How low is low?

Paying for College
1

<p>So my brother's going off to college (state school) and we are waiting for financial aid info to come in. I had always thought we were decently well off--we've never had a problem paying for anything we've needed--but I asked my dad and he showed me on our tax report that our AGI (Adjusted Gross income) was 15k for our family of 4, automatically qualifying us for an EFC of 0. Are we under the poverty line and is the college likely to give us much at all beyond the pell grant? </p>

<p>Finally, do top colleges really care about students' income?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>15K AGI is pretty low, but it’s commendable that you have what you need and appreciate it.</p>

<p>With a 0 EFC, your brother will be eligible for federal aid in the form of a Pell Grant, and subsidized Stafford loan, and Perkins loan. He’ll also be eligible for State and institutional need-based aid, which varies from school to school, and state to state.</p>

<p>Your Need will be the full Cost of Attendance. Most state schools don’t meet full need; you can get an idea what average % of need a particular school meets from College Board.</p>