<p>So I was wondering I am going to file for the fafsa and when my mom lost her job her efc was 0 when she was looking to go back into school but since then she got a job and makes relatively low 35,000 and under...She has been saving up for college for me and my brother for a long time, and when I fill out the fafsa will I not be able to qualify for state grants because does the fafsa look at your all your savings? Will those hurt my chance for grants and need-based aid?
thank-you :)</p>
<p>EFC is based on income and assets, but the parent assets have some protection. There are several factors involved in determining the EFC. I suggest you go to finaid.org and enter your family’s information in an EFC calculator. You can use last year’s information as well as this year’s expected information to see what the impact of the increased income will be. Just be careful not to overstate taxes paid. At $35,000 or less with a couple kids, you could put 0 for taxes paid to be on the safe side.</p>
<p>ok thank you! So the fafsa does not look at your savings? just at your income?</p>
<p>
Savings are assets. There is some protection under FAFSA but they are considered.</p>
<p>Be honest. Your savings may give you a higher EFC this year – but go ahead and spend down those savings (it goes fast!). Next year your EFC may be much, much lower because the savings no longer exist. </p>
<p>Each year is its own recipe.</p>
<p>It sounds as if you may qualify for the simplified EFC formula, which disregards assets. You can read the qualifications on page 4 of this document:</p>
<p><a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111609EFCFormulaGuide20102011.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111609EFCFormulaGuide20102011.pdf</a></p>
<p>If you don’t then your mom will have some asset protection, based on her age. You can find out how much by looking at table A5 (page 19). Above that amount, 5.6% of her savings which are not in retirement plans will be added to your EFC. In other words, if she has $10K in savings, your EFC will increase by only $560.</p>
<p>Since you were asking about state grants, not federal, and we don’t know what state you’re in, it’s impossible to answer that question. But, it’s far better to have savings to fall back on instead of relying on state grant programs as many have had their funding reduced in recent years and remain on the budget chopping blocks. Make sure you thank your mom and give her a big hug for that…I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her to save as a single mom, much less with a low income!</p>
<p>Thank You! I’m very proud of my mom for being such a hard worker and a great mom!:)</p>