I just got an EFC of $27K. Kind of freaking out, as this is way more than I could ever pay. Does this mean colleges will just assume I pay $27K? Will our state school flagship, which is $33K total tuition/R&B, just give us $6K?
For a specific school, you should check the admissions and financial aid websites. It really depends on which school you are talking about.
Assuming that you filled out FAFSA correctly, then the minimum amount you would have to pay is $27,000/year. And if you are the student it is your parents who would have to pay that.
TomSrOfBoston, I am the parent. I imported my IRS data directly. I’m a single mom, for what it’s worth. So the EFC is the minimum I would need to pay? That’s very distressing, since my entire household income is in the $135K range and i live in a very high COL area. My property taxes alone are over $10K.
@TomSrOfBoston Schools can give merit aid or scholarships where students end up paying less than their EFC. It really depends on OP’s stats and the school they are interested in – and is it generous with either need or merit aid.
Run the net price calculator for each college. We don’t know if all you have is the Fafsa EFC, which is different than college policies and what the college can give.
Your state schools may give zip. Or let you take a $5500 loan.
Lookingforward, all I have is a FAFSA EFC. I just got the Student Aid Report. My daughter hasn’t finished her applications yet.
You do not have to complete an application to read the freshman scholarship information on a college website or run a net price calculator.
With a $135,000/year income the $27,000 FAFSA sounds in the ballpark. Depending on the student’s stats merit aid may be available at many schools as @AroundHere stated. However merit aid will replace need based aid, they do not stack. Most of the topmost colleges do not give merit aid. To qualify for significant merit, stats should be in the top 25% or so of accepted students.
Will the other parent contribute anything?
The other parent can contribute up to $10K a year from salary. I can do about $10K a year too, from salary. So between the two of us, I think we can do $20K. But that other $7K would be impossible.
7K is not an unreasonable sum for a student to contribute via summer work, an on-campus gig, and a student loan (maximum $5,500 for freshmen through the federal direct loan program).
That is assuming your net price is the same as your EFC, which is a risky assumption.
What is the school you’re looking at?
EFC means nothing if you are not eligible to Pell grant and the school does not meet need. Most likely you are going to pay more than the EFC. For need met schools, they usually have their way to calculate your need rather than relying on your FAFSA EFC. If you do get significant amount of merit aid, you may end up paying less than EFC.
That EFC figure tends to take everyone by surprise.
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which is $33K total tuition/R&B, just give us $6K?
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No. The school will either gap you or give you a $5500 student loan and maybe $500 in work study. NO free money from the state school.
EFC is a fed number. The feds have no authority to force schools to give you free money that they likely do not have.
Sounds like your EFC would have been higher if still married to ex, so that’s a plus. But very likely your DD will be applying to schools that require CSS Profile that will require your ex’s income too. So those schools will expect you to pay MORE.
I would strongly suggest that you have your DD apply to some safeties where for sure she’ll get huge merit. Unless you’re certain that your Ex will RELIABLY pay $10k per year, I wouldn’t count on that. We see too many stories from custodial parents reporting that their ex’s changed their minds and won’t pay…or they stop paying mid-college.
With a $130,000 or so Income, your FAFSA EFC sounds right to me too.
You need to view this as the minimum your child will be expected to pay to attend college.
University of Virginia, University of North Carolina, and University of Michigan are the only public universities that meet full need for all accepted IN state students…are you a resident of any of these three states? If not…with an EFC in the $25,000 range, it’s likely the only need based aid your child will receive is a Direct Loan ($5500 for freshman year).
Your income and EFC are too high for her to qualify for grant aid at most public universities. And too high to qualify for any federally funded grant aid (Pell or SEOG).
In situations like this, where the family can’t afford to pay their family contribution…it’s smart to look for generous merit aid, if your daughter has a nice high GPA and SAT or ACT score.
Add to this…if your child applies to colleges using the Profile, that also require the non-custodial parent form, that parent income and assets will be considered in some way as well.
If you two parents can contribute $20,000 a year…and the student takes a $5500 Direct Loan…that takes you up to $25,500. Are there any instate options that would fall within this price point (look at colleges other than your flagship),
Adding…unless the net price calculator specifically asks if you are a single parent, it might not be particularly accurate!
Is your daughter looking into schools that give significant merit? That would be a good idea.
Schools that meet full need will expect you to pay your EFC, which may be higher than your FAFSA EFC ( UNC is a profile school but uses the FAFSA EFC). If a school does not meet full need and your daughter does not receive any merit… be prepared to be full pay or close to it.
What is your state flagship?
The FAFSA calculations for a single parent are harsher because there is only one adult in the family. The assumption is that if that same household had 2 adults in it, that second adult would provide an exemption.
In other words, if one family has 2 adults and 1 child, the calculation is more favorable than a household with 1 adult and 2 children…both families with same income.
^^ Absolutely. And to kick you while you are down, if that single parent makes over $90k, there will be no AOTC either while the 2 Adult, one student family would be eligible for the full credit.
Look at schools that offer merit aid for her statistics. There is not a lot of need based aid at $135k income level. The top schools, yes, but not at most of the others.
UMich also meet the need of OOS students but only with family income below $90k and no significant asset