<p>Anyone here have any information on how money from relatives is treated in financial aid offices?</p>
<p>There is an interesting thread on this site. An American girl living in Egypt, an orphan supported by the country she lives in, has no family income and no money for school, but does have a distant relative offering her $20,000 per year.</p>
<p>Having not looked at a FAFSA or Profile for a year or so, I can't remember if either asks about money promised by relatives, but I would not be surprised if schools using either would lower aid packages based on this promise. </p>
<p>What would happen if the student asked the relative for no money now, but asked the relative to pay off student loans upon graduation? It would seem this would draw the most attractive need-based packages. This does have an ethical dimension, but in my mind it is mitigated by the unique circumstances here (no parents, no income, no assets (at least none are mentioned in the posts), no US residency to take advantage of in-state tuition etc.) </p>
<p>Though FAFSA does not ask about any potential family donors, Profile does. Both FAFSA and Profile will take any donations into account as income the subsequent year. So it can be a problem if grandpa generously pays for the first year tuition, but says you are on your own, the subsequent year, as that payment counts as income which is heavily assessed in financial aid methodology. It hurts even more if the student is an independent, which this student is, as an orphan, since student income is hit a bit harder than family income,and tuition donations can be less damaging if put into the family income figures when there is a family. Better you borrow the money from the relatives and let them forgive the loans later, or borrow the money and have them pay off the loans. </p>
<p>We went through all of this with my niece and nephew, and it was difficult, since they went to schools that gap. I gained a lot of experience haggling with financial aid offices. Nephew transferred to a school that did not gap much at all but is notoriously cheap with any aid, and ran into problems there despite a financial firewall, and that was only fixed when someone else in the university intervened. That is why the young lady needs help from someone who is very much in tune with the intricacies of college admissions including financial aid policies. FOr those who are in the US and are traditional students, there are any number of guidebooks and people including school staff that can guide you through the process, but this student is not in that position. It would really pay off if aunt and uncle brought her stateside and got someone to go over the situation and come up with some advice on how to tackle the issue. Once the basic game plan is drawn, details can be tied up with advice from this forum, or guide books.</p>