<p>momoft:</p>
<p>There is no way of answering that question with any certainty. Although I don’t recognize any of the initials, I would guess that none are full-need schools. Thus, need-based aid is a crapshoot.</p>
<p>EFC is affected by the number of kids in the family, the age of those kids, and the number currently in college.</p>
<p>Just did our FAFSA, our EFC is just $200 higher than the published tuition/room/board fee for DS’s college next year. In other words, we make the LEAST you can make and still not qualify for aid. </p>
<p>But next year, when our D enters college, we will definitely qualify for something.</p>
<p>Lafalum84 - your kid can still take out up to 5500 in unsubsidized stafford loans and if the school awards MERIT aid (that is aid that is not NEED based) then your child could still get a scholarship/grant.</p>
<p>Some schools do NOT award ANY aid that is not need based, others do.</p>
<p>sueinphilly, my son is already a sophomore at the college. They won’t be throwing any merit aid our way at this point!</p>
<p>We’ve got enough left in the 529 plan for one more semester. After that, hello HELOC!</p>
<p>My EFC is also high, around $33,000. However, my mom has told me that they can only afford $25,000 and my scholarship to American is only $15,000 + $5500 in loans.</p>
<p>Sigh.</p>
<p>(Prelude: D is only a JR right now - went to a FAFSA workshop held by the local community college and did the junior year version of fafsa.)</p>
<p>My EFC was 5092.</p>
<p>According to the report it gave me, I didn’t even qualify for a Pell Grant!</p>
<ul>
<li>single parent (never married) w/ no support from other parent (ever)</li>
<li>public school teacher making just under $48K, (after 18 years on the job)</li>
<li>no investments</li>
<li>no savings/holdings</li>
<li>no personal retirement (state I work for puts $ into state retirement system)</li>
<li>never more than $300 in my checking account</li>
<li>own house - owe $75K of $90K value</li>
<li>one child in the household (I’m thinking THAT’S what’s throwing my level of need off)</li>
</ul>
<p>don’t mean to sound complaining… we have a great little life - we don’t have much security, we don’t travel or buy things on a whim, things like braces, fixing the roof, and a new washing machine have to wait in line when the car breaks down - but our little life fits us just fine. I’m very grateful for all that we do have, so I really don’t mean to sound like “gimme, gimme”, ya know?</p>
<p>I’m just SO surprised at what little aid it seems I’ll be able to “get”. (Not that I’m entitled anything, but geewhiz, not even a Pell?!) </p>
<p>So, this is what I’ve learned for myself so far… does this jive with your experiences?</p>
<p>Personal Financial Aid Lesson #1:
When you don’t qualify for Pell Grant, you don’t qualify for lots of stuff! Many schools seem to use access to Pell $ as the determiner for access to institutional money. </p>
<p>Personal Financial Aid Lesson #2:<br>
The good news is - according to the state, I’m not as poor as I thought I was. The bad news is - according to the state, I’ve got money I don’t really have.</p>
<p>If you don’t need to file a 1040, you may qualify for the PELL next year under the simplified needs test.</p>
<p>Simplified needs just ignores assets. She doesn’t have any assets to ignore.</p>
<p>1sttimemom, it’s really good that you have done an early estimate. Now you will know how to proceed when choosing schools. You will want to base your search on schools that are in commuting distance, schools that are low cost, schools where your child might get merit. Reality bites - but it’s easier to handle if you know upfront.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What is the “junior year version of fafsa”?</p>
<p>FAFSA Forecaster. You can go in & do an estimate - you’ll have your PINs & a lot of the info will roll over when you do the real thing. It’s pretty cool.</p>
<p>kelsmom -
SOOOO true. So much better to know now than later. I was very surprised. I knew that the EFC was an index number, not a money number, but that’s about all I knew!</p>
<p>Now - from the category of if-I-had-it-to-do-all-over-again-I-would-have-done-it-differently:
Before I knew enough to know better, I scheduled a trip (to begin this Monday) to see three out of state schools - GWU, American, and Catholic, thinking that we’d qualify for aid (being a poor public servant and all that). [Of course, we’re seeing local schools too - UCF, UF, FSU, UNF, and even Rollins (good scholarship opportunities).] Now, of course, I know better.<br>
I can either cancel the trip, disappoint D, and eat the plane tickets, OR go on trip with eyes wide open about money and deliver the message to D of “well-if-you-knock-their-socks-off-at-a-state-school-there-are-great-grad-school-opportunities-out-there”.<br>
She wants to study Journalism and I was mezmerized by GWU’s program. AU too. And thought - well, you never know unless you try and who-the-heck-knows there might just be some money available. (Have since had eyes opened wider… PSAT scores of 640/580/730 aren’t going to knock anyone’s socks off. SAT scores not yet available.)
