EFC received...HAHA BAAHAHA yea right!

Paying for College
1

<p>Ok, hubby and I have gotten up off the floor from laughing our butts off and now we have a question. If D gets any of the scholarships she's applied for, can we use those to lower our EFC or will the colleges just subtract that from their fin. aid pkg?</p>

<p>I guess what I want to know is can we lower this EFC or will it remain that unrealistic amount even if she gets merit awards, scholarships etc....? Also, this amount is more than some of our state schools tuition. Does this mean those schools won't even offer a fin. aid pkg?</p>

<p>We thought we were beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel, after working so hard and struggling for years. We made it almost thru the teenage years and were getting excited about the future only to realize that the light we were seeing was from an oversized freight train carrying our oversized EFC!!!!!</p>

2

<p>Ditto here. We are in the same boat. An EFC we couldn't possibly come up with every year. I'm not "laughing" about it though as you are : )</p>

3

<p>I couldn't help but laugh........did they really think that we could come up with that amount EVERY year for the next 4 years?!?! They've got to be kidding.</p>

<p>I'm choosing to laugh to keep from doing the opposite which would have a negative effect on our other kids. It's called "hystercial laughter", derived from the latin term 'hysteria' meaning crazy, insane, asinine....which is what this stupid process is!</p>

4

<p>Generally speaking local scholarships have to be declared and will come out of your FA package. The EFC isn't necessarily meant to be money they think you have as discretionary income every month. It would include monies that you borrow. If you look through some of the earlier threads on this board, you will get an idea. FIW, my EFC was $99,999. Talk about hysterical laughter.</p>

5

<p>how do we ever come up with this outrageous amount?</p>

<p>this may give you an idea</p>

6

<p>So are you saying that basically any awarded money from here on will go towards helping the colleges lower their amount of aid but not towards lowering our EFC?</p>

<p>Please forgive me but this is our first experience with this and I'm trying to muddle my way through this process.</p>

7

<p>If it's outside scholarships . sometimes the college will use them to lower the loan amount of the students' award . Each college has a different policy and you have to check with their FA officer . It's probably a good idea to check with them soon so you are ready.</p>

8

<p>I think the college FA offices are sensitive to how it looks if they just lower their grants when an outside scholarship comes in, such that it is a "why did I bother?" situation for the student. </p>

<p>So what I have seen is that the colleges will adjust work study first, then loans, which are pretty nice benefits. Then after that your FA grants are reduced dollar for dollar for outside scholarships. What else would make sense, really?</p>

<p>Case in point, for last year's FA award, 2006-7 academic year, DS#2 was awarded a surprise $1500 scholarship for Eagle Scouts at his school. His work study allowance was reduced by that amount, and he enjoyed not having to work those hours (extra time for homework?).</p>

9

<p>Right. So the EFC remains the same. You have to report the outside scholarship to the college, and they make and adjustment in their aid package. Hopefully by reducing the self-help portion.</p>

10

<p>can somebody tell me if i have to figure out the value of all the savings bonds we've accumulate and claim it as an investment under the parent asset information section? everyone i know never claimed any value of their savings bonds.</p>

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<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=285102&page=2%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=285102&page=2&lt;/a>
whose asset depends on whose soc sec # is used to cash them
or you can also calculate interest each year with the help of the web site</p>

12

<p>Use the savings bond wizard to calculate current value.</p>

<p>Also-- the SS# that's on the Bond isn't a sure indicator of who the owner is. A relative, for example, can purchase bonds as a gift and put the recipient's name on the bond, but the giver's SS#. Use the links in the other thread to see how the government treats ownership of bonds that are co-owned, for financial aid purposes.</p>

<p>Best, of course, to consider them a parent asset if you can, due to the lower assessment rate, and the parental asset allowance. If at all possible, don't have significant savings in the student's name on the day you complete FAFSA.</p>

<p>And as EK4 said, when it comes time to cash them in, the SS# that's used at the bank (if co-owned) is the person who will get the 1099 for tax purposes.</p>

13

<p>Yeah, it's a real laugh. The EFC is what the government expects you as a family to pay for college. It does NOT guarantee you any money between that and the COA unless it qualifies you for Pell grants, Stafford loans, and possibly state funds if your state has any. Even if your EFC were zero, it does not mean a school will give you a dime other than the government money. Schools that use the FAFSA alone do not tend to guarantee 100% of need. So just when you think that EFC truly means "Every F...... Cent", you realize you have just begun to be purged. If your kids applied to private schools, many, usually the ones who tend to give a higher % of need, require additional fin aid apps, their own, or PROFILE. Those forms often assess you for more money as they include stuff that the FAFSA does not. (not always, it is possible to get a lower EFC, but not often). </p>

