<p>News flash, the ETS thinks I am rich! It determined my EFC to be $34k for DS, $36 for BS. Gee, my bank account sure doesn't reflect that ability. Maybe they think I could sell my house. I knew I was in trouble when I read the details and the letter said the formula subtracts out living expenses for a 'modest' lifestyle. I suppose I have mismanaged a bit, but there is absolutely no way that I have $34k/annually to contribute. Has anyone else gotten that type of EFC and still gotten significant FA offers? Annual tuition is expected to be in the $16k range at DS. Am I nuts if S doesn't get FA and I takeout loans for tuition?</p>
<p>Not knowing your situation, it is hard to comment on why your EFC is so high. I do know that we were warned that if we put in items such as camps or vacation that it would be included as income that could go toward boarding school. It also hurts to have equity in your house. </p>
<p>We had the opposite situation - my response was -"We really are broke."</p>
<p>I am curious just what an EFC looks like for a $75,000 income because of how Exeter is paying in full for families who make this amount or less. I did not pay to get the report from ETS, so I don't even know what they showed as our EFC.
You know, maybe ETC holds things like "cost of camps" against you, but the individual bs might not....especially if the "camp" was for something that helped shape your child into the wonderful candidate the school so wanted.</p>
<p>Our experience has been as follows:
For Son #1, our EFC was 35,000. Of the 5 schools he got into--they ranged in what they expected us to pay from 21,000 to 35,000. Only one of the schools offered no aid (hence the 35,000 price tag)
Son #2 will be heading off to prep this fall and S#1 is in college. Based on this information S#2's EFC from ETS was 17,000. On our form we noted that S#1's college will not consider private school tuition when factoring financial aid. This was indeed taken into account and we will be paying $10,000 for Son #2 to attend his 33K school</p>
<p>Almost everyone I know almost throws up the first time they get an EFC. :)</p>
<p>The formula takes out for "living expenses" and also subtracts our "mandatory" expenses - health insurance and taxes generally. Then there is a calculation of what percent of "discretionary" income (what is left after their calculations) should be spent on education. Additionally, as Warriorboy648 said, home equity plays into it as does any investments and "college" savings accounts.</p>
<p>If you spend any time over on CC's financial aid forum, you already know that EFC stands for "Every Friggin' Cent".</p>
<p>They expect you to pay your EFC from past, current and future income -- savings, payroll and loans. Any asset that is not a protected official retirement account is available as savings (home equity, mutual funds, cash in the bank, rental property, second home).</p>
<p>My best recommendation is that parents use the EFC calculator here: FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid</p>
<p>as long as you input accurate numbers, it is very accurate for both college and BS EFC. It also shows you your asset protection allowance, what percentage of current income is expected, etc.</p>
<p>If you think that the EFC is a shock, just wait until you find out that most schools (college and BS) don't meet the EFC -- they "gap" you. this means that not only are you expected to pay the EFC, you have to pay an additional amount.</p>
<p>This is where some time researching schools really helps -- schools that are a good fit, where your student "brings something to the table" and schools that promise to meet your need are the ones you need to be looking at. In those cases, you may find that they not only meet your need -- but go further and calculate your EFC as less than the SSS guys.</p>
<p>I remember that "gap" shock when my older son went to bs. The school only provided 75% of the EFC (which was already daunting). When we asked the fa office if they could increase the aid a bit, the suggested we ask family or friends to help pay. LOL...."Excuse me, Aunt Mim, could you possibly give us $10K a year...for the next four years...to put junior through school?"</p>
<p>I think I was penalized by ETS, because in '07, I did have a one-time disbursement of funds, (considered taxable income) which was in the 30k range, and was used to pay off some debts. I disclosed the reasons for that in the info I submitted. Excluding that amount, let's just say (for example purposes only, of course), NET monthly income is $8000, house expenses including utilities and taxes are $3500:(, that leaves $4500 for other expenses like food, car expense, incl. fuel, clothing, repairs, insurance, etc. How in the world does that leave $3000 monthly for tuition contribution? We all know right now, selling a home to generate funds and reduce expenses is not option. That equity evaporates pretty quick after a low selling price in today's market and selling costs are paid. So, here we are awaiting admission offer and hopefully some FA offer but I guess that may not be forthcoming now. The questions remains, does it make sense to borrow the tuition for a top notch day school and leverage our future in hopes of paying for it with future inheritance? Tough questions and no easy answers...</p>
<p>HopefulDad - part of the answer to your question about loans has to do with the quality of education at your local public school. You also need to think about whether you can afford to pay that loan in the future. We took a loan for 2 years of school (middle school) because the alternative was horrible. If we did not get enough fa for BS then we would not have taken out additional $$ for 4 years of BS. We have an older son going to college in 2.5 years. We need to have options for him. </p>
