<p>well, i just completed my fafsa and my efc is 18000, higher than i thought it would be</p>
<p>my question is...does that seem high off the top of your head considering the following major points (if you can even tell from just the following)...
parents divorced
live w/ dad who makes approximately $50,000 / year
his net worth $50,000
my net worth approx 25,000 with my savings</p>
<p>just want to make sure i didn't mess up on something and am screwing myself before college starts</p>
<p>Well, for starter, if it is your savings, it is hit 20% right off the bat. That leaves $13K for your dad's EFC. Looks right. You may want to look at the FAFSA bit by bit to see what puts you up there that can be changed for next year. You may want to spend down your savings for school costs instead of your dad paying since your savings are assessed 20% whereas his are hit at a max of 5.6%, maybe even less.</p>
<p>Agree. Your 25K savings (congrats!) effectively reduces your potential aid by 5K next year. Spend it down, buy stuff you're going to need soon anyway, or shelter it in a 529 (which will get assessed at Dad's lower rate). If you indicated that your figures were estimates, you can spend down or reallocate your savings, and correct the FAFSA this year. Just keep documentation on the spending.</p>
<p>Also, if Dad's AGI is or can be under 50K and he can file short form 1040, he might qualify for the simplified needs test, which would exclude assets from the formula.</p>
<p>sblake- are you sure on that? Can you adjust the amount of your assets? I thought it had to be a snapshot of your situation the moment you file, no changes allowed, except on tax return numbers?</p>
<p>The last two years when I corrected FAFSA to reflect actual income numbers, I also corrected the assset numbers to reflect the actual amounts on the date I submitted the correction. No problem- and the corrected asset numbers were reflected in the revised EFC (in our case, lower each year).</p>
<p>Since it's a snapshot on the day filed, seems it should be a correct snapshot on the date you correct it.</p>
<p>So, for all these years, I have always read to do the assets on initial filing and NOT change them- if many people do it that way and do not adjust the numbers to reflect the new real numbers (checking account balances do fluctuate we know) is that wrong? Should we be "rebalancing" and taking a new snapshot?</p>
<p>I have always read here and other places that any number for which oyu have an accurate balance- like cash & checking, etc, you should give it the first filing. Then you correct ONLY the numbers which were estimates.</p>
<p>In most cases the values are probably close, but there could be situations where there was much more money in cash than the time before, probably money with a place to go , like property taxes, but do you need to redo the assets?</p>
<p>I've not seen an authoritative source on this issue. I've seen some of the same posts here that you refer to, suggesting not to change the assets, but never anything with a good source.</p>
<p>Paying for College without Going Broke doesn't address the issue, best I can tell; nor do the FAFSA instructions (unless I've missed something).</p>
<p>The fact that the FAFSA correction form online allows corrections to the asset fields is telling, in my view, as is the fact that the changes were reflected in the updated EFC (which in turn was reflected in the school's updated financial aid package). </p>
<p>So, while the reason the initial submission was an estimate was because the income figures weren't available, I don't see any reason why you should submit outdated asset numbers when you push the "submit" button later on the FAFSA correction. After all, you're attesting that the information you provided is correct when you push the button.</p>
<p>Adding-- the only significant difference, for most families, might be the student's assets. Parental asset protection allowance exceeds most families reportable assets, so there isn't any contribution to EFC from parental assets for most. But a relatively small adjustment in student assets can have a large impact on EFC since they are assessed so severely.</p>
<p>Good source- thanks Jugulator20. I stand corrected. The full quote is:</p>
<p>"The student may not, however, update income or asset information to
reflect changes to her family's financial situation that took place after
the FAFSA was filed. For example, if the same student's family sold
some of its stock on June 1 and spent that money on a nonreported
asset such as a car, the student may not update her information to
show a change in the family's assets."</p>
<p>From the FAFSA Counselor's Handbook, '07/'08, published by the Dept of Education.</p>
<p>Well....I actually made a mistake on an asset when I did my estimate this year. I put an account that my husband is the trustee holder for under my DD's name. I wonder if I can "move" that asset when I refile my corrected FAFSA after I do my taxes? I couldn't believe I did that!!!</p>
<p>Well- as I said, I changed some asset info when I did the corrections, and it accepted and processed the change. And the paragraph above only addresses "changes... that took place after the FAFSA is filed," not corrections to correct an error.</p>
<p>Yes, as I read it, it is permissable to correct the assets data if a mistake was made, to be accurate "as of" the original filing date. But no fair updating info to reflect changes since the original filing.</p>