<p>All of the calculators estimate that my parents' estimated family contribution is somewhere between $20,000 to $27,000. Realistically my parents probably can't pay more than four or five thousand a year. Is there any way that the calculators are completely wrong or am I just going to have to take a ridiculous amount of student loans?</p>
<p>It is as accurate as the information that you put in there. You can play around with it and see if there are some scenarios that can reduce it, such as reducing your student bank accounts by paying your expenses and having your parents save for you instead. Also your parents should do the FAFSA on a day when their accounts are not flush with their paychecks or other amounts. Wait for the day before they are paid, so the account balances are lower. </p>
<p>How are you getting such a large spread, between $20-27K?</p>
<p>What it usually means is that you are going to have to look for some affordable schools. You, as a student can only borrow $5500 from Stafford as a freshman. Your parents can borrow through PLUS, and you can seek private loans which will need qualified co signers but you can’t take out much more than the Staffords.</p>
<p>Here is the official formula for Federal Methology: <a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111609EFCFormulaGuide20102011.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111609EFCFormulaGuide20102011.pdf</a></p>
<p>Almost all publics use it and you can check on collegedata.com under Money Matters (If they use institutional it probably will give an even higher EFC.</p>
<p>Bear in mind that the FAFSA EFC is only a screening tool for PELL which you are not going to get and for federal loans and sometimes some state funds. Most schools that use FAFSA only do not tend to meet full need. The more generous schools tend to use PROFILE. You might want to use an estimator that is for institutional methodology. That is truly an estimate as many schools have their own way of defining need, and that can be way off. Some things that PROFILE schools tend to take into account that FAFSA EFC does not us are primary home equity, non custodial parent financial info, and other siblings’ assets.</p>
<p>“Realistically my parents probably can’t pay more than four or five thousand a year.”</p>
<p>Neither can we. That is why Happykid is at our local community college for the first two years. </p>
<p>Sit down with your parents and find out how they feel about you taking on any loans beyond the Stafford limits ($5,500 freshman, $6,500 sophomore, $7,500 junior, $7,500 senior). If your parents can stash away $5,000 during your last year of high school, and they can keep that up while you pay for your first two years at a community college with Stafford loans, with the junior year limit of $7,500 plus whatever you can make with a part-time job, plus three years worth of $5,000/year savings, you would almost certainly be able to cover your junior year at a home-state public U. That would mean that the only year you might have to take out a private student loan or a parent PLUS loan would be your senior year.</p>
<p>If your GPA and your test scores are good enough, there may be serious merit-based aid out there for you. Most students however, don’t have those kinds of stats. That is why so many end up at their home-state public U or at a community college.</p>
<p>*All of the calculators estimate that my parents’ estimated family contribution is somewhere between $20,000 to $27,000. Realistically my parents probably can’t pay more than four or five thousand a year. Is there any way that the calculators are completely wrong or am I just going to have to take a ridiculous amount of student loans? *</p>
<p>The calculators are an estimate, but they are a good estimate. There’s no way that you’re going to have an affordable EFC if your parents can only pay $5k per year. </p>
<p>An EFC of $20k+ suggests an income of about $80k+ and/or lots of assets. EFC is often about 20-25% of income. Of course, if you have lots of assets, then EFC will be higher. </p>
<p>When people find themselves in your situation, then they need to look for VERY LARGE merit scholarships. Small merit isn’t going to help. You need full tuition or more in merit scholarships.</p>
<p>What are your stats? </p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>What is your likely major?</p>
<p>You cannot borrow more than the following amounts…
frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>
<p>You would need co-signers to borrow more…and it’s NOT a good idea to borrow MORE because newish grads do not earn a lot of money.</p>
<p>Besides, it doesn’t sound like your parents would be willing since they couldn’t afford to pay the loans back if you were unable to do so. And, they may not qualify anyway since it sounds like they may be having financial constrictions themselves.</p>