Ok so I just submitted my fafsa and I receive an email indicating that my Estimate Family Contribution is around $8222. I am the last of 4 children so everyone is out on there own. Now fafsa indicated that we put in information from the previous year but my mom made alot less this year due to illness and injuries from a car accident. I was wondering if 1) this number is subject to change at anyour given point in my college career and also 2) an estimated amount of how much aid I might receive if my preferred collegesize range from 40k - 60k a year. Inow some cases I am also eligible for merit scholarships, will that as well affect the amount of aid I receive. For instance, say for a 58k school I receive 25k, does that mean I’m eligible for for up to another 25k in need based scholarships or am I completely looking at this the wrong way? I just kinda want to get an idea of what I’ll be paying because I’m sure my parents will not be helping me with more than 5k a year give or take. The rest I would have to come up with myself.
Yes, it’s subject to change every year, depending on family income from the previous-previous year, and reportable assets on hand at the time the yearly financial aid forms are submitted.
You are completely looking at this the wrong way. How much and what kind of aid you receive depends on a number of different factors, including your family’s financial situation, the specific school that you are applying to, your academic and extracurricular qualifications, and outside scholarships that you are awarded.
If you can’t afford a $60,000 college, you need to find one that costs less.
Your family contribution per fafsa is NOT going to change until the 2018-2019 school year…when they will use the 2016 income.
Do the colleges on your list guarantee to meet full need for ALL accepted students? Did you also have to complete a Profile form?
You mention your mom…what about your dad? How much less income did mom earn in 2016 vs 2015? Did she have unreimbursed medical expenses?
Maybe…maybe…a school will do a special circumstances consideration based on the UNREIMBURSED medical expenses, and reduced income…MAYBE. But even if the school does make an adjustment to your FAFSA EFC, all you would maybe net is some of the Pell Grant (your current EFC is too high for that).
Do you have schools on your list that ARE affordable?
Did your siblings attend college? If so, how did they fund it?
Where are you applying, what are your stats, how did your siblings pay for college?
$8000 EFC is too high for Pell grant. If you live in a state with a state grant program you might get some of that, if EFC does not exceed limits.
You can take student loans of $5,500 $6,500 $7,500 $7,500 in freshman, sophomore, junior, senior year
If your parents can pay $5k, you can pay $5k with loan, and can earn about $3k in summer, you will need an instate school you can commute to, or a full tuition merit scholarship from a school that gives it for your stats.
RE: " Now fafsa indicated that we put in information from the previous year but my mom made alot less this year due to illness and injuries from a car accident."
According to my understanding, regarding the item above is that If the family’s income has changed substantially since the 2015 tax year, the student should seek a Professional Judgment from the Financial Aid office. This allows them to consider this information in your award.
@ReturningFavor sure…the student can ask for profession judgment. But remember…the 2016 income WILL be used for the 2018-2019 school year.
PJ is not guaranteed, and is handled on a case by case basis.
@thumper1 I agree. I was not implying that the PJ would change the result. However, some people do not know/understand that there is such a step (which should be requested formally, in writing, with the term Professional Judgement) and it is for circumstances, primarily, where your aid numbers being used do not jive with your actually current and most recent situation. This is particularly important to understand now that your prior-prior year returns are being used (i.e. 2015 returns for 2017-18 academic year).
The only guarantee is that you will get no re-evaluation and consideration if you don’t try.
Also, generally, it is best to simply TRY and find a situation there you can afford the school without being 100% at the mercy of the FA calculation gods (i.e. straight merit, ‘affordable’ in state, community college, etc.) if you do not have a cash flow to cover college costs.
The amount of aid you receive will depend on how generous your colleges are. A good thing to do is look up your colleges on the College Board Big Future website. Click on “Paying” on the left side, then “Financial Aid by the Numbers” across the top.
At the top is a pie chart picture - the bigger the green part versus the blue part is showing the school gives more grants versus loans or work-study requirements. It also lists the average percentage of need met. For that, closer to 100% is better.
You will find that not all schools are equally generous. Hone in on the ones that are more generous and go to the school financial aid websites. Make sure there are no extra forms or documents required to file for financial aid besides the FAFSA. If there are, get them done. You can also look at the net price calculators - enter your FAFSA 2015 income and see the net price, then enter your 2016 income and see the new net price. This will give you some idea how much extra you might get with a successful financial aid appeal.
At some schools, they want you to file for aid, then appeal if the package is not affordable. At others, they want all your information up front and will not entertain any appeals unless it is for information that you did not know at the time you applied for aid. Figure out how each school wants to know about extenuating circumstances and document your mom’s loss of income in the appropriate way.
You want to document your mother’s loss of income and any large medical expenses you have paid in the past year or any outstanding medical debt.
Your EFC will be recalculated each year and your need-based aid will be adjusted accordingly. If necessary, you can file appeals as needed if your mother’s recovery does not go as well as hoped.
Good luck!
It is also important to understand that the 2016 lower income WILL be used for the 2018-2019 school year.
@thumper1 yes! For those new to the whole thing, all of the pieces of the pie have to be understood and that can be tricky. Also, though it is ppy (prior prior year tax) returns, when you file the FAFSA it is your current cash on hand (i.e. investment and account dollars) that also are asked for and considered…not what you had in the bank last year, but what you (child and parents) have in the bank the day you file. That is a variable that must be remembered to, in the great FAFSA dance, when you are trying to figure out how they came to your EFC.
And remember that for Profile schools, the family contribution really has nothing to do with the fafsa EFC. Most schools that use only the fafsa do NOT guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students anyway. All of this dancing around could net you not one penny of additional aid…because the school doesn’t guarantee to meet full need anyway.
Thanks everyone for your help! I now understand that alot more goes into receiving financial aid. Also if anyone was wondering, 2 of my older siblings did attend college at one point but have yet to finish (they pay on their own), my other sibling lives with her boyfriend and will be paying herself as well as she’s been homeless for sometime and moved around alot. My father is out of the picture so my stepdad is more likely to contribute but he is retired. For the most part I will be on my own. My top 3 choices so far are UNC @ Chapel Hill, Hofstra and Temple University. I received 25,000 from Hofstra for the Presidential Scholarship and they have yet to email me about my financial aid package. If you have anything else to add, please feel free! Again thank you all and Happy Holidays!
Are you instate for Temple? UNC?
The good thing is your EFC for 2018 s likely lower due to lower 2016 income. At the end, the most important thing is the real cost of any particular school to you which is mostly higher than the EFC anyway.