Any thoughts?</p>
<p>thump -
FAFSA4caster on the FAFSA site</p>
<p>if your parents cant swing your EFC then you are living way beyond your means. I find the EFC calculations to be pretty accurate. My EFC was actually the amount my parent spent on cigarettes a year -$50. Talk about accurate,.</p>
<p>1sttimemom, you’re probably familiar with your state’s student aid programs and I understand that Florida has some very good student aid. I found NY’s income requirements to be more forgiving than the feds, so perhaps state aid will kick in for you too. It’s possible that applying to Profile schools could be an advantage in your case too.</p>
<p>I’m also a single parent and with my D, who’s a senior, our flagship state U was the best choice financially and met 100% need. Not her first choice initially but it’s a very well regarded school for her field, she’s happy, and will not have to take out more than subsidized loans for the first three years. I let her apply to a variety of schools, and she did receive merit aid, but it just didn’t make sense to her to pay even $15K per year knowing that she would be doing grad school too. The trick to keep disappointment levels low was to decide at the onset that she wasn’t going to fall in love with any particular school and it worked for her.</p>
<p>I went to Syracuse and they have a very well respected journalism program. I believe their costs are still lower than GWU (and in a low cost of living area too) and I know they offer a variety of merit scholarships. Not sure what the levels are anymore, but I’d say (based on D’s friend’s acceptance this year) if your D’s SAT’s come back around PSAT level or a bit higher than projected she would receive decent merit aid. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Note that what i said above is what the govt feels is disposable income. I in no way know what you and yours considers disposable, i know many rich people who have taken on to many responsibilities and are having a really tough time. So you are not alone, its more common than you think.</p>
<p>I just want to add that as someone with a very low EFC (3000), I too find the EFC quite accurate in what you can afford – if you scrimp, save and stretch. (I am an unemployed, single mom of five, one currently with health issues.) That said, I allowed my D to apply anywhere she wanted, but stressed that she had two hurdles to overcome: getting in AND being able to afford it. Actually, in this economy, even getting in has been a hurdle in schools that are not need-blind. And not meeting needs is even MORE likely than it was. However, you just never know what college will meet what. It turned out for my son that NYU of all places was the absolute best financial deal (in addition to it being his dream school then)–he’d applied to a SUNY school, but NYU was actually cheaper. Also, and I speak as an SAT tutor, it’s quite possible that your child’s scores will go up next year. I would definitely recommend as much practice as possible–there are many inexpensive ways to do this (books, online exercises from College Board, etc.). Just by practicing, you can increase your scores 100 each on average. So I would go on the visits just to let your child see what’s out there, with the understanding that money is definitely a large factor, but that you can’t tell at this stage what will be offered and what’s possible.</p>
<p>Great advice - all - thank you!</p>
<p>sk8rmom - Bright Futures is FL’s program. she’s likely to earn the 75% level of tutition, which is no small thing. We sat down and I showed her - in broad strokes - what it would look like if she went out of state on a small partial scholarship vs getting 75% BF in state. She was easily impressed by the “that’s a no brainer-ness” of it all. </p>
<p>Dr.Horse - I don’t disagree. I can swing the EFC # with scrimping, saving, and a second job - which is fine - it’s supposed to be a challenge. I genuinely don’t mind that. I was just surprised that there was no amount in my projection that was grant/scholarship based. It’s my EFC I’m paying, plus loans. Like kelsmom said tho - thank goodness i had my rude awakening junior year instead of senior year! 
</p>
<p>hoveringmom - thanks for the insights! greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>After seeking some wise counsel - my parents, sisters, other parents w/ current students, etc. - we’re going on the trip as planned, but viewing it through new eyes. We had a talk about thoughtful hopes vs pipe dreams.</p>
<p>We’re increasing the fun factor of the trip and toning the school visits down a bit - to a let’s-see-what-there-is-to-see visit. At this point, I just want to enjoy our time together… these are precious times. :)</p>
<p>There are EFC’s that are based on salaries that were only that amount for a short time and so the family wasn’t living beyond their means. I know 2 people in my family that either worked part time because of other obligations or got an unexpected promotion later in life (50’s) My sister jumped 20.000 2 years before her daughter went to college getting a long time degree. Her EFC was high, but her past income wasn’t taken in account.The colleges didn’t care that savings weren’t there beforehand, but they did take into account that she didn’t have any big savings or bonds, things like that now which lowered it a bit. Her daughter found a college in the south that made it cheaper than her state school and maybe gave a geographical bonus to her application.
Every case is different, “poor” is relative to some, but the process isn’t fair across the board, you just have to deal with what you have at the time.</p>
<p>Add me to the thousands who simply don’t understand why our expected contribution at the privates is so high (we can understand more the FAFSA EFC). </p>
<p>When everyone says “income” do they mean gross or gross adjusted income? </p>
<p>My son has been accepted to some great schools. Unfortunately, the privates have given him stingy need-based aid packages. We have considered appealing, but I’m tending to think why bother?</p>
<p>1st time mom–don’t assume no grants. Not qualifying for Pell just means you don’t get a federal grant–and those tend to go only to very low income students. Many schools give substantial institutional grants to students from moderate to low income families like your own. FAFSA only forecasts Federal money, not state or institutional. Also, have your D research local scholarships–many have a need-based component, which your D should qualify for. A girl in my S’s HS class walked away with a slew of those because of good grades, community service, etc coupled with low/middle income.</p>
<p>Good luck on your search!</p>