<p>I also could not retrieve (confirm) my S’s HS name. I tried many different variations. I did an on-line chat with FAFSA and was told not to worry, that the colleges would ask for info if they needed it. I did put the name of the HS in the form, but whatever I put in just didn’t match what FAFSA has in its database. They should really have a search option for HS names if they are asking us to confirm against their database.</p>
<p>^I had that problem too! I finally just put in one part of the HS name and the city/state and got it to come up…that was the question that took the longest this year, by far!</p>
<p>Is that just for 1st time filers? We were not asked any questions about high schools.</p>
<p>FAFSA would not accept D’s high school name also, and I just put it in and continued filling out the form. It did not seem to matter.</p>
<p>Yes, swimcatsmom, now that I think about it. I did two first-timers and several returning students…pretty sure I only saw it on the first times apps.</p>
<p>“How the heck does it make sense to decrease the asset protection allowance when the economy is so crappy, and likely to remain so for quite some time? SHEESH”</p>
<p>AMEN!!! I am so angry at the whole system. We have a crummy HHI, but we are super-frugal and have been saving forever, so we have assets, and we are being penalized for that. Our system punishes savers (and older people, who tend to have more savings), while it rewards people who blow everything on a McMansion two times too big for them or whatever. Sorry if I sound bitter, but why on earth did we save for all those years if it’s going to come back to bite us in the butt? It would have been one thing if we’d been raking in the bucks from high-paying jobs, but just the opposite was the case. Yes, if you save long and hard enough, you can amass a nest egg, even with a modest income – but why bother, if the system wants you to sink it all into overpriced college tuition rather than keeping a reasonable amount for retirement? There is something so skewed and wrong about this system. Sorry for venting! ;-)</p>
<p>Oh well…thank God for good in-state publics. At this point, I don’t know why DS even bothered applying to any privates. What was the point? Most privates simply don’t give enough merit aid…and FAFSA has turned out to be a weak reed indeed.</p>
<p>(Rant, rant, rant. ;D)</p>
<p>Diane</p>
<p>FAFSA also had problems finding UNC-system colleges: It spelled them weird ways, e.g., the designation for UNC Chapel Hill has a space between the N and the C in NC. I chalk it up to the fact that it’s a government website, and therefore Usability 101 is beyond it. Private businesses can’t afford to make their websites that hard to figure out, but the government can get away with gross incompetence.</p>
<p>I have been doing FAFSA for 5 years and this is the fist time the asset protection amounts have decreased. One year the EFC cut off for the Pell randomly decreased even though the pell maximum had increased. And the asset protection for single parents is a smaller and smaller % (less than 50%) of a 2 parent family. I think this year a single parent would get only 34% the asset protection of a 2 parent family.</p>
<p>Diane- I feel your pain and anger. Submitted FAFSA last night and quite surprised it said our EFC was $28,000! We have low assets–liquid bank accounts–and H lost his job in Oct. So while our income for 2010 was decent, it is now half of what it used to be! Over the years, I shielded our money by investing in a variety of retirement accounts which fortunately don’t seem to show up on Profile and FAFSA. I think FAFSA in particular is BS. At least on the Profile you can show that a spouse is unemployed and note extenuating circumstances. I plan on writing letters to all the Fin aid officers of the (9) schools D applied to (and not one is a state school!).</p>
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<p>Diane, I am not defending the FAFSA formulas or federal aid system as I truly do sympathize. But, in reality, you are very likely much better off for having saved and may not have qualified for much in the way of federal aid anyway (and remember that is the primary purpose of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid!). The asset protection allowance, coupled with the low 5.6% assessment of parent assets, should not have hit you too hard…it’s a simple calculation to see how much your EFC was impacted. All qualified retirement plans are exempt from reporting…did you report those by mistake? Also, not sure what qualifies as a “crummy HHI”, but assets are shielded completely for those who can meet either of the simplified EFC formulas (requires AGI of under $50K and one of the other qualifiers). Those with AGI under $31K - ie. the truly low-income - may qualify for an Automatic 0 EFC, thereby shielding income as well.</p>
<p>In any case, most of those living beyond their means are still going to have an EFC greater than the roughly $5K limit for most federal aid programs…and they’ll have to scramble to figure out how to finance their EFC’s which will put them further in debt (or their kids will be very limited in their college choices)! You’ll see many, many posts from those kids right here as award letters come in and reality sinks in 
Imho, it’s just not worth it…your way is infinitely better.</p>
<p>One more change to the FAFSA that could lessen the burden in applying: as of January31, 2011, the IRS Data Retrieval function goes “live,” enabling FAFSA on the Web applicants to request and retrieve their income and tax data from the IRS to populate the FAFSA application. For many, this will mean their 2009 tax data but the system is supposed to be able to retrieve electronically filed tax returns in 1-2 weeks post filing and in 6-8 weeks post filing for paper returns.</p>
<p>unibwy: The American Opportunity Credit is the new name for the extended Hope Credit. You can only claim one educational benefit per student: (pick one) - American Opportunity Credit, Tuition and Fees Deduction, Lifetime Learning Credit. If your qualified educational expenses in 2010 were $4000 or more, the American Opportunity Credit is $2500. A credit of $2500 is generally much better than a (tuitions and fees) deduction of $4,000. No double dipping.</p>
<p>Or if your qualified expenses are only $2000, you can get a $2000 AOC. And part of that is refundable.</p>
<p>Kelsmom, any news on the Perkins loans becoming unsubsidized?</p>
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<p>Still just talk.</p>
<p>Anybody know how I can figure out what my family’s EFC is? I submitted fasfa last night and I recieved my index which qualifies us for the Stafford Loan and Pell Grant but i still do not know my family’s efc. Any help much appreciated.</p>
<p>That “index” is you EFC. Remember that all this does is qualify you for the Pell grant (assuming no changes need to be made). Other than that, it is the number used in packaging need based aid. Cost of Attendance minus EFC minus grant/scholarships=eligibility for subsidized Stafford loans.</p>
<p>What sk8rmom said to LadyDianeski: Savers, you are NOT being unfairly penalized. It’s worth stating again: The asset assessment – the portion of your unprotected assets you are expected to contribute to college costs – is only 5.6%. Unless you have saved a truly colossal sum of money outside retirement plans, income has a much bigger impact on EFC than assets. (And, IMO, if you have saved a colossal sum, you can afford to part with 5.6% of it for a year of college.) So keep saving!</p>
<p>The asset protection allowance is lower for single parents, though, which is unfortunate. I don’t understand that at all.</p>
<p>Do you know how real estate assets affect financial aid? I own a couple of house , don’t make much money.</p>
<p>My guess as to why the asset protection allowance went down is that, for many people their assets aren’t worth as much as they were before and they are trying to keep the same number of people in all their categories, not wanting to end up with a lopsided stats.</p>
<p>We’re in the process of filling out the FAFSA for the first time. We’re not far in, but even in the best circumstances, I don’t believe we’ll qualify for much. We’ll see.</p>