<p>Given that a family has low income(below $40000), how does their savings affect California grants, Pell grants, and grants from the school?
Let's say for a savings of $50000, anyone know how this would affect the amount of grants received?
As far as I know this doesn't affect the EFC at all.
Do schools usually require documents to verify assets?</p>
<p>For the Cal Grant the asset ceiling 2008 - 2009 was $59,100
<a href="http://www.csac.ca.gov/facts/2008-09Income&assetCeilingTables.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.csac.ca.gov/facts/2008-09Income&assetCeilingTables.pdf</a></p>
<p>That's very helpful, thank you very much.
Just wondering though, would an asset total closer to the ceiling result in less money from the grant?</p>
<p>My understanding is that the Pell grant eligibility is a direct function of the
EFC.</p>
<p>In the institutional methodology there are "college specific"
questions in the CSS/profile that take a detailed look at your assets.
What kind of car does your family own? etc.</p>
<p>Most schools I researched seemed to prorate gradually and not tend to have
sharp cutoffs at ceilings (between the low and mid income levels).</p>
<p>Here is the FAFSA formula so you can see for your family the Federal asset protection, which is usually less than the Cal Grant one:</p>
<p>The amount of Pell grant you are eligible for is directly related to your FAFSA EFC (the EFC already takes assets into account except were they are excluded such as in the simplified needs test or automatic zero EFC).</p>
<p>The amount of Pell you are eligible for is reduced as your EFC increases starting with the maximum for a full time student (and assuming a COA higher than the Pell amounts) of $4731 (for 2008-2009) for an EFC of 0 and reducing to the minimum of $890 for an EFC of 4001 to 4041. Over 4041 there is no Pell eligibility.</p>
<p>Well I mean how would they really check your assets though? Can't anyone just put anything they want? It just seems like one of those private informations that schools wouldn't have access to. </p>
<p>Personally speaking my parents work jobs that anyone could do, therefore making very little money. However they do save up, and they have around $50000 in the bank. The problem is my grandparents are in China and are sick, they are in constant need for this money for medical bills, I don't want to use it up if I can get more money from grants. </p>
<p>Plus it just seems like I have no advantage over any other low income families, since my parents do work jobs that anyone could do, I don't want them to spend their savings on me if they don't have to, even if my grandparents weren't sick.</p>
<p>That pdf is quite helpful, does the COA in there refer to just tuition? Or does housing count too?
Seems kind of off that a EFC of say 2000 would get you the same amount of money for a COA of 5000 and 20000.</p>
<p>They ask what your assets are as of the date of you complete the FAFSA. If you are selected for verification, they will get a list of your assets here. Now if you have money under your mattress or stashed in China that does not show up on any US documents, they may not catch that, but anything in banks and investments will show up in an asset search. It is a bad idea to lie on the FAFSA as it is a federal form and the penalties can be not only severe but far reaching. It's also a dishonest thing to do; that the most important. You can let colleges know that you have sick grandparents and by documenting payments and medical bills, that may have some impact, but basically without documentation you are not going to get leeway. Also providing for many other family members or other charitable causes, regardless of how important they are to your family or how noble does not count. We are very much in that situation where we have to direct our money into venues that are not recognized by colleges as something to take account of, though we feel differently.</p>
<p>
[quote]
That pdf is quite helpful, does the COA in there refer to just tuition? Or does housing count too?
[/quote]
COA includes tuition & fees, books, room and board, and usually an estimated amount for miscellaneous expenses and travel expenses.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Seems kind of off that a EFC of say 2000 would get you the same amount of money for a COA of 5000 and 20000.
[/quote]
For the Pell grant that is true. If your EFC qualifies you for $2000 in Pell grant you get $2000 in Pell grant whether the COA is $5,000 or $50,000.</p>
<p>They are able to do an asset search on you? That certainly is news to me. I mean I know this isn't exactly a glorious act, but I really don't want to use my parents' money when they're both working two hard labor jobs making barely any money.
I'm thinking of just having my parents move their savings to my grandparents' bank account, they're going to use it anyways, I mean I don't see how they could nail me on that. </p>
<p>For 2008-2009 my parents will make maybe $30000 combined, barely enough to live. I'd rather them not having to dish out over 10k for school from savings that is in dire need.</p>
<p>Of course they can. You don't think they will just take everyone's word that they have no assets. Many times they will ask nearly immediately for the tax returns to back up the infor. If you have interest or income that is not reflected on the FAFSA, that is a flag. Or no assets listed to explain the interest reported. If you are selected for a total check, the list gets longer on what you have to provide. This is the government and they have access to a lot of your things that use your ssn and your parents'.</p>
<p>Well since what's going to be left in my parents' bank accounts is exactly what they are going to be able to support my schooling with, I don't think I'm doing anything that's dishonest here. I think of it as a way to avoid the "glitches" of the system if anything.</p>
<p>If your parents income is below $50,000 and they file a 1040a or 1040ez tax return assets will be ignored by FAFSA under the simplified needs test. If they have income below $30k and file a 1040a or 1040ez then you would qualify for the automatic zero EFC (for 2009-2010 - the income limit is $20k for 2008-2009). </p>
<p>If they do not qualify for the simplified needs test or automatic zero EFC there is still an amount of asset protection in FAFSA based on the number of parents and the age of the oldest parent. For instance a 2 parent family where the older parent is 45 has asset protection of $43,400. After that only about 5.6% of the assets go toward the EFC. So if your parents have assets of $50k and the older parent is 45 then only $6,600 would be used in the formula which would only have an impact on the EFC of @370. And remember you can pick the day when you file FAFSA - so if your parents have medical bills or a roof to repair then it makes sense and is quite legitimate to file FAFSA the day after these payments are made rather than the day before.</p>
<p>Timing when you file FAFSA is quite legitimate and sensible (for instance if you refinance your home to repair the roof or redo the kitchen don't have the cash sitting in the bank bank at FAFSA time - refinance after FAFSA or pay for the kitchen before FAFSA) Lying or attempting to hide assets can lead to serious repercussions including large fines and repayment of financial aid already paid. And yes financial aid officers can ask for documentation to explain anomalies in your FAFSA figures such as interest earned with no apparent assets.</p>
<p>That is extremely helpful information, and it seems I might even qualify for automatic 0 EFC, or at least they could file for the 1040a. Indeed my parents are both over 50, so that helps even more I suppose. This actually explains why my fafsa EFC has been pretty much the same regardless of the second time when I didn't include the assets in the FAFSA form. </p>
<p>Now this leads me to another question, do these rules only apply to the pell grant? I suppose my main source of grant will come from the Cal grant, for California residence only. Is anyone familiar with the specifics regarding asset checks for the Cal grant? Somewhere above was a pdf with asset ceilings in it, but are there any exceptions or anything to it? </p>
<p>Thanks for your help everyone!</p>
<p>To rephrase my question for clarification, does the Cal Grant and grants from state schools like UCSD mostly share the same exceptions regarding assets as the pell grant and FAFSA?</p>