<p>I am a mother of 2. My son is a freshman in college and my daughter will be going to college next year. I was remarried about a year ago. I make about $33,000 a year, and my husband makes $65,000. We own a house worth $260,00 with a $225,000 mortgage. I also own 2 rental properties. One is worth about $160,000 with no mortgage, the other is worth the same with a $123,000 mortgage. I also own a vacant lot worth $90,000 with no mortgage. There are no other assets. I have had the properties on the market for a couple years with no luck. We don't have more than $2,000 in our checking and savings combined. What are the chances of getting financial aid at both state and private universities (who say they are need based). Also what do you suggest we indicate on the forms that we will contribute to their education? There is no cash to spare. My ex-husband has no contact with his children and will not help out in any way with their education. Will they expect me to contribute 6% for every $50,000 in equity? And if so, would this amount be split between my 2 kids, and my husband's daughter who will all be in college next year? Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>From what you wrote, you have approximately $287,000 in equity in real estate other than your primary residence. For FAFSA purposes, this will add about $16,000 a year to your EFC. Assets are assessed at about 5.6% of their value. I’m not sure what you meant by “6% for every $50,000 in equity”…it’s about 5.6% for all assets after an asset protection allowance that varies based on a number of factors. If you have NO other assets, the EFC added amount from these assets will be less than $16K because some of these assets will fall under the protected amount.</p>
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<p>For FAFSA only schools, your ex husband’s income and assets will not be listed. However, if your kiddos apply to any schools using the CSS Profile, you just might have to provide the non-custodial parent information anyway. Not having “contact” and not being willing to contribute to their education is not a reason for gaining a waiver for non-custodial parent forms and information.</p>
<p>Re: your rental properties…the rent from those properties will also be listed as income on your FAFSA.</p>
<p>Is your husband’s daughter a member of YOUR household? When you fill out the FAFSA, you will indicate the number of folks IN your household. THEN you will indicate the number of those folks (kids,not parents) who will be enrolled in college for the year for that FAFSA application. SO if all three kids are members of YOUR household…and all three will be in college, you would indicate three.</p>
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<p>Will both of your kids be in college at the same time? Is one of them in college THIS year? If so, how did you handle the financial aid work last year?</p>
<p>Now…if you do have three kiddos in college at the same time, their EFCs will be about 1/3 of the amount each as would be if you only had 1 in college at the same time. In other words, if your EFC for one student was $15,000, then if you had three in college, they each would have an EFC of about $5000. It wouldn’t be exactly that amount usually because student income and assets vary.</p>
<p>Do you have some affordable instate public universities in your state? Have you looked at your kids’ SAT/ACT scores and their GPAs…would anyone be eligible for merit aid anywhere?</p>
<p>The Short Answer:
Yes, your son WILL be able to get “financial aid” in the form of low interest, fixed rate federal student loans called Stafford loans requiring no cosigner and no credit check. As a dependent freshman, he can borrow up to $5,500 a year. If he has not saved any money and does not earn any scholarships (and if “there is no cash to spare”) ((you are not required to pay ANYTHING TO HIS EDUCATION BTW, not 6%, 12% or whatever)) then he will need to find a school that is less than the 5,500 a year. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Hopefully, your second child has applied to a couple of financial safety schools since many schools do not meet need.</p>
<p>What aid did your first child get (the one currently in college)? What is his/her EFC? </p>
<p>Avoid all schools that require the info from the non-custodial parent. </p>
<p>Also, for CSS Profile schools, “family contribution” isn’t split 50/50 (or 33/33/33) between kids…it’s more like 60%, 60%. The assumption seems to be that when you have more kids in college, you need to “pay out” more money each year.</p>