My EFC came out to be around $12500 a year.
My mom’s info:
Income earned from work $0
Didn’t pay income tax
$29k/yr in child support
Adjusted gross income on tax form was about $9k
2 dependents
$227k in investments, mostly because she owns a piece of land my grandpa passed down to her… this is what I think is driving the price up
As for me, I have no income and about $2500 in savings.
Does this seem right? My EFC is higher than my adjusted gross income…
Yes, it seems right because of the 227,000 in investments. I’m not sure about your 'gross income of 9k, net
of 0 and 29k in child support though. The FAFSA looks at a specific line on your income tax form of ‘adjusted gross income’. But it doesn’t matter much, since its all coming from that piece of land anyway.
Sorry, I logged back into my FAFSA for clarification and edited the original post so it makes more sense. The adjusted gross income for my family is $9k and my mom’s income earned from work is $0. The child support comes in at line 94c, where it says “parent’s child support received”
The ‘rough’ estimate is about 5.6% of parent assets which would be 12712. That’s why I don’t think any is coming from the low income anyway. If you have student assets, they are given a higher percentage.
Thanks @jbourne
Man, college is expensive.
Keep in mind that the FAFSA efc just determines your Federal Aid. With that EFC, unfortunately you are not eligible for Pell grant. But you can file fafsa and have access to student loans. For freshman year you can borrow 5,500.
As for what any particular college will cost, you will have to look at the costs and aid at that college. Your FAFSA EFC isn’t what you pay at most colleges. Some colleges will give you aid and others won’t. So if you apply to a college that costs 35,000 per year and they don’t give aid, then your cost is actually 35,000. Some may but others will consider that your mom’s asset is available to finance your education. She could sell it or borrow again it, it isn’t as if you have no resource for college. In addition, if you apply to schools that take your other parent’s income and assets into consideration then it will change things quite a bit as well.
So to find your cost estimate for any particular school, go to the Net Price Calculator
Is your mom required to pay income taxes? If she isn’t, you might qualify for the simplified/no assets formula. Did FAFSA give you the option to skip assets questions?
http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/090214EFCFormulaGuide1516.pdf
Page 4
This would only be helpful @ FAFSA-only schools, though. Schools which require the CSS Profile or other forms will ask for your assets.
Lilliana…the simplified needs test is certainly a possibility…but not because the mom is not required to pay taxes.
Income needs to be below a certain theshold…$49,999
AND then one of the following, I believe.
Or
OR
If they qualify for the simplified needs test, the assets are not counted.
But isn’t there a question on the FAFSA asking about these means tested benefits?
^^ Mom’s not required to file, I think…http://www.efile.com/tax/do-i-need-to-file-a-tax-return/
Child support = untaxed = not counted. Head of household limit: $13,050
Can’t find the actual IRS link, correct me if those figures are wrong.
With a parent AGI of $9k, she should be receiving free/reduced lunch…unless she hasn’t applied for it…
@jsies11 - do you get free/reduced lunch?
OP, here’s a link to the fafsa formula guide. Read the parts about the simplified formula and the auto 0 EFC on pages 4 through 6 concerning dependent students. See if you qualify for either. If your mom really has an AGI of $9k you should if you meet one of the other requirements. Does something with the land prevent your mom from filing a 1040A?
http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/090214EFCFormulaGuide1516.pdf
Once you graduate, will the CS go down a lot ?/ Are there younger children?
Does your dad have to help with college? Will he help with college costs?
If parents are divorced and you are in NJ, both parents have to pay for student’s college. Not sure about other states.
Didn’t you put your father’s info in too? If he can afford more than $2,000 per month for child support, he must be well-healed so I’m not sure if there is any way for you to get an EFC of zero.
Looks like he’s instate for Calif. The UCs don’t look at dad’s income (obviously high), so he should get good aid there.
GT may not give him much/any aid since they use CSS Profile
Top privates are likely going to look at dad’s income.
@rhandco, is that a law? How much does each parent have to pay? Is there a limit on how expensive a school can be? What happens if a parent can’t (or won’t) pay his or her share; does the state garnish their wages? That’s an interesting policy. NY doesn’t have anything like that.
Didn't you put your father's info in too? If he can afford more than $2,000 per month for child support, he must be well-healed so I'm not sure if there is any way for you to get an EFC of zero.
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No…only the custodial parents’ info goes on FAFSA.
His dad’s info will be needed for schools that require Ncp info
It is not exactly a law, there are cases where there is precedent in NJ, several very recent. Parents had to each pay half the cost of Rutgers tuition to a student who was attending Temple, both arguing they shouldn’t have to pay anything for her college because she decided to attend a private college instead of the in-state state school.
I would suggest you check on it in NY, if that is where you live.
In general, the student gets done a disservice if one parent is rich and the custodial parent is poor, because the rich parent may not have to pay anything past the 18th birthday for child support of any sort.
Was any of this addressed in the divorce by chance?
I must be thinking of the CSS Profile noncustodial parent form.