<p>I just submitted the FAFSA online and was horrified when I saw our EFC. Our income has basically stayed the same, our investments have actually gone down in value, and our EFC went up $10,000!!!</p>
<p>I haven't compared last years to this years carefully yet, but at first glance, the only real difference I can see is in the reporting of our 529 College Savings Plan. I must have reported it wrong last year as I listed it in our son's investment section - this year I noticed that in the instructions it was listed as something to be reported in both our column and the students. I called the very helpful customer service (got right through) and they said that whoever was listed as the primary account holder should report it. That meant it went in our section rather than son's. If anything, I thought that should have helped us rather than hurt us since they expect more of the students money to go towards education than the parents.</p>
<p>Now I will proceed with the "fine-tooth comb" thing to see if I made a mistake. Has anyone else had their EFC increase this much without a drastic change in their financial status. They sure make this complicated...and the CSS Profile (which I'm starting this afternoon) is even worse!</p>
<p>Did they make any corrections to the FASFA? You will have to go through it with a fine tooth comb, because you are right; something is wrong. Did your son have anyone pay any of his college expenses, such as a grandparent? Is there any money you reported that could be considered income such as any scholarships received?</p>
<p>I believe that I included the 529 amount in our investment total. If it's a prepaid plan I think it's treated differently.
Another common error is to report your 403B and 401K contributions twice.</p>
<p>ctymomteacher - I didn't actually report the 529 in both sections since I called and got the information before I submitted it...I only reported it in our section.</p>
<p>I just submitted the form last night, so maybe it's a mistake and a correction will be made. In the meantime I will double and triple check it. The only other difference now that I think of it is that we no longer claim our oldest son (24 year old) as a dependent. I felt quite sentimental when I had to leave him out in the part where it asked how many family members are in the household. :( I'm now wondering if that makes that much difference - seems like maybe it could. On the other hand, there was really no place to reflect the fact that our middle son has transferred to a much higher priced college, so maybe that will make up the difference when we report that on the CSS Profile. What a puzzle all this is! Annyway, just "thinking out loud" here has given me a clue. It's very likely the fact that our oldest son just got too old!!!</p>
<p>That is not something I have thought about at all in our plans for paying for college. Just how long can we claim them as dependents on the FAFSA? I have always thought in terms of a family of 5 and forgot about subtracting the oldest one at some point. That will be one big fat ouch for us if that turns out to be the crucial factor in increasing the EFC.</p>
<p>Losing one dependent can make a difference, especially if that person was in school up to now. Our EFC went up a fair amount due to this (although not as much as yours). One college told us that a "child" cannot be claimed as a dependent once he has graduated with the first bachelor's degree, unless we provide documentation that we are still paying over half of his expenses, including any grad school tuition.</p>
<p>Susantm - that's the way I understand it. Fortunately for us (but unfortunately for financial aid ;) ) our older son was accepted into a fully paid graduate program - including a living stipend, insurance, and housing! There's no way we could get away with claiming that we're paying half of his expenses. We're thrilled that he got such a wonderful opportunity after spending so much for his undergraduate education. Still, I'm silly, there's a part of me that feels sentimental and somewhat sad that he's no longer considered a dependent. I would assume those feelings stem from the fact that we are first year empty-nesters. :( It's hard realizing that they are for all practical purposes becoming independant...it's what we strived for when we passed on all the life skills while we raised them, but hard to adjust to in many ways.</p>
<p>Bluejay - I'm not sure if I understand your question. We didn't claim him on our taxes this year as an exemption, and after reading the FAFSA instructions concerning how many family members are in the household, we had to completely omit him...he wasn't even counted as one of the number in our household - we went (on paper anyway) from being a family of 5 to a family of 4. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>I guess I was trying to figure out how much of a difference that 5th person makes on the FAFSA. I wasn't thinking tax returns. If you have 5 in the household and 2 are in college or 5 in the household and only one in college that makes a big difference. So if the older son had graduated from the 4 year program and then was living at home the next year that would be one situation. the more I write and the more I punch numbers the more confused I get!</p>
<p>It is confusing! Last year, when we filled out the FAFSA, we knew we would have three sons in college, so that was what was reported. We didn't know at that time that our oldest would be accepted into this wonderful fully paid program, only that he would (hopefully) be attnding his first year of medical school. SO....for us, it went from looking like we would be helping three kids with college, compared to this year when we only reported two (also that we were supporting 3 instead of 2).</p>
<p>I would think that whether or not they are in school, as long as they are listed as dependants in your household it would reduce the EFC since you are providing (as it said in the instructions) at least half of their support.</p>
<p>Once a child turns 24, even if s/he is still a full-time student, s/he is considered "independent" on the FAFSA form. You can no longer count her/him as part of your household.</p>
<p>OTOH, the FAFSA calculations automatically assume s/he has only individual income and will often qualify that student for more in grants than the year before. It's loopy, but that's the way they do it. When a student hits 24, s/he is automatically out of the household, at least where FAFSA is concerned.</p>
<p>If the student completes a bachelor's degree before age 24, s/he is also "out." </p>
<p>Since the FAFSA calculations assume that you have no expenses other than your young'uns' college tuition, ;) losing one student greatly increases your EFC for the next one.</p>