I’m feeling a bit perplexed as to how the FAFSA worked this year for me. You see I’m in an odd situation with a single mother who makes very little money. Last year she was only able to make to the tune of $14K, and my little brother who is still in high school gets free lunch. I, on the other hand, made a good chunk of change for someone in his last year of undergrad, and made around $32K. When I was filling out the FAFSA, I put in my mother’s income and situation first, and the FAFSA automatically spit out that I can skip some options about other income and assets. It also said skipping wouldn’t effect my aid. It sent me straight to the last page of the FAFSA, not even asking about what I made.
Is this kosher? I mean theoretically what if I made $500K last year? It wouldn’t seem right if such a person got a Pell Grant… Usually the FAFSA works the other way around, parent(s) makes too much money, and the student makes jack and squat.
Yes. Because your mom earned below the threshold for income, and your family qualified for a means tested benefit…you qualify for the simplified needs test. This means that assets and your income are not included in the financial aid equation for FAFSA schools.
Yes, it’s correct, because you qualified for the auto 0 EFC, not the simplified formula. The simplified formula ignores parent and student assets but not student income.
You can read about the auto 0 EFC at this link on page 5 at the bottom third of the page.
http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/090214EFCFormulaGuide1516.pdf
Oops…that’s right…its auto $0!
I get the requirements for those two mixed up all the time!
Yes it is crazy, but you could earn a million dollars but if your mom’s income is below the threshold, your income won’t count. (that should change, but likely won’t)
The thinking is that children are helping support the family, but the truth is that if a child were an actor making tons of money, most of it is not supporting the family…it is being saved.
What did you do to earn that much money? And do you help support the family? How much do you have saved?
Does your mom get child support?
Well, I work as a computer technician full-time in addition to being a full-time student majoring in economics. I’m supporting myself alone, and my mom has enough money to float by until her child care business picks up while supporting my little brother through his last year of high school. She started it late last year after quitting her job in July. She’s got more clients coming in this year, so she will be back up to the 40-30K mark this year hopefully.
I have across all my accounts about 20K, which is being saved for graduate school or a down payment on a house with my fiance. I don’t know yet what I have saved will be used for. I receive, in addition to my Pell Grant, a full-tuition scholarship, so most of the Pell Grant and state aid is simply written to me in a lump sum with a check every semester which I stash away. My goal is to have enough money for my master’s degree by the time I graduate from college if I choose to pursue graduate school. So, in an odd sort of way my Pell Grant might be used for school later.
My father died two years ago from lung cancer. So no child support.
Sorry about your dad . . .
And good for you for working and saving - sounds like you’ve got a good head on your shoulders!
So sorry to hear about your dad.
Do you and your sibling (and maybe your mom) receive social security? If so, does that have to be included on FAFSA?
@mom2collegekids Taxed Social Security is included in AGI. How much is taxed depends on the amount of other income. Untaxed Social Security is excluded on FAFSA.