Link to 10/13/2010 EFC Formula Guide for 2011-2012

Paying for College
21

<p>momofthreeboys, I thought we had it bad, 3 more years of FAFSA/Profile to go! But we have been in this game since 2003! 11 consecutive yrs-‘03-14’, for the 4 of them. You have my sympathy, believe me! The 2000 Mini-Van still runs great! </p>

<p>Hmmm…maybe the FAFSA people decided that with all these Boomer college parents inheriting money from their parents’ estates, just maybe less of their inheritance should be protected while they have college students? LOL… As if we are all going to inherit millions from the sale of our parents’ or in-laws’ homes!</p>

22

<p><<11 consecutive yrs-‘03-14’, for the 4 of them>></p>

<p>OUCH!!! wouldn’t it be nice if they put into the calculation “how much have you paid for college over the past 10+ years for your other children?”</p>

<p>I have tried to warn a coworker of mine who spaced her kids 3-4 years apart that she is going to be paying for college for a LONG time. Her oldest just started HS, but I have begged her to do a fafsa estimator NOW. She has 3 kids and they all go to catholic school and they may go to a local college and commute to school but STILL she is going to have to pay out of pocket. I guess she figures that paying for catholic schools for so long is a good precurser to laying out the $$ for college. The Catholic college she sees her kids going to has tuition of about 25K per year. She’s in for a shock!!!</p>

23

<p>Yes, sueinphilly, we have 5 years of overlap in those 11 years, seems to help! </p>

<p>Sometimes I think parents are “Delusional”, they feel it isn’t going to cost that much, or kids will get great scholarships (with not so outstanding stats, etc.) I think I posted on another thread that parents seem to put more thought & research into buying a new appliance, a new car, a new TV, a new laptop (like consulting Consumer Reports) than looking into financial aid. Especially when they know they will probably need financial aid & for multiple kids, why not start looking into it several years BEFORE you fill out that first FAFSA, first CSS Profile or college’s own FA form? Why not be an educated consumer? Instead of just filling out the FA forms & hoping for the best?</p>

24

<p>I admit not knowing there was such a thing as EFC until my son’s junior year of HS. </p>

<p>I knew we wouldn’t get Pell grants, but I had NO IDEA about ‘the formula’
I had just been saving every penny I could since he was born. For many years I was living paycheck to paycheck and when I was finally above water, I just saved and saved and saved. Luckily I have been able to pay my portion of my son’s college, EFC plus some out of savings and income. He will have about 29K in subsidized stafford and perkins loans, but I will have no loans. He could have gone to a cheaper school, but he wanted to go to NYU and they in fact have paid 125K in scholarships, me about 60K and my son’s loans are the rest. That is one expensive piece of paper they are going to give him next may!!!</p>

25

<p>Congrats, sue, I hope you don’t leave us when your S graduates! I, for one, have learned much from your posts :slight_smile: (and have 5 more FAFSAs ahead of me…ugh!)</p>

26

<p>Thanks MomCat2…</p>

27

<p>Someday, I will add up all the grant $$ the kiddos received over the 11 years!
Just for fun! Maybe then H will be thankful I was an “educated consumer.” </p>

<p>No, sue, don’t abandon us, you are always very knowledgeable!</p>

28

<p>Slightly OT, but I have a question for all of the parents here who have taken the time to become “educated consumers”…do your college-aged offspring share in the level of knowledge you’ve acquired about the FA process or are they just happy knowing that you know? Do they take an active role in filling out FAFSA, filing their taxes, etc. or do they delegate their non-routine financial tasks to you (as mine do)?</p>

29

<p>thanks sk8rmom,</p>

<p>My son has never seen a Fafsa form or a tax form for that matter. I have done it ALL by myself. Last years taxes were really fun. he worked in 2 different states and had 3 w-2 forms so I had to file a NY, MA and PA tax return. He owed money because of different tax rates/withholding and I was so kind to pick up the difference and pay for tax filing.</p>

<p>NOW, come 2010 tax season, I will probably do the same (he has only had 1 job with reportable income, yeah!) so it won’t be so bad.</p>

<p>I do plan on educating him about taxactonline and his student loans and their repayment issues. I do NOT plan on paying those back for him (of course if he sends me the money, assuming he’s working, I will do what I can to help.)</p>

30

<p>Same as sue here. I do the tax returns for my kids and also most of FAFSA. I have asked if they want to go through the tax returns and so far they are happy to let me take care of it. I could be robbing them blind for all they know (I’m not ;)). Neither of my two are very numbers orientated which is surprising as both their dad and I are very numbers orientated. I am sure if I drop dead tomorrow they will both be able to do their own returns using one of the tax software products, but they probably won’t learn all the nuances of taxes that those products don’t always seem to catch (I find they don’t always give you the best info on education tax credits for instance).</p>

