I kind of desperately need financial aid--advice?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>So I had a talk with my parents and my financial aid counselor and we came to the conclusion that there is no way that my parents can pay the expected family contribution according to the University of Chicago.</p>

<p>The expected parent contribution to UChicago is $14,000 over the EFC according to the FAFSA, in other words, it is almost double.</p>

<p>Apparently the FAFSA only takes into account how much my parents make and doesn't take into account any special circumstances. My father makes about $50,000 a year while my mother makes about $20,000 a year, but my father lives in Hong Kong. While my parents are not legally separated, they are technically separated and have been so for over twenty years.</p>

<p>My father has to pay for a mortgage and pays around $15,000 a month for that, for the next 6 months. His living expenses in 2007 (including monthly mortgate payment) total up to $29,000. For that reason, he can only contribute around $18,000 to our family in America. </p>

<p>My father and mother have been living separately for over twenty years. My mother has a part-time job and only makes around $20,000 a year (last year it was $17,000). She has to support three people with the $20,000 and the additional $18,000 my father sends: me, my brother, and herself. </p>

<p>I think the expected family contribution for Chicago does not take into account the fact that my parents are technically separated and that my mother is the breadwinner for the family. For these reasons, the expected family contribution for the Univ. of Chicago is too high. The University of Chicago is my top choice school of all, and so I hope that the University will readjust the financial aid letter because of these circumstances.</p>

<hr>

<p>Okay guys, all of that stuff I said was true about my family. That's why I'm really upset that the Univ. of Chicago expects my parents to pay $26,000 which is just too high. It's not that they're unwilling to pay that much--it's that they really don't have much choice.</p>

<p>I'm planning on calling the University and telling them this, but they'll probably say that it needs to be in writing. Then I'll ask them what specific 'new and documented' information is required. Then I'll write a letter.</p>

<p>Do you guys have any suggestions or recommendations regarding this? Please? I really do desperately need the expected family contribution to be lowered. Do you have any recommendations about the appeal?</p>

2

<p>In the financial aid package there is a paragraph on how to appeal. When appealing don't place the blame, just try to be nice and ask for a reevaluation and explain the situation without sounding rude or anything. Goodluck !</p>

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<p>Yeah, I'll try to be nice and businesslike in it. I think there was just a misunderstanding--they thought that my dad was able to send a lot of the $50,000 he makes over to support the family. That wasn't reflected in the FAFSA and in the tax forms.</p>

4

<p>dchow08 - the FAFSA is used to determine eligibility for Federal aid/loans by Chicago. The CSS Profile is used in determining Chicago's grant aid. The Profile looks at assets differently than FAFSA - it counts income a bit less, but makes up for it by counting home equity as well as the income of the non-custodial spouse. It is certainly possible for the FAFSA and Profile to be quite different if there are a lot of assets in the mix, it is also possible that there was an error in the paperwork. Before you talk to the finaid office, review the CSS submission to see if there was an error. Also remember that both the Profile and FAFSA assume that some of the college expenses will be paid out of past or future savings (e.g, by taking a home equity loan).</p>

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<p>I'm checking the FAFSA right now. Apparently I carelessly said that I would go to college half-time instead of full-time. I don't know how that happened.</p>

<p>Also, because of the circumstances listed above, should I change my FAFSA from married to separated? Apparently my parents don't have to be legally separated for the marital status on the FAFSA to be 'separated.' They've been living apart for over 20 years. And should I have my father fill out the Non-Custodial Profile, which I thought wasn't needed?</p>

<p>I'm about to check the Profile.</p>

6

<p>dchow08,
I don't know the answers to your questions but I am bumping this up in the hope that someone can help you. I would also encourage you to post on the financial aid forum as there are some pretty savvy adults posting on it.</p>

<p>You are going to have to get this all sorted out. I also know that you are not the only person to have made errors in the documents. You are going to have to get the FAFSA as well as the Profile sorted out as to whether you file one or two (one for your mom, and the non-custodial for your dad). The CSS Profile does offer help on line - and they get back to you pretty quickly.</p>

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<p>Okay, so I posted this concern a while ago, but nobody responded. I'm starting to wonder if people just don't want to respond because they don't want me to get more aid. I mean, someone here has to know. It's just upsetting. I decided not to wait for anyone and changed the FAFSA marital status from married to separated. Apparently my dad needed to have a pin number to sign. I created one for him, but it has to be verified, so I have to wait one to three days. I still have to fix the CSS Profile. </p>

<p>It upsets me that so many people are cold when it comes to helping with financial aid. Or at least that's what it seems like, since besides you ohio_mom, nobody bothered to help me.</p>

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<p>I really think people here don't know man. I wanna help you so bad, but I don't know how. Call the office again if you already have an ask. =&lt;/p>

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<p>"I think the expected family contribution for Chicago does not take into account the fact that my parents are technically separated and that my mother is the breadwinner for the family."</p>

<p>This isn't taken into consideration because it doesn't matter to UofC. Paying for college is considered the responsibility of students and their families. The incomes and assets of both parents (and any step parents) are considered available to pay for college costs. Most people think their EFC is too high but UofC nevertheless manages to fill its classes. People aren't, "cold when it comes to helping with financial aid," but the truth is you, and everyone else, want more aid and UofC really doesn't need to adjust anyone's EFC to fill its classes with excellent students.</p>