<p>How important is this school to your child? My son visited the local high school this past week and was very disappointed at the large classes, lectures and lack of attention on the part of the kids. My oldest son goes to this school and thinks it's great. It's about fit and personality.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>The school MIGHT exclude the one time disbursement. We had the same thing happen to us 5 years ago and we talked to the school prior and submitted the PFS without the onetime $$. However, the schools have the same program and can make the adjustment themsleves if they want. In any case,that should reduce your EFC. Once you reach a certain $ almost every dollar you earn after that seems to go directly to the EFC. The $30k could make a big difference.</p>
<p>I'm surprised the school or the SSS took that $30K disbursement into consideration. I had a similar situation when I first applied for FA for my daughter last year. I called SSS to ask if the disbursement would be taken into consideration, and they said it would not be. When I received a copy of my EFC, the dispursement was not added into my income.</p>
<p>come on, my parents are giving up alot for me to go to a private school. they traded in their new buick for an old (88) honda. they are not going on vacation for the next 4 years. they think that my education is more important than all of that. they are great</p>
<p>Biggestfoot, so do these people! What you said was uncalled for. The parents on this thread are just sharing their experiance and their children's education DOES come first, no need for incorrect/negative interpretation.
REREAD THE DAMN THREAD.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input regarding your experiences with the one-time payment. I think I will contact the school and attempt to get an adjustment for it by the school before it issues a FA decision based on the EFC. Biggestfoot, I could tell you a thig or two about sacrifice by my parents in order to pay for my education......You should not think that we don't want to do the same for our own kids. I have a furnished car and a 4 year old vehicle that is paid for, we we aren;t living too large, but the metro area where we live is far more expensive than Yuma; I have been there...We all want to do everything we canfor our kids' future, but we can't undo financial mistakes of the past....</p>
<p>Sorry but i disagree.
my dad is 45 and he is still paying off his law school and college loans plus having new loans for my older brother and possibly me.</p>
<p>With loan deferrments, i too will probably have them until i am in my 50s unless i go military which normally pays them off.</p>
<p>As to cost of living in Yuma, yes it is cheap on the reservation where i live, but the income is also less than yours hopefull dad.</p>
<p>Chill, Biggestfoot. no need to call out the parents on this issue. No matter how smart we are, we still must respect our elders. No ned to "one-up" Mr.Dude(forgot his SN) on this.
All the parents on this board would sell their left ear for their kids. I don't doubt that.</p>
<p>I couldn't have put it in better words Dazzles. Biggestfoot you need a slice of "respect" pie. I've had some before, I think you would like it.</p>
<p>when these people are talking about their camps and told "not to includ" certain things on their applications / sounds dishonest to me. but then i am just a dumb indian</p>
<p>BiggestFoot - if you are talking about me stating that I did my PFS without a one time distribution - I WAS TOLD BY THE SCHOOLS TO DO IT THAT WAY. That was how the SCHOOLS wanted it. It was not dishonest. The schools wanted to see the EFC without the income that was not applicable. </p>
<p>No one is saying they are not willing to pay for school, and trust me, for middle-income families, private school is a HUGE sacrafice. Clearly you do not recognize this fact. As I said, everyone I know pretty much throws up when they see how much their EFC is. And then guess what? They pay it and more. </p>
<p>And, by the way this is off the general topic but it is about honesty... as a parent, I would never ask a doctor to write an unnecessary perscription simply so my son could have a fridge in his room like you keep saying is such a wonderful idea. That is dishonest.</p>
<p>I included everything as I did not want to risk later being accused of misrepresenting the details. I have since talked to the school and they say they will back out the one-time distribution and that that is the reason they also ask for the projection of the upcoming year income. Just to clarify, I know it is my resp. to educate my kids. I also know that my household income is significantly higher than 'averages' we see posted in the US, so I get no symapthy and really don;t deserve any. In order to get that income, my parents sacrificed everything many years ago and I have since made additional sacrifices by taking on grad school debt for me and wife. I will do it for my kids if necesary also. As far as incomes go though, a certain income has different levels of buying power in difference places. For example, $150k may go along way in a rural area like AL, or a decent distance in parts of FL, but in NYC, that is not much to raise a family in the city. Cost of housing, taxes, tuition, etc. eat it up fast - all the more reason kids today need to get the best education they can; they are going to need it!</p>