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<p>“Educated consumer”… that sums it up perfectly!</p>

<p>I started the process of educating myself re: financial aid when my oldest child was a sophomore in high school. Paying for College Without Going Broke was a tremendous help (as was CC). We’ve done the FAFSA for the past five years (four more to go).</p>

<p>My college-aged children file their own taxes but I take care of everything else. I usually set aside an entire weekend to complete the FAFSA/PROFILE and during that time, there is a flurry of emails back and forth to the kids re: W2s, assets, scholarship amounts, etc.</p>

<p>I am not very numbers oriented, but I am the one who has done the research and have a greater understanding re: FAFSA/PROFILE.</p>

<p>My oldest just graduated debt-free in May and it appears that son #2 will also be able to graduate without taking out any loans. Both worked during the school year and fulltime during the summers. Son #3 is a senior in high school and is just now completing college apps.</p>

<p>SLUMOM…if we added up all the grant $$ the kids received in the past five years it would be mind-boggling!</p>

32

<p>I take care of FAFSA & Profile (I detest the Profile, btw). I have taught my kids about how financial aid works in terms of figuring out if an aid package is “good.” D knew Tufts was out as soon as she saw the aid offer. S thought Butler’s package looked good (large grant), until I showed him how to subtract aid from tuition/fees/room/board & he saw the amount required after the basic aid (grants & Stafford loans). Fortunately, we were up-front with the kids about how much we could pay for them … so they knew that a school without good aid was a school that would need to be told, “Thanks, but no thanks.”</p>

33

<p>Ive been sitting here at my desk all day buried in FA documents. Trying to educate myself on the Profile and the FAFSA- This is my first D going to college. I started the process of educating myself many months ago but still find myself very confused about the the section called ASSETS.</p>

<p>I have used the college board EFC calculator and started the CSS Profile.
We are in the worst shape financially- we have very low income with assets.
Real estate that we have not been able to sell. The economy is in the toilet. Our EFC is coming up 0, how do colleges that meet 100% need view assets?</p>

<p>We were at a YALE presentation recently and they said they allow $200k in assets but that includes your home you live in, while on the Profile it excludes your primary residence.
So far I have allowed a Asset Protection Allowance of $84,000 and a income protection allowance of $24,370 Family of 4 one in college ( not sure if i count my D going to college on this one)</p>

<p>I had read on CC a post that said
$1M in unprotected assets would increase the EFC by around 56,000 which would make aid unlikely at any OOS school as their COA would be below that. Student assets will also affect the FAFSA EFC - they have no asset protection allowance and affect the EFC by 20% of their value.</p>

<p>Anyone that cares to chime in and give me some pointers on where to start i would very much appreaciate it. I found a worksheet on [Vermont</a> Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) - Paying For College](<a href=“http://www.vsaccollegepays.org%5DVermont”>http://www.vsaccollegepays.org)</p>

34

<p>@sk8rmom, I do the FAFSA’s, CSS Profile’s & school’s own financial aid forms.
I work for a CPA, so tax returns (5) are done at no charge, 4 kids, & ours.
I think the children are glad they don’t have to do any of this stuff! They are spoiled in this regard. If our accountant ever retires, I will be out of work! But CPA has no plans to retire at this point.</p>

35

<p>Is it possible to Calculating Net Cost of Attendance, what your FA package might look like using x formula?</p>

<p>Combined total of tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation and personal expenses, as estimated by campuses for the 2009-10 academic year.</p>

<p>We define net cost of attendance as the sum of the family’s contribution from income and assets, and a “self-help” amount contributed separately by the student.
Family contribution is the total of what the parent(s) and student are expected to contribute from their respective income and assets. All institutions use a formula to calculate the parent contribution; this formula, which is not the same for every school, uses parents’ income, certain assets, and other information to determine what parents can afford to pay. Some institutions calculate student contributions with a similar formula, while others set a minimum student contribution of income through summer earnings. </p>

<p>Self-help consists of student loans and academic year work.
What formula is used to calculate the family contribution?</p>

<p>Except in cases where the college has publicly disclosed a non-standard formula, we used EFC worksheets for the 2009-10 award year from the College Board to calculate the parent contribution and student contribution where applicable. Institutions use one of two formulas to calculate financial need. The Federal Methodology (FM) is the same regardless of the college the student is applying to; the Institutional Methodology (IM) differs from FM and allows campuses to deviate from the standard IM formula. For example, an institution might limit the amount of assets it considers. The figures here use the standard IM formula</p>

<p>Note: The calculator on the College Board’s website uses the same methodology as the worksheets, but is for the 2010-11 award year.
Don’t family characteristics impact financial need?
Yes. Features like household size, state of residence, and parent age can affect the calculation of EFC. See below for assumptions made about our sample student’s circumstances.</p>

<p>What assumptions are made about a family’s financial position?

