<p>I was looking over my SAR and I noticed that my EFC is $17,883 per year. That seems high compared to most other people's EFC's. My mom and stepdad make about $89k per year combined, and my dad (non-custodial parent) is not able to help me whatsoever because he's disabled and is not allowed to go back to work. My mom and stepdad have no investments or businesses. We don't have anything saved for college in a bank account or anything similar (stupid, I know!). There was about $300 in their bank accounts at the time that we filed my FAFSA. I also received SSI benefits because of my dad, which totaled $4032 for 2007, but I had no other income and no money in bank accounts. The SSI benefits stop one month before I turn 18, and I'll be turning 18 in June, so I won't be able to use it for my college expenses. How can I have an EFC that high, or is it actually 'reasonable' for my parents' income? Do they really expect my parents to pay $17,883 per year out-of-pocket? I've already been accepted into Simmons College, accepted their invitation to attend (because I didn't get into any other schools I was actually interested in - only one that I was "invited" to apply to for free, and a community college). I'm currently waiting on my financial aid package to arrive. Would it be possible for Simmons to give me a lower EFC?
I know I've heard that you can always try talking to their Student Financial Services office and see if they can possibly get you any more aid, but I'm not counting on that because it's a relatively small school who doesn't <em>typically</em> give big financial aid packages :-</p>
<p>FAFSA is largely income driven unless there are substantial assets. For a parent income of $89k that sounds about the correct EFC or maybe even a little lower than I would expect. If they had assets it would be higher. </p>
<p>Your SS income will have had a small impact on the EFC. Student income up to @ $3080 is protected - anything over that 50% goes to the EFC - so @450 of the EFC may be from your SS income. You can ask the financial aid department for an adjustment for that as it will be going away this year. As your Dad's information will not have been included for FAFSA he will have had no affect on the EFC. The FAFSA EFC is calculated using a set formula - schools cannot change the EFC used for federal aid purposes except for special circumstances such as the loss of SS benefits. Usually schools can not adjust your aid to cover your EFC. They expect the EFC to be paid out of income/savings/parent loans.</p>