<p>It certainly ****ed me off…as we struggle to send one to college and get ready to send # 2 out the door. But it’s all part of the EFC model being terribly misguided-- does anyone honestly believe their EFC is something their family can accomplish?<br>
Our EFC for child # 1 was Three times our annual mortgage payment-- a shocker to us…did we ever get used to it (she’s now a senior)…certainly not-- but we haven’t saved a dime for our pending retirement in three years…</p>
<p>That said, there’s lots of people working off the books too- and their EFC is based solely on 1040 income. </p>
<p>So while I personally would not cheat-- it would appear that anyone could submit a FAFSA and copies of 1040s with a (bogus) tax return which in theory could be omit some 1040s or 1099s if multiple jobs are held.</p>
<p>But keep in mind- when the EFC for those of us in the “middle class” comes in at 25-30% of our gross income – that’s simply mind boggling. Anyone with a family income of 120,000- 160,000-- the EFC model is that percentage of gross income- that is higher than the actual federal tax rate! So any possibility of shielding income is certainly tempting…
Sure that is a VERY high income level-- but if you calculate that potentially 35k - 50k could be sucked out off the top on a college education - you really have to wonder where have things gone wrong…</p>