<p>I just want some clarification as to what income I need to list on the FAFSA, or to use a EFC Calculator to get a general guide as to how much my parents and I will need to pay for college.</p>
<p>My parents are divorced and my dad has claimed me on his income taxes since the divorce, except I live with my mother full time. My father lives and works internationally, so I don't have the opportunity to see him aside from maybe 5 days a year. He does pay child support, until I turn 18. </p>
<p>So, which parent do I need to claim on the FAFSA? Do I have to claim both?</p>
<p>For FAFSA you only have to put the parent you live with the most. So in your case your Mom (and spouse if she has one).</p>
<p>You will probably have to put the child support received during 2010 down as untaxed income to your Mom (you do currently but there are supposed to be some changes to FAFSA next year and I don’t know if that changes). But if the child support will be ceasing you can ask the financial aid officer at the school for a special circumstances adjustment to reflect the loss of income. It is at the FAO’s discretion whether they do this but many will and it is always worth asking.</p>
<p>If you are applying to any schools that require CSS profile they will mostly require both parent’s information.</p>
<p>Thanks. :)</p>
<p>In all honesty, I’d rather it be my mom than my dad, so I’m pleased with that response. I’ll look into the special circumstance. </p>
<p>I have never heard of the CSS profile. Can you point me in a direction where I can learn about that?</p>
<p>CSS Profile is used by most of the schools popular on CC-the ivies and other private colleges that meet need. Google it to see the form.</p>
<p>You don’t need CSS for UT Austin, btw. (Mentioned it because you post a lot in that forum.) Just the FAFSA and only one parent (your mother) will be counted.</p>
<p>Yeah, I won’t need the CSS profile. I’m only applying to a few privates, in Texas, but mostly public schools.</p>
<p>And thanks Y2K. I figured, since I haven’t heard of it before, and have been to like 3 informational meetings for UT, lol.</p>
<p>Which privates will you be applying to in Texas?</p>
<p>Baylor and Texas Christian, most likely. I may need it for them, haven’t really looked into their admissions much. </p>
<p>Other than that –</p>
<p>UT Austin
UT Arlington
Texas State - San Marcos
Oklahoma State</p>
<p>I don’t think any more than that though, because the degree I want it pretty specific about the colleges you attend.</p>
<p>In all honesty, I’d rather it be my mom than my dad, so I’m pleased with that response.</p>
<p>Well, it may or may not be a blessing. Schools that are FAFSA only or don’t ask for NCP info often don’t give great aid, so that could be an issue.</p>
<p>So pricey schools like Baylor and Rice could leave you with huge uncovered gaps. Out of state publics aren’t going to meet need, either. </p>
<p>So, a school could cost $50k, but the school may only give enough aid that covers about $10k. Then what would you do?</p>
<p>I don’t know how good Texas state schools are with aid. If your mom low income? Do you know what your EFC would likely be?</p>
<p>How much will your DAD contribute each year for your college costs? If you don’t know, ask.</p>
<p>Well, I’m only applying to in-state schools, except for possibly 2, Oklahoma State and Arkansas. I still don’t really have a solid list of places, just kind of been tossing around about a list of 10 schools.</p>
<p>My mom makes around ~70K a year, I would say. She works for herself, so that tends to just be a guideline. Some years she makes more than that, and other years she makes a tad bit less than that. We were playing around with numbers for her income and the EFC was like 9K. :/</p>
<p>If I only got enough aid to cover a fraction of the costs like you mentioned, I would most likely select another option. I don’t really think that it is appropriate to get 30-40K in loans, if that is even feasible. I think that puts someone in way too much debt. I’d rather not start my career with that type of debt on my shoulders.</p>
<p>I haven’t really discussed finances with my dad. Mostly just because I don’t know how to approach him. I’m a lot closer to my mom, just because I see her on a regular basis. I don’t even know how much my dad makes, or how much he has in investments. I just know that he’s making more than my mom and that he has investments.</p>
<p>I don’t know how many kids are in your family, but if it’s just you and your mom, then your EFC will likely be more than $9k per year.</p>
<p>You don’t use “net income” to calculate EFC, you use AGI. </p>
