<p>My parents just got their 2012 income tax transcripts back. So i updated my FASFA with them . I also did not realize that I was not suppose to report my family's business since they have less than 100 employees. So back in February when I turned in my FASFA I had my parents business value set to $100,000. </p>
<p>Yesterday when I made the corrections with my parent's new tax forms I set their business value to $0.00. My parents also made a lot less in 2012 than in 2011. </p>
<p>After submitting the FASFA corrections it said that my new EFC was $250. Before all these corrections were made it was $4,493. Also, my Pell Grant is now $5,395. Before it was $1,195.</p>
<p>Will this help my financial aid award from the schools i got into increase?</p>
<p>Yes, it should. Your Pell Grant will increase because it is given by the government to wherever you go. However, if any of your schools (it looks like you’re applying to UCs) use the CSS profile or ask for the additional business value, your institutional award may not increase significantly.</p>
<p>Also note that business value and business income are different (your parents’ income should be the income they reported to have made from the business).</p>
<p>Your PELL will go up, and any other guarantees might, if you were not getting the maximum amounts. As far as what a school will give you, if they do not guarantee to meet need,even if they just use FAFSA, it all depends on how they do their calculations and what they have left in the financial aid pot, when it comes to your award. Schools that use PROFILE or ask for business info may not have much of a change as others have noted.</p>
<p>I would seriously consider schools based on the percentage of need met. Regardless of the schools COA, if they meet need 100% or close to it…you can expect college to cost your EFC. $250 a year isn’t bad.</p>
<p>Research and find schools the percentage of need that they meet is close to 100% before you even apply.</p>
<p>Regardless of the schools COA, if they meet need 100% or close to it…you can expect college to cost your EFC.</p>
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<p>Yes, but.</p>
<p>As many on CC will attest, “meeting need” is not a the same at every school. Schools that meet 100% need almost always use Profile or their own form to gather additional info - and often the institutional EFC that is computed is higher than the FAFSA EFC; this is the EFC used when determining need to be met. Students whose parents own businesses are often surprised by how high their institutional EFC is compared to their FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>Another issue is that some schools meet EFC with lots of loans. Loans do cost the student money, meaning that the actual cost is more than what it appears at first glance.</p>
<p>Student Loans are not the devil if you understand how to properly position them. Given the choice between researching schools that will pay vs one’s that do not, I choose researching the schools that pay.</p>
<p>There are plenty of schools, FAFSA and Profile, that meet a closer percentage of your need. The research and information is out there.</p>
<p>Also, profile schools give you the opportunity to appeal the EFC calculation based on unique circumstances.</p>
<p>Bottom line…every situation is unique and I recommend that you do the research, weigh the evidence, and look at the facts before making a decision.</p>
<p>daniloum - This student has already applied and been accepted, and is now attempting to evaluate her financial aid awards. Your advice to “do the research” is, at this point, no longer relevant.</p>
<p>It is true that every situation is unique. For that reason, most of us find we are able to provide the most helpful advice when we read posts carefully before responding.</p>