<p>Hello, so my EFC was estimated to be around 20k which I think my family could afford but it'd definitely be a stretch and we'd have to take out a loan. I did an EFC calculator, however, and it came out to be a little under 10k, a significant difference. I think we may have filled it out wrong as not only was it based on estimates until we get our tax returns but also I will be the first to go to college and my parents are immigrants so we're kind of clueless as to the whole college process.</p>
<p>My mom made 48k last year with the little overtime they offered due to the economy (her base pay is 45k). This is what I think messed us up... My dad is 60, 20 years older than my mom, and was injured at his job in machinery a few years ago where he was on worker's comp and then his workplace completely shut down (we live near Cleveland to give you a reference point to how bad it is around here) and everyone was laid off so now he's on long term disability and receiving social security b/c of it. He also takes a lot of expensive medications. We were confused as to where to put this income as there was no mention of social security and if it would make him a dislocated worker. We were also confused as to where to put what I received from his SS as a minor too in the student section. Our combined income is ~70k even. </p>
<p>At the moment, it looks like I should totally forget about all of my really good, expensive schools and settle for Northeastern with my 15k scholarship/year where I'd be happy at, but if I get into one of my top choices, I'd like to do everything in my power to get there.</p>
<p>Should I contact the FAFSA people and explain this to them? Should my parents get our tax guy to help us do it? My parents haven't even filed their taxes yet so how long after we've filed FAFSA can we still make corrections? Any help, suggestions, tips, anything at all would be greatly appreciated, thanks ahead of time!</p>