<p>Merry Christmas!</p>
<p>Yeah-- but the minimum student contribution is from Student Income, not Student Assets. The Institutional Methodology (Profile Schools) sets a minimum student contribution from INCOME at $1550 for incoming freshmen (a bit higher for upper classmen). That gets factored into the EFC regardless of Student Assets. So if the student has no income from work, he still shows a $1550 contribution to the EFC from student income. If, in addition, he has $3K in savings, that adds another $750 to the EFC, for a net $2300 reduction in potential aid from the student contributions, instead of just $1550.</p>
<p>So- there will be a student contribtion to the EFC. It will stay at the minimum as long as the student doesn't earn over $3357 ($4656 for an upperclassman). Don't increase the EFC even higher by showing any student assets, if it can be avoided.</p>