  1.  Two parents earning equal salaries contribute to the cost of attendance. The older parent is 45.&lt;/p&gt;

<ol>
<li><pre><code> The student is a 17 year old prospective first-year college student in the 2009-10 year, is applying for college in-state, and has a 15 year old sibling not yet in college.
</code></pre></li>
<li><pre><code> Eligible families claim all available earned income and child tax credits.
</code></pre></li>
<li><pre><code> The student earned $1,500 from part-time or summer work in 2008.
</code></pre></li>
<li><pre><code> We consulted the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances to create the following representation of typical assets by income:
</code></pre></li>
</ol>

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<p>Typical Assets by Family Income</p>

<p>Family Income $20,000
Typical Assets (rounded) $11,300
Home Equity (rounded) $2,600</p>

<p>Family Income $40,000
Typical Assets (rounded) $31,500
Home Equity (rounded) $65,000</p>

<p>Family Income $60,000
Typical Assets (rounded) $94,000
Home Equity (rounded) $79,200</p>

<p>Family Income $80,000
Typical Assets (rounded) $112,500
Home Equity (rounded) $114,400</p>

<p>Family Income $120,000
Typical Assets (rounded) $217,100
Home Equity (rounded) $172,500</p>

<p>Family Income $160,000
Typical Assets (rounded) $328,700
Home Equity (rounded) $229,300</p>

<p>Family Income $200,000
Typical Assets (rounded) $440,200
Home Equity (rounded) $286,100</p>

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<p>Supplemental Questions (SQ) Question Question Response Help Code</p>

<p>Does anyone have a grid filled out like this with more colleges? Can you add to this list.
And do you know how they each use the information differently to come up with an aid package? I found it interesting how they all want different Supplemental Questions (SQ).</p>

<p>Supplemental Questions (SQ) Question Question Response Help Code</p>

<p>Enter the year (YYYY), make, and model of your parents’ primary motor vehicle. SQ-101
Northwestern University
Yale University</p>

<p>Enter the year (YYYY), make, and model of your parents’ secondary motor vehicle SQ-104
Northwestern University</p>

<p>Does either of the student’s parents receive free housing or food as a job benefit? (If yes, be sure to include the value in PROFILE Help Code PI-210 for non-military benefits or PI-211 for military benefits.) SQ-110
Harvard College
Univ of Michigan
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>If your parents own real estate other than their home, enter the
number of properties that they own. (Be sure to include the total value
of all the real estate and the total amount owed in PROFILE Help Code
PA-180.) SQ-111
Harvard College
Brandeis University
Massachusetts Inst of Tech
Yale University
Scripps College
Univ of Chicago
Wellesley College</p>

<p>Enter the cash value (not the death benefit or surrender value) of your
parents’ life insurance, including Permanent, Whole, Ordinary,
Universal, and Single Premium policies. If your parents have no life
insurance or ONLY Term Life Insurance, enter “0.” SQ-112
Harvard College</p>

<p>If any part of your family’s primary residence is used as rental property, enter the percent amount used as rental. (Format is whole numbers only, 0-100.) SQ-113
Wellesley College</p>

<p>Do your parents participate in a tax-deferred pension plan? (Select only one response. If yes, be sure to include the amount withheld for 2010 in PROFILE Help Code PI-190.) SQ-115
Harvard College</p>

<p>Are your parents required by their employers to contribute to their
retirement plans? (Select only one response.)
SQ-116
Harvard College</p>

<p>Is any person in your family the beneficiary of a Trust? No SQ-120
Wellesley College</p>

<p>Is the student applicant or the parent(s) (natural or stepparent(s)) a
designated trust or estate beneficiary, or retain any current or future
trust ownership interests? (If “yes,” please ask the named Trustee to
submit a letter to Bowdoin itemizing year-end fair market value of all
owned trust assets, as well as copies of supporting year-end bank
and/or brokerage statements, the complete trust instrument, and the
latest copy of Fiduciary Tax Form 1041, including all schedules.) SQ-121
Bowdoin College</p>