<p>Merit awards often go to lowering the financial aid. It depends on the school and how they treat such grants. IF they are in house, they generally take that all into account upon giving the awards. Outside scholarships, yes, they often get adjusted and are not always used towards your EFC but toward lowering some of the college's aid. But usually there is some break given and often those scholarships lower offered loan amounts first. It does depend on the school. </p>

<p>I have seen on these boards so much disappointment even among those with zero or low EFCs when the financial aid packages come in. Colleges do not necessarily meet the need. Also if your student gets some sort of merit within need, that can reduce your EFC. That most often happens at your kids' safety schools where they really want them and are willing to pay for them. The reach schools rarely do this as they have plenty of kids with the same profile. This is a reason why it is so strongly advised to have some safety schools, particularly financial safeties that have some juicy merit money that your kid may qualify for.</p>

14

<p>Got to admit - I had to laugh this morning when my H emailed me at work what our EFC came out to. Its better than crying...........</p>

15

<p>I admit I was a little surprised when I first did the FAFSA 7 years ago for our oldest daughter.
It helped that while she applied to colleges then ( all public- very little merit aid), and that our "aid" offer was virtually all loans and unsubsidized loans at that, she didn't attend college that fall- choosing instead to take a year off.</p>

<p>So it gave us more time to get our ducks in a row, and to look for a school that she would be interested in, but might offer either more merit aid, or offer 100% of need, so while we might be paying out same EFC, we would feel like we were getting a bit more for her/our money.</p>

<p>sites like CC and <a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.finaid.org&lt;/a>, are invaluable for those trying to work out college expenses.</p>

<p>It helps a little to realize that most of us are in the same boat,having to use savings, as well as loans and income if we are going to see our kids attend college without backbreaking debt & I do know those whose EFC is $99,999 as well and while they don't pay it easily, they do pay it willingly, knowing that , that also has allowed their kids to have more choices and opportunities, not just in colleges.</p>

<p>Expanding your search, not just for scholarships, but by using the USNEWS rankings for best values and lowest debt, instead of just waiting to see what schools they are putting at the top this year, will also give you more realistic and equally valuable choices.</p>

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<p>Emerald, I did not know that you went the public route and didn't get anything for your older child. I am a bit surprised, as she seems to be a smart kid, and I would have thought that one of the publics would have coughed up enough merit money for her to go. Afterall, she did end up at a rigorous and selective college. It is frightening to hear this. I had thought that it was less ornerous financially to send someone to a good state school on the west coast. I don't remember which state you are in. The flagships do not subsidize their top students there?</p>

17

<p>no- the first time she applied to schools
she only applied to Evergreen ( small merit award less than $1,000), Western Wa Univ & Central Wa. ( we are in Wa- which is about
She also applied to University of Oregon.
Her first choice was Evergreen, she only applied to the others because I wanted her to at least consider a few other schools, and I thought since her scores and stats were above most attending students, that perhaps a nice merit award would get a 2nd look.
U of O did send her information about merit awards saying she probably would qualify but she would have to apply to them as a formality, but since she didn't really want to go their either- it went into the big pile of papers.
It was a little surprising, actually, I realize she didn't play team sports and she hadn't won any national awards, but even a friend who was a National Merit Scholar and ended up at Western, didn't recieve much.</p>

<p>Our EFC is actually more-than Wa college expenses are- this year I think Western is about $5,000 for tuition and $6,000 for room and board, and our EFC, which was a little less than 1/4 of our income was well over that amount.</p>

<p>I did forget that she could have recieved a state merit scholarship- which was for low and low middle students who received a certain GPA/SAT score, if they attended college in state- That was for about $1000 and was renewable, and if she had attended Evergreen, which was pretty inexpensive instate, combined with their grant, would have allowed her to graduate without any debt, since we would have still put the same amount towards her education.</p>

<p>We didn't really know about 3/4s of the schools out there, it was only when she decided to take a year off, that she decided to apply to one more, which happened to be a private school that met 100% of her need- but was out of state. So no Promise scholarship ( which has been discontinued), and more loans ( subsidized) and a larger contribution from us, not to mention having to put all her summer earnings toward the EFC.</p>

<p>She earned a very good education, but if I had to do it over again, I would have had her find internships summers, even if they didn't pay anything, at least for a few years, instead of having her work where she could make the most money.
Then again, she liked her summer jobs and did get a lot out of them, so whos to say?</p>

18

<p>hi CPT,</p>

<p>I am not EK but I can tell you from the experience in my house, had D attended the local state U we would have been full freight payers with little or no FA (outside of loans) from the state U (I have a co worker who has 2 kids at State U and are full freight paying for both of them). </p>

<p>Who would have thought that attending an ivy would cost us less than attending our local state U, but it does happen.</p>