<p>me & my husband made 31k last year & my EFC came up to 4421
i really think this is a mistake but im scared its right
we have no dependents or property and last year we made 15k and my EFC was 0
anyone else have a similar problem?
could it be a typo?</p>
<p>Are you the student? And, your family is just you and your H? </p>
<p>If so, it could be right. </p>
<p>You’re saying that the previous year, when you only made $15k, your EFC was 0. But, this time, your income doubled, and now your EFC is 4421. </p>
<p>So, it’s saying that 1/3 of your increase in income should go to your education.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that each adult has an exemption of about $8k…so about $16k for a couple. then, after that, about 1/3 is expected to be used for college expenses. Or, something like that.</p>
<p>Assuming you are the student and you’re married, with a total of 2 in your household.</p>
<p>FAFSA will take your adjusted gross income and subtract out FICA, federal and state taxes. In addition, you have 2 major allowances that get subtracted from your gross income in order to calculate your EFC. Can you see which ones would apply to you, and subtract that amount from your income?</p>
<ol>
<li>Income protection allowance:
$8,550 for single, separated or divorced/widowed student;
$8,550 for married student if spouse is enrolled at least 1/2 time;
$13,710 for married student if spouse is not enrolled at least 1/2 time. +</li>
<li>Employment expense allowance:
If student is not married or is separated,the allowance is zero.
If student is married but only one person is working (the student or spouse), the
allowance is zero.
If student is married and both student and spouse are working, the allowance is
35% of the lesser of the earned</li>
</ol>
<p>The remainder (income minus taxes minus allowances) is your available income. The formula expects that 50% of your available income will be included in your EFC.</p>
<p>I just ran your income through the FAFSA4caster and came up with the same thing, so I would assume that is right. You can likely get a Pell grant for around $1600, and then loans and workstudy (depending on your school).</p>
<p>That EFC seems high to me given your income, but it’s what the online calculator says, sadly.</p>
<p>I didn’t get an actual $ amount, it simply says 05836. Is this a code or fraction for FAFSA?</p>
<p>According to another thread the OP started, she/he is an independent married student.</p>
<p>stage 4 - that is your EFC. It is the number schools will use to determine your “need”. It is too high for federal grant aid like the Pell grant. You will be eligible for federal loans. Other aid will depend on your school and their aid policies (if they have institutional aid).</p>
<p>Polastarr - if you are an independent married student that sounds about right.</p>
<p>SCM,</p>
<p>What does this number mean? The website says it’s simply an “index”. WTH?</p>
<p>EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution. However that is really a bit of a misnomer as many people think that is all they will have to pay, which is often not the case. I think maybe that is why they started calling it an index, because people would see a number and think that is all they would be expected to pay and be shocked that their need was not met.</p>
<p>The EFC is used by the school to determine your need and what aid you are eligible for. To determine your need they take the schools Cost of Attendance (COA) less your EFC. So if the school costs 20,000 your need would be 20,000-5826 = 14174.</p>
<p>How and if that need is met will depend on the school and their aid policies. A few schools promise to meet full need with no loans, some promise to meet full need but include a lot of loans, others do not promise to meet full need. Your EFC is too high for the pell grant (the main federal grant), so you would not get that. if the student is a dependent student then the max Stafford loan for a freshman is $5500. The rest of the aid would depend on your school.</p>
<p>OK, Thanks.
Anyone create a cost/benefits ratio for loans? Seems like a good idea.
Say $60K debt/4yrs at state school vs $80K at private. I know privates will try to compete financially if they want you.
This presumes the schools are academic peers but, an additional $10K, or more, per year over state becomes exorbitant.</p>
<p>I’d say either way its WAY too much debt for an undergrad degree. Conventional wisdom says take out no more than about $30,000 in debt for undergrad.</p>
<p>$30K/4yrs? That seems low even at state schools that project costs at $90K/4yrs. That would mean $15K/yr EFC.
Work-study can’t pay that well!</p>
<p>Colleges expect you to pay thier costs out of past income(saving), current income & future income(loans). not take the whole thing out in loans.</p>
<p>Many, if not most, people would have a hard time qualifying for $90,000 in education loans.</p>
<p>Whoa, wait a minute, let’s re-wind here. Aren’t those 3 already factored into arriving at the EFC index?</p>
<p>I am not sure if you understand what an efc is. Its only purpose is to see if you qualify for federal aid. Period. Colleges do not charge a sliding scale based on EFC.</p>
<p>College is not one size fits all. You have to approach it like any other product you purchase. Some (few) people can afford to go across the country to a pricey private school, some can afford to dorm at their state school, most probably live at home and commute to a state school or community college. Some take a couple of years to work and save and then take a class or 2 a semester while working and take a few years to graduate. It all nets the same end result.</p>
<p>I guess what I don’t understand is the methods used by schools while considering the EFC & CSS profile.
I do understand that tuition is negotiable, especially at private schools with decent endowments.</p>
<p>Stage4…you seem to be confusing EFC with COA (cost of attendance) or something.</p>
<p>BTW…there is no justification for borrowing more for a private…a private education does NOT equate to higher paying jobs to help pay for larger loans. That has been proven time and time again. </p>
<p>tuition at privates is NOT really “negotiable”. At any school (private or public), you may be able to ask for more financial consideration. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. It can sometimes depend on how badly the school wants your stats on their campus. However, many schools (private and publics) do NOT have much money to give away.</p>
<p>Federal student loans are limited to the following amounts…</p>
<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>
<p>about $27k total. That is because that is about the TOP AMOUNT that a newish grad can afford to make the payments towards IN ADDITION to paying for one’s other life expenses…taxes, housing, utilities, car, insurance, food, cell phone, internet, cable, clothing, and entertainment. </p>
<p>A college debt of about $27 is about $300 a month loan payment for TEN LONG YEARS!!! That is equal to an EXTRA car payment…in addition to whatever REAL car payment and life expenses a person will have. Believe me, if you were to ask several college grads who are in their twenties, VERY FEW would tell you that they can afford to pay for “larger car payments” in addition to their own REAL expenses.</p>
<p>You’re supposed to pay for college this way…</p>
<p>1) Current income - from parents, student summer job, and student part-time job during the school year.
2) savings
3) small student loans
4) and, maybe, some other aid…such as work-study and institutional aid. </p>
<p>No one is supposed to borrow the entire amount…that would be too much debt to pay back. It would RUIN your adult life.</p>
<p>When money is an issue, people look for less expensive alternatives…such as getting merit scholarships, starting at a community college, and/or commuting to a local state school.</p>
<p>
?? Where do you get that idea?</p>
<p>We made just over $22k last year with two dependents and I have no EFC for a state school, but still get no grants.</p>
<p>“Say $60K debt/4yrs at state school vs $80K at private. I know privates will try to compete financially if they want you.”</p>
<p>Don’t do that! Why would you need that much in loans? Shouldn’t a good $35k over four years do it for even a more expensive state school? After all, you’re already earning enough to cover living expenses.</p>
<p>In your situation I wouldn’t even consider private without an enormous scholarship.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No it’s not. The tuition/room/board/fees rates…in fact the cost of attendance are FIXED numbers that are set annually at each college. They are the SAME for all students.</p>
<p>What is different is how much each student might be PAYING for this cost of attendance. Some get more financial aid than others to offset these fixed costs.</p>
<p>Some schools will “negotiate”…or discuss your financial aid award with you and make adjustments…and others absolutely will NOT. YMMV.</p>