<p>Does either parent hold an interest in a corporation, partnership, or
Schedule C business? (If yes, include the value and debt owed for the
appropriate business(es) in Section BA, Parents’ Assets.) SQ-122
Harvard College
Univ of Michigan
Harvey Mudd College
Northwestern University
Scripps College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Is either parent the beneficiary of a trust or estate? SQ-123
Harvard College
Univ of Michigan
Brandeis University
Amherst College
Scripps College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Is any family member, except the student or parents, the beneficiary of a trust? SQ-124
Harvard College</p>

<p>Do your parents have interest in any assets held in another person’s name, including relatives and others? SQ-125
Harvard College
Scripps College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Do you or your parents no longer own assets that generated income in 2010? SQ-127
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>If your parents have money, property, or other assets in another country, enter the total value in U.S. dollars of those assets. (Include these assets in Sections PA, BA, or FA, as appropriate, of the PROFILE Application.) SQ-128
Harvard College
Univ of Michigan
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Enter the number of motor vehicles owned, operated, or leased by your family. SQ-131
Harvard College
Wellesley College</p>

<p>Enter the current value of any deferred compensation and/or profit sharing plan(s) held by your parents. SQ-132
Univ of Michigan</p>

<p>Are any of the investments reported by the student’s parents in PROFILE Help Code PA-120 from a partnership or corporation? No SQ-135
Harvard College
Harvey Mudd College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Of the investments reported by the student’s parents in PROFILE Help Code PA-120, how much represents savings in a Section 529 college savings plan or in a Coverdell Education Savings Account? SQ-136
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Enter the amount of child support received by your parent during 2010 for you, the student. SQ-201
Harvard College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Enter the total alimony your parent received in 2010. 0 SQ-202
Harvard College</p>

<p>Enter the total alimony your parent paid in 2010. 0 SQ-203
Harvard College</p>

<p>Enter the total your parents received in Workers’ Compensation or
other untaxed disability benefits in 2010.SQ-205
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Enter the current total of consumer and installment debt (money borrowed for cars, appliances, credit cards, etc.) owed by your parents. (Do not include mortgage debt or other debt already included in Sections BA, FA, or PA.) SQ-211
Harvard College
Northwestern University
Amherst College</p>

<p>Are your parents paying debt service for educational loans? No SQ-214
Harvard College</p>

<p>Enter the amount paid during 2010 for elder care. 0 SQ-302
Harvard College</p>

<p>Enter the amount your parents will contribute from income toward
your 2011-12 educational expenses. SQ-303
Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst</p>

<p>Enter the amount your parents will contribute from assets toward your 2011-12 educational expenses. SQ-304
Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst</p>

<p>If your mother has remarried, enter the date. (Response format is MMYYYY.) SQ-305
Harvard College</p>

<p>If your father has remarried, enter the date. (Response format is MMYYYY.) SQ-306
Harvard College</p>

<p>Enter your family’s religious denomination. (Your answer will be used
to determine your eligibility for private donor scholarships.) SQ-316
Oberlin College</p>

<p>Is the college authorized to discuss the family’s information with the
student or to release the family’s information to financial aid agencies
and scholarship donors providing aid to the student? SQ-318
Brandeis University
Amherst College
Oberlin College</p>

<p>If you have a parent living outside the US, enter the country name where he or she lives. SQ-320
Enter the amount paid to support any relatives not included in Section FM of the PROFILE Application. SQ-321
Harvard College
Amherst College
Stanford University
Wellesley College</p>

<p>For how many of the family members listed in PROFILE Section FM
who will be enrolled in a college or university at least half-time during
2011-12, will the applicant’s parents be expected to pay a portion of
the costs? SQ-322
Harvard College
Stanford University</p>

<p>Provide the amount(s) the applicant’s parents will contribute toward each person’s educational costs. Will either of the applicant’s parents receive W-2s for earnings during the 2010 calendar year? No SQ-323
Stanford University</p>

<p>If the student’s parent is single, separated, divorced, or widowed, does that parent share living expenses with another adult? SQ-327
Harvard College
Bard College</p>

<p>Will any dependent child reported in the Dependent Family Member
Listing (PROFILE Section FM) as enrolled in an undergraduate college
in 2011-12, graduate at mid-year? SQ-328
Bowdoin College</p>

<p>Do you and your family reside with or receive support from another party? SQ-329
Wellesley College</p>

<p>If you and your family reside with or receive support from another party, explain the living arrangements. Enter the year (YYYY), make, and model of the student’s (and spouse’s) primary motor vehicle. SQ-504
Bard College</p>

