EFC numbers are per child or per family? For 1example if my EFC is $50 on FAFSA and i’m paying $30 for one kid then my other kid would only pay $20 or is it $50 for each kid?
If FAFSA estimates EFC as $50, one kid is paying $30 (after merit deduction), 2nd kid’s college estimates EFC of $75 then how much do you pay to second college? What’s the point of FAFSA if colleges can ask whatever they want?
Each child has their own FAFSA so the EFC on their report isn’t your EFC, it’s only for them. The FAFSA EFC is primarily used to see if you qualify for a Pell Grant. I’ve read it’s the minimum you can expect to pay for each child, and in our experience that’s been true.
@austinmshauri How come they expect any family to pay $150 per year for two students from an income of $250? Do they expect parents to sell their assets?
Colleges don’t expect anything. They don’t specify where the money will come from. It’s up to the parents to figure out funding. I think a good rule of thumb is to think of funding as 1/3 from savings, 1/3 from current income, and 1/3 from future income (the ~$5500/year federal student loan).
It’s important for families to choose schools that are affordable for them. In my opinion, that means without taking from their retirement or borrowing more than roughly the federal student loans. If your income makes you full pay at $60k colleges and you can only pay that by selling off assets that you don’t want to dispose of, I’d choose another set of schools. Search for guaranteed merit. Look for schools whose total cost is within the limits of what you can comfortably pay. Run each school’s net price calculator to get an estimate of what it would cost, and if it’s too much don’t let your kid apply. Make sure your children know your budget going in, not after all the financial aid packages arrive. And if money is an issue have at least a couple of financial safeties on the list.
If your income is $250,000 a year…your total FAFSA EFC total…is going to be in the $65000 to about $85,000 for the year but that’s just based on INCOME. If you have assets, the family contribution could easily be much higher. Things like your 529, regular savings, a second home, stocks, investments…all count.
If it’s a Profile school, this could also include a portion of primary home equity.
Are you self employed or do you own a business??
If you have two kids in colleges where your family contribution is $75,000 each…then there are a number of possibilities.
- These colleges do not meet full need so you are being asked to pay the cost. Which two colleges have COA of $75,000?
- You goofed on your FAFSA and/or Profile and only indicated ONE kiddo would be in college. So check that.
- You have a LOT of assets in addition to your income.
Now…in terms of paying…the thought is…you pay using a combination of four things…
- Current earnings.
- Savings (past earnings)
- Future earnings (loans)
- Possible merit aid from schools that offer it.
And lastly…no student MUST attend a $75,000 a year college. If those schools are not in keeping with the family budget…just say no.
Thank you all for demystifying EFC for me.
The EFC is not a “real” figure. Never use it as a determinant of what you will be paying. It’s more like an index. And each college interprets that index differently.
Your EFC will be less for each child if you have more than one in college at a time.
I know you are trying to find reasons not to send your kid to Amherst. If you can’t afford it, then you can’t afford it. Did you do the Net Price Calculator BEFORE he applied? That would have told you how much aid you’d get – or not get.
Amherst does not care that you are paying for your nephews’ college. They expect you to use that money for your own child. Maybe help your nephews apply for loans and use your money for your child. If you can and have the desire, you can help the nephews pay off the loans.
Their country doesn’t have student loans, father passed away when they were young and mother’s income is not enough to afford colleges. It was a sentimental decision to commit but i gave my word so can’t abandon them. If I got convinced that Amherst is a significantly better option, i’ll sell some assest or something to make it happen for my kid. I’m not trying to find reasons to reject Amherst but rather looking for reasons to accept it as other choice is a top tier school as well.
It doesn’t matter to the school how you come up with the money but if selling assets is required, that is fair. Hypothetical scenarios:
Family A - $200K income, $250K in 529 and $750K in home equity.
Family B - $200K income, $1M in home equity.
In my book, both should be expected to pay the same. Family A chose to invest in a 529. Family B chose to invest in real estate. The families are equal. If family B can’t pay out of current earnings, they may need to borrow against their equity.
