<p>I went to check my fasfa and it said this in the very first sentence… </p>
<p>"Based on the information we have on record for you, your EFC is 008375" </p>
<p>What does this mean? My school sent me a package back in April (before I did my FASFA corrections) and they told me my EFC is 31k. </p>
<p>Also, it looks like my school hasn’t received my FASFA corrections. What could this mean for the 31k?</p>
<p>Your EFC from FAFSA tells you if you are eligible for federal aid. You are not Eligible for a Pell grant. You can get the same $5500 in direct loans that all applicants can get, and in your case I’m going to guess some will be subsidized. </p>
<p>Your school gave you aid to cover all but $31k of the bill. This may or may not change based on FAFSA info as there are no FAFSA only schools that promise to meet full need. Chances are, you will find this school to be unaffordable.</p>
<p>From your other thread Ithaca uses the CSS Profile. In your case a FAFSA EFC means very little. FAFSA is only used to determine eligibility for Direct loans and federal grants like Pell.</p>
<p>The FAFSA EFC should be viewed as the minimum you will be laying for college this year. Ithaca does not guarantee to meet full need. You might not see ANY change in your financial aid package at all…and as noted, they use the CSS Profile as well.</p>
<p>You accepted your admissions offer to Ithaca. Can your family pay for the school?</p>
<p>To others reading this thread…especially as an incoming freshman, it is VERY important to have your family complete their taxes ASAP after February 1 of your HS senior year. Waiting until later is not such a good idea. </p>
<p>something doesnt seem right. Your family income is too high for that new low EFC.</p>
<p>either way, since your school uses CSS, the change doesnt make much difference because you dont qualify for pell either way.</p>
<p>You need to contact Ithaca and ask if they will re evaluate your financial aid, given the new EFC. However, if your school uses CSS PROFILE, those are the numbers that will determine your need. Also most schools do not guarantee to meet need, so it could mean little or nothing. You can have a zero EFC and still be entitled to no aid from a college as their own expected contribution amount could be $60K+, negating any eligibility for their funds. The zero EFC would entitle such a student to PELL and to subsidized Direct Loans in the amount of $3500. Your EFC is over the PELL amount so that means that you can get $3500 in Direct Loans subsidized.</p>
<p>But it’s still important you talk to Ithaca’s financial aid office and ask for a review of your paperwork in light of this new EFC, because clearly some major changes have occurred and they may also affect the school’s own numbers, and they may, just may have some additional money to give to you. Some kids who were offered aid packages by them have declined them, I’m sure, as each year kids turn down college offers and go else where. So they just might have some money left over and maybe, if you are now eligible, they can give you some of it. So ask. Ask about SEOG and any school grants and tell them you would be very interested and appreciative for any help in that direction, particularly in grants. Again, bear in mind, it doesn’t mean you are guaranteed anything. </p>
<p>If you are a NewYorker, also see if you can get any TAP money and what the process is to get it at this point in time. I have no idea what deadlines may be involved. But your fin aid office will know. So get on the phone and start asking and nicely bugging them.</p>
<p>Okay, I’ll email the financial aid assistant director. Also, I haven’t sent in any of of my parents W2 forms or any other finance papers they asked me for. Do you think that changes anything?</p>
<p>If the school has requested information, you MUST send it to them. You won’t receive a penny of need based aid from them until all documents have been received.</p>
<p>When you updated your FAFSA, did you link to the IRS data retrieval tool?</p>
<p>@Thumper1 Yeah, I did. It fills in everything automatically right?</p>
<p>Yes. But make sure the school has ALL of the documents they requested. Might be worth a phone call…and an email.</p>