<p>Enter the total value of the student’s assets held in Uniform Gift to Minors accounts.SQ-514
Harvard College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Does the student have interest in any assets held in another person’s name, including children, relatives, and others? SQ-518
Harvard College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Enter the total value of assets held in Section 529 college savings plans that were established for the student by someone other than the student’s parent(s). SQ-521
Bowdoin College
Scripps College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Enter the total value of assets held in Section 529 prepaid tuition plans that were established for the student by someone other than the student’s parent(s). SQ-522
Bowdoin College
Scripps College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Enter the estimated amount that will be withdrawn for the student for the 2011-12 academic year from Section 529 prepaid tuition plans established for the benefit of the student. SQ-523
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Of the amounts reported in PROFILE Help Codes SA-100 and SA-110, approximately how much of the total cash, savings, and investments was provided by your parents? SQ-524
Columbia University
Northwestern University
Massachusetts Inst of Tech
Yale University
Amherst College
Univ of Chicago
Wellesley College</p>

<p>Of the amounts reported in PROFILE Help Codes SA-100 and SA-110, approximately how much of the total cash, savings, and investments was provided by relatives other than your parents?SQ-525
Columbia University
Yale University
Amherst College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Of the amounts reported in PROFILE Help Codes SA-100 and SA-110, approximately how much of the total cash, savings, and investments was from your (the student’s) part-time or summer employment earnings? SQ-526
Columbia University
Massachusetts Inst of Tech
Amherst College
Univ of Chicago</p>

<p>Enter the total expenses associated with the student’s 2010 summer employment. Include room and board, transportation, and related clothing expenses. SQ-623
Columbia University
Massachusetts Inst of Tech</p>

<p>Enter the amount of money and support the student received from the noncustodial parent during the 2010-11 school year. SQ-630
Harvard College</p>

<p>Enter the amount of money and support the student expects to receive from the noncustodial parent during the 2011-12 school year. SQ-631
Harvard College
Amherst College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst</p>

<p>Enter the student’s proposed major field of study. SQ-721
Stanford University</p>

<p>Enter the student’s career objective. SQ-723
Stanford University</p>

<p>Will you be covered by your family medical insurance while at Wellesley College? SQ-736
Wellesley College</p>

<p>If your sister attends or has attended Wellesley College, enter her first name and year of graduation. (If this does not apply, enter “Does not apply.”) SQ-743
Wellesley College</p>

<p>Is the college authorized to release the student’s (and spouse’s) financial and/or academic information to outside agencies and scholarship donors? SQ-777
Brandeis University
Univ of Chicago
Oberlin College</p>

<p>Is the college authorized to discuss the family’s information with the student or to release the family’s information to financial aid agencies and scholarship donors providing aid to the student? As part of this release, is the college authorized to release to the student upon
request any form containing parental financial information (including the parents’ tax form(s))? SQ-779
Columbia University</p>

<p>Enter the student’s religious affiliation. (Optional – for restricted scholarship eligibility determination.) SQ-790
Oberlin College</p>

<p>Please enter the student’s cell phone number. (Response format is XXXXXXXXXX, e.g. 5551231234) SQ-829
Massachusetts Inst of Tech</p>

<p>Enter the first (1st) choice college/university the student plans to attend during the 2011-12 academic year. If applicable, specify campus (e.g. University of Hawaii at Manoa). SQ-851
Univ of Michigan</p>

<p>Enter the second (2nd) choice college/university the student plans to attend during the 2011-12 academic year. If applicable, specify campus (e.g. University of Hawaii at Manoa). SQ-852
Univ of Michigan</p>

<p>Enter the third (3rd) choice college/university the student plans to attend during the 2011-12 academic year. If applicable, specify campus (e.g. University of Hawaii at Manoa). SQ-853
Univ of Michigan</p>

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<p>^^^ ??? what?</p>

39

<p>Supplemental Questions (SQ) Question Question Response Help Code
HI on the above, there are different schools that ask for different Sup Questions-
was just wondering if anyone had ever compiled a complete list of Q’s and Schools together-</p>

40

<p>I have only ever had to do the vehicle questions, about what we own, make, model. etc. & if the student owns a car & if so, what is it? </p>

<p>Interesting Bard & Wellesley want to know if parent is living in sin? So, if Custodial parent is living with someone he/she is not married to, what are they contributing to the household? Obviously, you could not lie about this if the Custodial parent’s income is low & cannot cover the mortgage payment they listed, as the “live in” is probably covering a lot of the housing expense.</p>