become obliterated.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Did you do the FAFSA based on 2009 income and assets?</p>
<p>I do have a nice merit scholarship to a good liberal arts college,</p>
<p>Where all have you applied? What are your stats?</p>
<p>What scholarship did you receive? How much of the tuition, room, board, books, etc will the scholarship cover?</p>
<p>Yes, the FAFSA was based on 2009. I have been accepted to Hendrix–if I receive the Arkansas Governor’s Distinguished, I will pay next to nothing. I was also accepted to Rhodes and selected as a Cambridge Scholar. Now your sympathy will wane because clearly I will still attend a nice college. Every night I stayed up until 3 working on calculus and other unmentionables, I always dreamed of places like Brown and Johns Hopkins. I have yearned to get out of the South. I wanted to go far, far away from my hometown. I cannot believe I am going to get nothing. That is just so ridiculous. </p>
<p>Stats: 33 ACT, 720 & 790 on SAT II’s, 3.9 uw gpa, top 5% of graduating class, All-State Choir, State Tennis, MVP of the year, quiz bowl captain, president of National Honors Society, Arkansas Governor’s School, HOBY representative–over 100 hours volunteering= President’s Award, and most rigorous schedule offered. Those are the basics.</p>
<p>Helvetica, </p>
<p>2008 doesn’t count. What is hurting you is the assets and that your dad can’t file a short form on his taxes.</p>
<p>Does your family qualify for reduced price lunch? Here is the chart: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/notices/iegs/IEGs09-10.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/notices/iegs/IEGs09-10.pdf</a></p>
<p>I <em>think</em> that if someone in your family gets reduced price lunch, you may qualify for some aid even though your dad can’t file a short form for his taxes. Maybe one of the financial aid gurus can step in.</p>
<p>I don’t think someone with over $1,000,000 in assets will qualify for free lunches. I hope not anyway.</p>
<p>OP - how do you think you are getting nothing? You are getting merit based scholarships - those are for your hard work and excellent stats. </p>
<p>Need based aid is for people with financial need. Really with well over a million dollars in assets you should not have been expecting need based aid.</p>
<p>Helvetica, you can request special consideration based on the reduced income. Each school will respond differently. Our 2009 income vs 2008 was almost exactly what your father’s was due to job loss. However, our assets were approximately one tenth of yours. For one of our daughters the school made an adjustment in available aid after an appeal. For the other who is at a diffferent school, we were told that until our assets were reduced significantly, they would not make a financial aid change. This is because less than five percent of families even have enough assets to be considered in the EFC calculations.</p>
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<p>Anything’s possible with fraud!</p>
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<p>That doesn’t sound right at all. How can you qualify for aid just because you’re related to someone who needs aid?</p>
<p>Did you make National Merit? </p>
<p>I’m wondering if there are any other merit scholarship schools that have deadlines that haven’t passed…</p>
<p>Maybe…</p>
<p>UMichigan…</p>
<p>UMiami…</p>
<p>Can anyone think of any other merit schools that aren’t in the South and have deadlines that haven’t passed. (I don’t consider Miami as the South).</p>
<p>I’m wonder if any schools in the Northwest…like maybe Seattle U or U Portland or…???</p>
<p>I agree that you shouldn’t have expected ANY financial aid, and your parents should have insisted on doing an EFC calculation long before now. </p>
<p>How much can your parents contribute each year towards your education?</p>
<p>??? Cambridge Scholar receives $26,000 a year. If going to a school like Rhodes is “nothing”, maybe you can convince your father to borrow against his considerable assets to send you where you deserve to go.</p>
<p>It sounds different to say one million dollar asset. It could also be described as warehouse filled with furniture that isn’t really selling. The latter being the statement that needs financial aid. I can’t really chop off pieces of the “$1,000,000 building” and give it to colleges. lol I need to cross my fingers that I get rejected from my schools. Turning down those acceptances will hurt…badly. Who knows, maybe things will change. I could find a benefactor, or I could accrue boatloads of debt in our fabulous state of economy! haha Thanks to all for your help.</p>
<p>No, I’m sorry hoosiermom. I misspoke. I didn’t mean that the scholarship was nothing. I was just meaning on need-based for this past year’s horrible income. I did not realize how big of a role that assets played into financial aid. I am grateful. Try to not judge too harshly, considering I am just really upset about this. I agree mom2collegekids, I should have done an EFC a long time ago. It was foolish to apply to all of these schools without this knowledge.</p>
<p>If you want to get out of the south, you might consider applying to University of Portland. It’s not equal to Brown and such, but it is a very good, respectable school. And, you’d be getting away as you’d like.</p>
<p>It has a Feb 1st priority deadline and gives merit scholarships. I would imagine that they would be quite generous with your stats. </p>
<p>[The</a> University of Portland](<a href=“http://www.up.edu/]The”>http://www.up.edu/)</p>
<p>Has your dad said how much he can contribute each year?</p>
<p>Would he be willing to pay for any student loans that you have to take out? He’d pay them back after you graduate and hopefully the economy would be better then.</p>