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<p>dchow08,
I agree with beefs - I think most of us just don't know. My parents can't afford our EFC either (though your situation has more hope for appeal), so I won't be at U of C next year. The only thing I can tell you is to be prepared if you're going to call the office, as they may not be as helpful as you expect (although they might be), but make sure you have all of the paperwork corrected first if you can. I really hope that you are able to get it fixed and make UChicago affordable. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Okay, thanks guys. </p>

<p>dntw8up: I kind of disagree with what you're saying. If the University of Chicago accepts you, it's the financial aid office's job to try to get them to go there.</p>

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<p>yea i def disagree with dntw8up.</p>

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<p>Okay, I guess what he/she is trying to say is this (this comes from the Class of 2012 blog):</p>

<p>"Our friends the federal government grant financial aid based on the financial situations of the two biological parents of the student in question, and so do we. It doesn't matter how many times people have remarried, dropped off the face of the earth, whatever... this is the information we require."</p>

<p>So does that mean that I shouldn't mention in my letter that my parents are technically separated? It seems like it really doesn't matter.</p>

14

<p>Unfortunately, the financial aid office at Chicago has a long standing reputation for being very unforgiving of "unusual" family circumstances-self employed parents, seperated parents, etc. We tried appealing our son's 0$ FA award [we are self employed and he received FA awards that covered close to 50% of total costs from most of the other top colleges he was accepted at -Chicago came back with zipo again. And in reading posts from this years acceptees, it seems that again, despite the "new financial aid program", nothing has changed. Sorry, but I think your chances of getting any additional aid are likely to be nil.</p>

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<p>Okay, but what about the fact that my dad has to pay lots of monthly mortgage payments and after providing for the family in America has only $8,000 that isn't enough to cover the cost of college?</p>

<p>Okay, so maybe the unusual circumstances won't change anything. But what about this part of the letter:</p>

<p>My father has to pay for a mortgage and pays around $15,000 a month for that, for the next 6 months. His living expenses in 2007 (including monthly mortgate payment) total up to $29,000. For that reason, he can only contribute around $18,000 to our family in America. </p>

<p>My mother has a part-time job and only makes around $20,000 a year (last year it was $17,000). She has to support three people with the $20,000 and the additional $18,000 my father sends: me, my brother, and herself. </p>

<p>Will that increase my changes of getting any additional aid?</p>

16

<p>'My father has to pay for a mortgage and pays around $15,000 a month for that, for the next 6 months. His living expenses in 2007 (including monthly mortgate payment) total up to $29,000'
HUH? Do you mean that he has only 29000 left over for living expenses after paying 15000 month? If he paid that amount in mortage payments last year, which add up to 180,000 a year, that means he made over 200,000 year, correct? If that is the case you are out of luck with Chicago, I'm afraid.</p>

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<p>No, I think there's a misunderstanding.</p>

<p>My dad makes $55,000 a year, give or take a few hundred.</p>

<p>He pays $15,000 a year for the mortgage payment. (I guess I said $15,000 a month, which is not true).</p>

<p>That means he has approximately $40,000 left.</p>

<p>Living expenses (excluding house) totals up to $14,000.</p>

<p>That means he has $26,000 left.</p>

<p>Now, out of that $26,000, he sends over $18,000 a year to support the family in the United States.</p>

<p>That means he has $8,000 left.</p>

<p>Sorry, I should have been more clear. So, should this be explained in my appeal letter?</p>

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<p>We DID find the FA office to be responsive to an appeal, in which I explained that my S's (now completing his first year at UC) younger brother required tutoring to remediate a learning disability. I provided a statement from the tutor and a projection of annual expenses. They adjusted the FA package quite a bit, after receiving documentation.</p>

<p>I think it's important to provide whatever documentation you possibly can, not just provide a general statement in an appeal letter. Provide documentation of the mortgage payment that your dad makes. Provide a statement from him about his living expenses and what he sends to the U.S. annually, etc. I'm not sure whether your parents being separated affects calculations, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to correct this info.</p>

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<p>dbchow08,</p>

<p>People are sometimes afraid of offering financial aid advice for fear of getting it wrong. I can't give specific advice on the custodial / non-custodial situation because I don't know. </p>

<p>However, here is a little bit of what's going on with the money.Your dad's <em>take-home</em> pay is 55k and your mom's is 17k. Together that is about 72,000 - which is about 10k more than our family's. Our FAFSA EFC is 25,000 - our CSS Profile usually a little less - say, 23,000 (remember that the actual calculations are on federal pay + 401k contributions, not take-home pay). So I don't think the numbers sound that out of line - IF you were living in one household.
The problem is that your folks have to maintain two households because of the separation - and I can't tell if that has been communicated to financial aid or not. I also don't know how much its going to help you if you can get that corrected. </p>

<p>Your dad has 8K to pay out of pocket. Chicago - or any college - is going to assume that college is not a complete surprise, and that your folks will have saved something or will be willing to use home equity or sell some investments (we pay for college using a combination of out of pocket, budgeting really carefully, and have tapped our home equity line). I'm not trying to make you feel badly, I'm trying to give you the big picture of what's expected in family contributions so that when you call you will have some idea of what's going on.</p>