FAFSA Help - A little more detail

Paying for College
1

<p>I am finding it extremely frustrating that there isn't much detail to some questions on the form to fill out...</p>

<p>First off,</p>

<p>
[quote]
i) Other untaxed income not reported, such as workers' compensation, disability, etc. (question 95i):</p>

<p>Don't include student aid, earned income credit, child tax credit, welfare payments, untaxed Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Workforce Investment Act educational benefits, combat pay, benefits from flexible spending arrangements (e.g., cafeteria plans), foreign income exclusion or credit for federal tax on special fuels.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What exactly does this mean? How do I find this out? Its not on my parents tax information? Is this pay stubs? My mother recieves two checks, one that's like an alimony and some check from her employer that's like 90 bucks a month... That? I don't believe its reported. </p>

<p>
[quote]
How much did your mother/stepmother earn from working (wages, salaries, tips, etc.) in 2008 (question 90)?</p>

<p>Answer this question whether or not your mother filed a tax return.</p>

<p>This information may be on the following forms:</p>

<pre><code>* 2008 W-2 Forms - box numbers 1 + 8, or
* IRS Form 1040 - lines 7 + 12 + 18 + Box 14 of IRS Schedule K-1 (Form 1065);
* 1040A - line 7; or
* 1040EZ - line 1.
</code></pre>

<p>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This question is confusing me... My mother is unable to work on SSDI (Not SSI) and they also filed jointly on a 1040A so its only reporting (I am assuming) my father's salary. So do I put a 0 for my mother since she's the spouse on this 1040A?</p>

<p>Also, despite the low AGI my parents bring according to their 1040A (its not even 35k) the FAFSA forcaster still says I'm ineligible for the Pell Grant, I guess this is because I worked last year but I am currently unemployed (since April of 2008) and half of my finances from last year was from unemployment... I'm finding it extremely difficult just to come up with money for the application fees.</p>

<p>Guess my other question is, how damn broke do you have to be to actually get adequate financial aid from the government? My parents are struggling right now as it is and it seems like the government is expecting my parents to sell the car and left leg to put me through college with all these questions. (our credit, both me and my parents, isn't the best thing in the world too so loan approvals is really worrying us as well)</p>

<p>Anyway, these were my concerns. Thanks if anyone can answer them for me :)</p>

<p>PS: Finding Film student scholarships is been a little tough on me, anyone know of any sites to help me with that since I'll be attending a film school.</p>

2

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes, untaxed alimony would count and so might the other check, depending on what it is. You find this out by asking your mother to fill out her portion of FAFSA or help her to do it. Whatever you do, don’t report her info on your student portion! Are your parents actually still married or do they just file jointly? I’m a bit confused by the alimony thing.</p>

<p>Her untaxed SSI benefits, of any kind, are NOT reported anywhere on FAFSA. They’re simply not considered at all. Are you only a junior? If so, fafsa4caster is not the same as FAFSA and I didn’t find it to be all that accurate. You’d be better off doing the paper version (it’s not that tough, do only the A schedules) and you’ll really get a good understanding of how it works:
<a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111408EFCFormulaGuide0910.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111408EFCFormulaGuide0910.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Before you start, check out pages 4-6 for the qualifications for simplified need (no assets considered) and automatic 0. I believe, based on your posts, that at least one of them would apply to you.</p>

<p>As regards you income, dependent students have an income protection of $3750. Above that, and other allowances for taxes and such, 50% of your excess income will be added to your EFC. But, if you’ll be filing an actual FAFSA with 2009 info, what happened last year will not matter. There is a DoE letter urging FA offices to consider adjusting EFC’s downward if the income was unemployment compensation, but not sure that applies to dependent students. Search for a post on this forum by NikkiL for details.</p>

<p>Finally, to qualify for Pell your EFC this year has to be $4617 or less. State funding is generally on a different scale and worth looking into as well.</p>

<p>Feel free to post questions as they come up. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Sorry, I meant allotment. I don’t know why I was thinking alimony, I meant allotment. Sorry, lol.</p>

<p>I’m not a junior, I’m not even in HS. I’m two years, going on three, out of HS right now (Class of 06). According to my 2008 taxes I made a substantial amount despite being on unemployment for nearly three quarters of that year. But they said report my AGI and it included my unemployment.</p>

4

<p>I see…whew thought your parents were doing some strange tax things, but didn’t want to get into it on a public forum! Ask mom what the 2 checks are specifically for - you have the exclusions list. If it’s not on the list, report it. You can call the toll free FAFSA helpline or your FA office for clarification as well.</p>

<p>Although it may come back initially that you’re not Pell eligible, I would certainly write a letter to the school and ask for a special circumstances review. Include details/supporting documents of medical expenses for your mom and your unemployment figures. Has anything happened to affect your Dad’s income this year? If so, include that info as well. Don’t count on a quick answer, and it’s completely up to the FA officer’s professional judgement within existing guidelines, but they may be able to lower your EFC enough to make you eligible for federal aid.</p>

<p>You don’t say what your prior college coursework, if any, consisted of. You’ll be eligible for subsidized and unsub Stafford loans and, if your parents will apply for and are turned down for a Plus loan, you’ll be eligible for an additional $4K unsub Stafford.</p>

5

<p>Ahaha, oh no, oh no. It was just a slip up on my part. </p>

<p>I see, I see. Everytime I call the FAFSA hotline I always get some rude guy that’s like basically " Why are you asking these stupid questions "</p>

<p>… But I’ll try again. Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>One check is like an allotment or something she gets from a settlement she won and another is just that small check she gets from her employer for the rest of her life to make up for the loss wages she would have made had she still been working (she was attacked by a patient on the job and lose the use of her hands).</p>

