<p>I met with a FA rep at our kids' school today to request a change in circumstances consideration, since I lost my fulltime job last year (decreasing our household income by 70%). The rep said they couldn't even consider it because I had a small amount of self-employment income last year. She claims the federal govt. won't allow any change of circumstances for parents who have had self-employment income. </p>
<p>Anyone know if this is true? For our two sons, we will be paying 50k to this school next year (it's a state school), which is many times higher than the tiny amount of self-employment income I had so it seems like that little bit of income is really coming back to bite me in the butt. Our EFC was just slightly over the cutoff for Pell, so even if they would adjust it slightly, we'd have a chance at getting at least a little bit of grant money. As I told the FA rep, I know my self-employment income this year will be even less than last year, since most of the companies I've worked for have since folded or gone bankrupt.</p>
<p>That is not true. There are really no government guidelines for adjusting income - every case must be examined and decided on its individual merits (a problem in this economy, as you might imagine). A family losing self-employment income certainly deserves a re-evaluation as much as a family losing employer-paid income. Because it may be difficult to determine the projected income for the self-employed, some aid officers may be hesitant to make adjustments - and they certainly do not have to do so. However, many do so. You will have to present your case succinctly. You can’t just say your income will be less. You will have to outline how much you actually anticipate earning & how you arrived at that figure. The aid officer cannot reduce your EFC … he/she can only reduce your expected income, which in turn will most likely result in a reduced EFC. You must provide the details. </p>
<p>If you are unable to get an adjustment this year, the change will catch up with you next year, at least.</p>
<p>Thanks, kelsmom. That’s what I thought. Even though I know my self-employment income will be less, I’m not even asking them to consider that. I just want them to adjust based on the loss of my fulltime job, which happened six months ago and had a major (and easy to document) impact on our household financial situation. I think the FA rep was just looking for an excuse to weed me out, so she latched onto the self-employment income as something that supposedly would make us ineligible for a change in circumstances review. </p>
<p>I’m going to try again with someone higher up in the FA department.</p>