<p>Do need-based financial aid calculations take into account how old your parents are? My parents make about 200,000 a year, I'm not sure about assets, but I don't think I'd normally get much aid. However, my parents are older than most and I have three younger siblings. If they work until my youngest brother graduates from college, they'll be 63 and 74, and I don't want them to have to put off retiring for a really long time. They have some college savings, but they definitely don't have an extra 40,000 a year for each of us lying around. I'm trying to figure out if there's any way I'm going to be able to go to a need-only school without graduating with a ton of debt, especially since I think I want to go to grad school. Any help is appreciated, thanks.</p>
<p>There is consideration for parents who are close to retirement age. What age are your parents now? That is what matters...not how old they will be when your youngest sibling graduates from college (although it sounds like when that sib goes to college, one parent may already be retired or very very close to it). If your youngest sib is now 13, then your younger parent is NOW 50, and older one now 61. You are not the only one with parents in that age range (we're close to that too). There are EFC calculators that you can use to estimate your EFC. However, you will need to run the figures for schools using FAFSA only, and then another calculation for schools using the Profile (which also takes home equity into consideration).</p>
<p>FAFSA does take into account the age of the older parent in calculating the asset protection allowance (a max of @ $74,000 asset protection with an older parent of 65 and up - we are older parents also and will be 69 and 58 when our D graduates - assuming she does it in 4 years). However with an income of $200,000 the FAFSA EFC is going to be pretty high. Other than the asset allowance age does not have any affect. Don't know about private schools that use profile but I doubt you will qualify for need only aid with their current income. When there is more than one child in school at the same time that will usually increase the financial aid. </p>
<p>Here is a link for the finaid EFC calculator which I have found to be very accurate</p>
<p>Please check out all colleges' websites on financial aid before you apply to the schools on your list. The University of Connecticut in Storrs does not consider a parent's job loss to be a special circumstance-therefore you will not receive any more aid from UCONN if one parent should lose their job. UCONN will only consider loss of income if your parents should divorce or one of them should die while you are enrolled. If either parent is subject to layoffs, loss of overtime, etc. it is best to consider a small private college where a loss of job is a special circumstance and you will receive more aid. Both my husband and I have each lost a job over the past 5 years due to layoffs. With one child at UCONN & one at St. Lawrence University, the difference was notable. UCONN did not care and SLU gave our child more aid. With two more high school students at home right now, we will only consider small private colleges where the average percentage of need met is about 85-95% and if special circumstances are considered, like loss of job or high-out-of pocket medical expenses. For 2006 we had $11,755 in medical expenses. All documentation was mailed to the FAO's. It does make a difference where you apply-Look before you leap!</p>