<p>Also, I dont have an exclusions list…</p>

<p>I never been to college at all. I’m entering as a first year so I have no college history or any of that. </p>

<p>But thanks for those tips :)</p>

6

<p>To add on, its not an allotment, its an annuity she recieves.</p>

<p>Argh, why do these things all start with A. LOL, its an annuity not an allotment. </p>

<p>Edit: I called FAFSA people and they just told me fill out whatever I can and if there’s a problemw e’ll come back to you.</p>

<p>So that’s what I did.</p>

<p>Thanks, sk8rmom</p>

7

<p>No problem, Merkypie, glad to help. The exclusions list I was talking about is the following from your first post, related to reporting untaxed income:</p>

<p>Don’t include student aid, earned income credit, child tax credit, welfare payments, untaxed Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Workforce Investment Act educational benefits, combat pay, benefits from flexible spending arrangements (e.g., cafeteria plans), foreign income exclusion or credit for federal tax on special fuels.</p>

<p>It sounds like your mom’s annuity, and perhaps the allotment too, is some kind of disability/comp-related settlement. Although it must have felt like combat pay! Sorry to hear of your mom’s injury in any case. Generally speaking, amounts awarded as compensation for an injury, regardless of the source, are not taxable. The FAFSA people seem vague on this…maybe you could ask kelsmom or NikkiiL for their input as they actually verify the data for colleges.</p>

8

<p>I would suggest that you do the FAFSA worksheets FIRST. These can be printed out from the FAFSA website. The questions are pretty clear and the worksheet TELLS you exactly which number on the tax form the information comes from. If it’s not from the tax form, I thought it was well explained. Once you complete the worksheet, THEN do the FAFSA using the information on the worksheet to complete your FAFSA.</p>

9

<p>Good suggestion, thumper. I agree that everyone should at least do the worksheets so they have a clearer picture of how everything ties together. The comment I made about the FASFA people seeming vague was in reference to his post:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>What kind of lame response is that to give someone who’s certifying that they’re providing accurate and correct info? Sheesh! I did not get the same type of response when I called the helpline for a question earlier this year, but my request was very specific.</p>

10

<p>I did the worksheet but it basically said the same thing. My EFC came out high because of my working (I just received my SAR) and basically everything else now is going to be with my Financial Aid department… </p>

<p>It sucks that there’s no way to explain in detail your situation on the FAFSA – Even if you have an income that looks good on paper, it doesn’t mean its that expendable. </p>

<p>I’ve always ended up calling really short tempered people on the FAFSA line. I asked them in detail my problem and its always a short response such as " Just fill it out to the best of your ability and if there’s something wrong we’ll get back to you ".</p>

<p>They never know the answer when I ask about my mom’s annuity – Like its a stupid question. But I don’t want to put some bogus answer either.</p>

<p>But thanks guys, I submitted it and got an SAR that I didn’t really like (07108) but what can ya do.</p>

<p>Thanks again guys :)</p>

11

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes, that is how the system works. You complete the FAFSA. If you have circumstances that you wish to have considered, YOUR school finaid department will do so IF they deem this relevant. Special circumstances considerations are at the discretion of EACH school.</p>

<p>Silly me…your OP indicated that you were having trouble completing the FAFSA.</p>

12

<p>It’s not your income that is making the EFC high … it’s a combination of all incomes involved (yours, your dad’s, and the untaxed income your mom gets - yes, it’s a settlement, but it is income coming into your household). If you were an independent student, your income would be assessed at a higher rate than it is as a dependent student.</p>

<p>I understand that you are frustrated. However, everyone is surprised by their EFC & everyone finds it difficult to pay (except those with a 0 EFC, of course). You are not alone. Pell goes to the poorest … which the formula finds you NOT to be.</p>

<p>Of course, if your family incurs unusually high expenses related to your mom’s disability, that is another story. You can gather together all of the bills that you have related to that (medical as well as perhaps others - like remodeling for wheelchair access or something similar). Ask your school how to do a special circumstances request. They may adjust items used in the EFC formula if they feel that your personal situation merits it.</p>

13

<p>Scholarships
After you get into a school: <a href=“http://motion.kodak.com/motion/uploadedFiles/studentScholarshipForm09.pdf[/url]”>http://motion.kodak.com/motion/uploadedFiles/studentScholarshipForm09.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
Monterey County (CA) residents
<a href=“http://www.filmmonterey.org/mcfc-pdfs/2009_Scholarship_App.pdf[/url]”>http://www.filmmonterey.org/mcfc-pdfs/2009_Scholarship_App.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
Schools with film scholarships
[Film</a> School Scholarships, Financial Aid for Film School](<a href=“http://www.artschools.com/articles/filmschools/finaid-scholarships/]Film”>http://www.artschools.com/articles/filmschools/finaid-scholarships/)
[Scholarship</a> Funding for Film Students](<a href=“http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/arts/film-students.htm]Scholarship”>Scholarship Funding for Film Students)
video contests (these are only 2; try googling video contests for more
[Contests</a> and Promotional Awards - fastweb.com](<a href=“http://www1.fastweb.com/content/contests]Contests”>http://www1.fastweb.com/content/contests)
[Video</a> Scholarship Contests: Win College Money Using a Camera instead of Writing an Essay | Suite101.com](<a href=“Suite 101 - How-tos, Inspiration and Other Ideas to Try”>Suite 101 - How-tos, Inspiration and Other Ideas to Try)</p>

14

<p>Merkypie, you can write to the colleges’ financial aid offices and explain your situation. The officers are empowered to change the EFC if your situation fits circumstances that allow such a change. With the economy the way it is, broader interpretation and more leeway than before are permitted. </p>

<p>Ultimately, despite your EFC, it is up to the individual colleges to decide how much you will get. So it is a good idea to get them to know your situation.</p>