<p>I just ran an EFC calculator with an AGI income of $70k for a family of 2 people, and the EFC was over $14k per year.</p>
<p>FA Calc<br>
[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid) </p>
<p>With an EFC that high, you won’t get any free gov’t aid. You will get offered loans and maybe some work-study. If your stats are high, you might get some merit scholarship offers.</p>
<p>*I haven’t really discussed finances with my dad. Mostly just because I don’t know how to approach him. I’m a lot closer to my mom, just because I see her on a regular basis. I don’t even know how much my dad makes, *</p>
<p>Well, you do need to have this discussion with your dad. Before you do, you need to “do your homework” so you can speak with him about the facts that exist.</p>
<p>your dad may not even know how much college costs these days. For instance, the COA for UTexas is about $24k per year (and rises every year). Your dad may not know that a student can only borrow about $5500 for freshman year.</p>
<p>So, you need to have information before you talk to your dad in case he makes some naive statements.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what calculator I was using earlier, to get that figure of 9K. I just used the calculator that you were using, and put in rough figures that my mom gave to me. It came out to about $14,800 (househould of 3, mom, younger sister, and I). </p>
<p>Of course I need to talk to my dad, and of course he’s going to have something naive to say. He doesn’t live here and therefore doesn’t get to see my goals on a daily basis or anything like that – he’s basically clueless. He should be aware that colleges I would like to attend cost roughly $25K, he got a viewbook from UT that has the COA broken down. </p>
<p>Finances are the biggest thing that I would say I’m not very knowledgeable of. It’s mainly because I don’t really understand everything, if that makes any sense. Are there some other websites that have more than enough information for me to check out?</p>
<p>I need to talk to my dad, and of course he’s going to have something naive to say.</p>
<p>That’s not unusual. Many/most parents are not “clued in” to how much college costs these days. Many of us are still stuck in the past where students could “work their way” thru college, or borrow what they needed. Unfortunately, the costs for college have risen so much (much, much faster than the rate of inflation) therefore, that is not possible anymore.</p>
<p>I would come up with some kind of spreadsheet with details about 3-4 different schools - ranging from least expensive to most expensive. I would email it to him so he could refer to it while speaking to him. (It may be a good idea to leave off the cheapest school, so that he doesn’t just automatically expect you to go there.) </p>
<p>In the email mention your intended major and career goals. Explain that only a limited number of colleges offer that program. (What is your major??) Mention how hard you’ve worked in high school (does he see your grades? If not, let him know how you’re doing.) If you have ACT/SAT scores, include those. You can’t expect your dad to just be a “money machine”. You have to let him know how you are doing. :)</p>
<p>Include everything on the spreadsheet for each school…tuition, room, board, books, fees, transportation costs, etc, for the 3-4 different colleges.</p>
<p>Then ask him how much he can contribute each year. </p>
<p>BTW…did your dad go to college?</p>
<p>Thanks for the ample advice as to how I should confront him. I’ll configure that list and send it to him in the next week or so. </p>
<p>BS in Athletic Training is the major that I’d like to go into. It’s usually in the College of Education at most universities, because it’s common to get a teaching license during the process of gaining your degree. I wouldn’t say that it’s uncommon for colleges to carry the degree, it’s just a matter of fact whether that specific program is accredited or not. The program has to be accredited if you want your ATC rather than LAT. Confusing for those who aren’t interested in it, I know. :P</p>
<p>Both of my parents went to a 2 year community college, but didn’t go to a 4 year university. They’ve just made decent money by gaining skills on their own time and working with the same companies for at least 10 years. </p>
<p>Again, thanks for the advice. I’m going to read up on some things via finaid.org and get that spreadsheet together.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Be sure to mention that these schools have the right accredited program. </p>
<p>:)</p>