I’ve heard that schools often expect you to pay 60% of your need (as they calculate it) per student. Schools have different calculations for need. If you have assets that can be sold to finance an education schools expect you to do so before they will give you needs based money. Merit money is different, but the most selective schools don’t offer merit money, just needs based.
If that’s what it takes, yes.
The second student is not OP’s child, so the EFC won’t be split between the two children. The second student is a relative who may not even be able to file a FAFSA and if he can, it will be his parents’ information on the FAFSA.
I believe OP has a second of her/his own child.
I can’t claim out of country nephews on FAFSA, just my own kids. My oldest attends a second tier private with partial merit scholarship. We paid 30k in tuition and fee, he lives off campus so room, board, meals, utilities and transport are separate expenses. He is pre med and wanted to attend a school where he can have a high GPA and oppurtunities for internship and research. He didn’t have any acceptnces from top 20 so it was an easy decision for him.
FAFSA is an application for federal aid…
the federal govt has no power to direct colleges to only charge X or to give Y amounts of aid. The reality is that most colleges don’t have the aid to give! How can a FAFSA EFC of $500 mean that a school must give the student $55,500 in aid? Schools don’t have a magic wand that makes money appear.
@CupCakeMuffins - If I understand things correctly – you have 2 kids. The older attends school with a merit award bringing COA down to $30K a year. Even with one kid in college, based on your income and assets, Amherst thinks your family is full pay. But you are also spending money to support your nephews in college, so even though you have only 2 kids in college on the FAFSA – full pay at Amherst is a stretch.
Your Amherst-admitted kid also has other options with merit money.
I think the answer is easy. It isn’t a FAFSA/EFC thing because your kid is either eligible for federal loans or he isn’t, and Amherst has its own policies on financial aid that aren’t governed by FAFSA.
The TRUTH: There is nothing about Amherst or any other college, Harvard & Princeton included, that make them so special so as to justify spending double what you are paying elsewhere. It’s the Mercedes v. Toyota analogy – your mileage will vary, but a smart and capable kid should be able to do well wherever he goes.
You are paying $30K a year for the older sibling, so in fairness to kid #2, IF you can do it and some of his options are in that price range – you should be willing to fund at least that. (Rather than forcing him to take a full-ride NM offer at Podunk U.) But if $70K is out of range – then you just need to be honest with your son that you can’t afford it and move on.
Keep in mind that the pricey dream school option can put undue pressure on your younger son – sometimes kids don’t find elite schools to be a great fit; sometimes they don’t do so well academically or socially, etc. So when you stick within a budget you are comfortable with —you are giving your child more flexibility and freedom in the long run.
That you are posting on CC makes it abundantly clear that you simply aren’t comfortable with paying full freigh for Amherst – so don’t do it. You have options, your son has options. If he’s smart enough for Amherst, then he should also be smart enough to understand the math.
You summarized it well. Only twist is that he understands it and that’s what bothers me that kid is the one who has to compromise because parents and college both are expecting him to compromise. That’s the only reason i may take the bullet and pay.
No…the college is NOT expecting your kid to compromise. They are expecting you to pay for him to attend, when you have allocated your funds for paying for another family member to attend college…instead. It’s a nice thing to do…but that is where the compromise has already been made.
I don’t think this has anything to do with FAFSA or the aid colleges are offering your son. Your younger son’s budget is affected by your budget choices. Let’s say you have ~$120k/year to pay for college. Divided equally between your 2 sons that’s $60k each. But you’ve decided to spread it to cover 2 nephews too, so that reduces each student’s budget to $30k. Colleges don’t take into account how much parents spend on extended family members, so your need based aid won’t be increased because you’ve chosen to take on additional expenses. They can’t afford to subsidize your nephews’ education, which is what they’d be doing if they gave you more money.
You have to decide what you can comfortably spend. If paying for your nephews means your son(s) have to chase merit or spend less than they’d be able to if you weren’t supporting their cousins, then that’s what they need to do. It’s great your son understands that. I would be careful not to speak in a way that makes him resentful of his choices.