<p>when would u say is about the cutoff for being elegible to recive financial aid in terms of how much money your family makes a year? my parents say that they make too much total to be able to get much aid, and are trying to get outta doing the Fafsa...i dont want to write any numbers of what they make (and i dont know anyway), but what would you say is the cutoff for how much u make to be elegible to get much aid? thanks.</p>
<p>There are parents with combined incomes above US$100,000 per year whose children receive financial aid, and there are many merit aid programs that require filling out the FAFSA first, so it is almost ALWAYS a good idea to fill out the FAFSA and other financial aid forms. Your parents should fill out the forms. You can maybe help them do the right thing by promising to take care of them when they are old and frail and their friends have already died.</p>
<p>The key to financial aid is determining Estimated Family Contribution under FAFSA. If your EFC is higher than the total cost (counting mainly tuition, fees, room and board, books, and some expenses) for a year at the college of your choice, there will be no need based financial aid. If you can learn some applicable numbers from your parents, there are websites that provide calculators to give you some idea what your EFC might be (just google EFC Calculator). Trying to provide one figure as a cut-off is next to impossible because there are so many variables from family to family.</p>
<p>Drusba is correct, the EFC depends on numerous items, including income, business, assets, home equity (but not federal), etc.. The College Board website can give you a good estimatation of of the federal EFC and the Istitutional EFC if you can discern some parental financials. But, as a rule of thumb, the aid starts to reduce at around adjusted gross income of $75k, depending on family size, IRA/401(k) contributions, number of kids in college, etc.</p>
<p>One other talking point for your parents: the FinAid officer at one private school info session we attended she said that to qualify for thier non-need-based merit aid, the student must complete the FAFSA.</p>
<p>You really need to check with schools about the FAFSA. Many require it for merit aid as well. If your family is able and willing to pay the full cost of attendance, I suppose you don't need to do the FAFSA. However, in the event that your family income drops during the year (job layoff or unanticipated high medical expenses for example), the college will not reevaluate your need for finaid (for the second semester) without a FAFSA on file.</p>