I finished My Fafsa early this year and all went well with my EFC being the same as it always has been at around $2,500. That number has relatively been the same since first filling out my Fafsa in 2015. However, for the second year in a row my school asked me to fill out a verification form and recommended that I use the IRS Data retrieval tool. So that’s what I did, but my EFC went from $2,500 to over $99,000. The only income in my household is mine and my mothers which ads up to around $42,000 yearly, and her assets have not changed since 2015. I used the data retrieval tool last year when my school requested the verification form and the EFC did not change. I’ve gone over my Fafsa multiple times and have noticed no mistakes. I have contacted Fafsa and they told me they cannot go over my financial information with me and my school will look over my form to make any final corrections to determine my aid, but I still do not qualify for any financial aid. I am confused as our financial status has not changed in any way in years and since I used the retrieval tool last year with no issues. Anyone have the same issue or have advice on who I should contact at this point to see what the problem is? Thank you.
If your mother made $42k, how much did you make?
It is probably your income that is changing your EFC. This is because you are younger and have more years until retirement have less income protection. A larger portion of your income is going toward your EFC.
My income is around $1,600 yearly, haha. It’s been the same for a couple years now so I don’t think that’s it, but I wouldn’t know for sure. that $42k is our incomes combined.
Call the school and talk to someone there. Check the form to make sure there wasn’t a mistake (like an extra zero somewhere making it read $400k instead of $40k).
An extra 0 or a missing decimal point would be my guess.
Did your mom do an IRA or TSA rollover in 2016? That could be another issue.
My guess also would be a misplaced decimal point. Go to your financial aid office…today…and get this straightened out.
And if you are not a college senior now…next year USE the IRS DRT when you complete your FAFSA. From what you have written, this is the second year you have been verified asking for the same thing. Colleges expect you will either use the DRT OR provide a tax transcript. Do this in October when the FAFSA becomes available for filing. Then you won’t be scrambling to figure this out at the end of May.
How much does she have In assets?
Does She have a lot of assets that used to be ignored? has something changed so that they are now not ignored?
Why have you been earning so little the last few years? Someone your age could be earning 2000 a year during the school year and another 2000 to 3000 during summer
It’s just a very short part time job I’ve been doing for a family friend while in school.
No, not to my knowledge.
Yeah, I’ll just use the retrieval tool from the start next year. I’ll call the school and ask them what could possibly have gone wrong on my Fafsa this year. Thanks.
Is your “no not to my knowledge” a reply to me about a TSA or IRA rollover in 2016?
You need to ask your mom about this.
Yeah, okay. Thanks, I’ll ask her.
Where is your dad in all of this?
passed a few years ago,
Please answer
How much does she have In assets?
Does She have a lot of assets that used to be ignored? has something changed so that they are now not ignored?
I am sorry for the loss of your dad.
Here is my guess…and I am guessing.
Were you eligible for either an automatic $0 EFC or the simplified needs test in the past? If so, assets were not used to compute the FAFSA EFC. It’s possible that you no longer are eligible for that…and because of that, your assets weren’t used.
But to get to an EFC of $99,000, you would need millions of dollars in assets if ONLY assets were counted.
Another possibility which I have mentioned before…is a TSA or IRA rollover. If you had one of these in 2016, and you didn’t complete the FAFSA correctly (which is a VERY common error), that amount would be added to your income.
By any chance did you or or mom get life insurance money when your dad died? Or perhaps some cash from his former employer in unused PTO time?
You say your dad died “a few years ago”. Was that in 2016? Did your parents file a joint return that year? If so, you would not have been able to use the DRT…or shouldn’t have…because your dad is no longer alive and his income doesn’t count.
Are your assets in the form of a life insurance policy? If so, please very quickly go to the Financial Aid Office at your school. Really…you needed to have done that already. They can see what the DRT uploaded onto your FAFSA…your numbers are blocked out.
@kelsmom any chance they are going to fix that? I mean really…how can someone know what an error is if the DRT spillover is blocked out so no one can see the actual numbers?