<p>So my father finally finished filing his tax returns and I just got my FAFSA info back, and my expected family contribution is insanely off base. My families adjusted gross income is $16,166 and my EFC is $17,800 or roughly 110% of my families total income. I am planning on attending Portland State University next year and tuition is $23,136, according to them I am eligible to receive $5,336 in financial aid. Unfortunately this comes only in the form of Stafford Loans. I am not eligible for any pell grant money, nor work study. I have gone over the fafsa forms online and cannot find any errors. I have no idea what to do at this point. Does anyone have any idea what could have happened?</p>
<p>Does your family has high assets like rental properties or high balances in savings accounts?</p>
<p>No, I think the total value of assets is around $17,000 and that includes the total value of assets, my dads business, and his savings.</p>
<p>IF your family AGI is $16K, I don’t see how you could have such a high EFC unless something is not entered properly or your family has a lot of assets. Do they own a business or a lot of real estate? Do they have a lot of assets? Were retirement assets or primary home equity incorrectly entered? </p>
<p>The only time I have seen something like this that was not a mistake, is when there are a lot of assets involved (and even then, not to this extreme). I have a friend who owns a lot of apartment, housing units that he manages and rents as his primary source of family income. By the time one takes out all of the deductions and expenses, he makes a nice upper middle class living, but not one that would have given him the EFC his family got, except, the real estate was counted as assets. I don’t know how FAFSA would handle the deductions for these things, but PROFILE added everything back in and his kid got nada in fin aid.</p>
<p>So what kind of assets are being reported?</p>
<p>The business–how is your dad’s business being reported? What kind of business? How many employees? Does it qualify to NOT be reported? FAFSA does not require businesses that fall under certain categories to be reported, the assets, nothing. I’ll bet that is where the hit is.</p>
<p>Did you link your FAFSA to the income tax returns through the IRS website? Do that. It will clear up some possible errors.</p>
<p>Then go back into your FAFSA, and print out the whole line-by-line list of what was entered, and check for errors. If you included your parents income as your own and their assets as your own in addition to putting that information on the lines for them, you could get this type of result.</p>
<p>Something is not right unless the business has something to do with it. You say your dad has a business? How many employees?</p>
<p>The business has 1 employee as far as I know, and is worth around 5k</p>
<p>You don’t see anything, anything at all, that is jacking up that EFC? Retirement assets, something in the wrong space? Something is wrong or you are leaving out something.</p>
<p>What about your income and assets? Also are you sure you are putting your parents info where it belongs, not under you? You get hit up 50% of income over $6K and 20% of ALL assets with no allowance at all.</p>
<p>Something is wrong.</p>
<p>Is your parents’ income listed in the student section?</p>
<p>Did an extra 0 get put in somewhere?</p>
<p>Did your dad get a large tax refund last year?</p>
<p>Does your dad own property other than your home?</p>
<p>What is your parents’ GROSS income…that would include gross income from their business. Does the business have a building? Is this building in the name of the business? Did your parents list the balance I retirement accounts as assets? </p>
<p>Go through that FAFSA line by line. Make sure their income is only listed ONCE. Ditto the assets.</p>
<p>Was the value of your primary home included? (This is a common mistake)</p>
<p>Do you have significant assets or income? </p>
<p>Was there any non taxable income?</p>
<p>If your family’s business has less than 100 employes then you do not report it. If you did report it go back and correct your FASFA and set their business value to $0.00. My family also has a business and I did not know we didnt have to report it so i set the business value to $100,000. AFter i spoke with my financial aid counselor she told me to set it to $0.00. After i did this i resubmitted my FASFA and my EFC went from $4,000 to $250. And my Pell Grant went up from $1,195 to $5,395.</p>
<p>There is definitely something wrong. Thoughts: Parent income entered as student/student as parent; parent income entered in both parent and student income sections; high amount of untaxed income reported; IRS data retrieval tool used & there was an IRA rollover; income entered incorrectly. Go to [Home</a> - FAFSA on the Web-Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.gov%5DHome”>http://www.fafsa.gov). Print out a copy of your student aid report. Review the numbers on each item for your parents and yourself - pay close attention to the line on the tax form that is supposed to be put on the FAFSA & make sure that was done correctly. See if there is any untaxed income reported, or if there was a mistake in reporting assets. Let us know.</p>
<p>There are many reasons that haven’t been mentioned that could cause your EFC to skyrocket like this. Do you have any relatives that have college funds set aside for you in a 529 plan or trust?</p>
<p>Is the house paid off?</p>
<p>Neither of the above affect the EFC for FAFSA purposes. A relative’s 529 is the asset of the relative - so if not a parent, the only effect is that the student must claim a 529 payment as “other gifts” for the year in which it is received (not until next year’s FAFSA). If a parent owns it, there is asset protection - and a family earning this amount is not likely to have much else in assets. The primary residence is excluded from assets on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal that can shed some light on the issue…</p>
<p>[How</a> to Get Financial Aid - WSJ.com](<a href=“How to Get Financial Aid - WSJ”>How to Get Financial Aid - WSJ)</p>
<p>“But families should be careful about letting relatives other than custodial parents—like grandparents, aunts and uncles—set up 529s for kids. Every dollar a student gets from a 529 plan owned by other relatives is considered income to the student and reduces potential financial aid by 50 cents if the student is above the income threshold, says Mr. Kantrowitz. A $10,000 withdrawal would reduce aid eligibility by up to $5,000.”</p>
<p>Daniloum, this is an incoming FRESHMAN who has not used a nickel from any 529 plan yet. Your information does NOT apply to that student’s current FAFSA where as Kelsmom says…529 accounts held by OTHERS are not included. </p>
<p>Please read the question posed here carefully. I believe the information you posted does nOT apply.</p>
<p>While it is true that the distribution from the relative’s 529 will reduce ELIGIBILITY for need-based aid, it is also true that the vast majority of students will not be receiving aid in an amount such that it makes a difference. Yes, at the very, very few schools that meet need, a very, very few students may find that this is a disadvantage. But for MOST students, it makes no difference in the aid they get … and it gives them money to pay for school. It is very important to understand the difference.</p>
<p>Op, do let us know when you’ve found the “culprit” in the FAFSA that is jacking up that EFC. Wish I could help you more, but it’s good that you are learning the form, line by line,though I wish the reason were not what it is.</p>