<p>I'm one of those lucky people who's family assets/income/money stuff is high enough that they don't qualify for much aid, but low enough that they still can't afford school. My family's assets went up a bit, causing our efc to skyrocket from $230 to $2,880. However, our income didn't go up, and my family is nowhere near able to contribute what our stupid EFC is. Basically I'm already paying for school exclusively through federal loans, and i still have a lot left to cover in terms of rent, books, and other living expenses (around $7,700). Does anyone have any good alternatives to private loans? They're pretty much my only option at this point, but i would rather not sell my soul to the devil himself while i'm still a teenager. If not any alternatives, which lenders are the most reliable and honest/don't totally screw you over?</p>
<p>What assets increased? Are these available to cover part of the $7,700 you mention?</p>
<p>The chances are just about zilch that any lender is going to give you money for school without a cosigner with a good credit history and income. The loan would go on both that cosigner’s credit report AND yours until it is paid off or both of you are dead. You would both own that loan and it could have ramifications for both of you. So finding such a cosigner is difficult. Parents are the ones who usually do this, and they should not, if they cannot afford this hit on their credit record and if they are already strained financially. I have a friend who is pretty much financially ruined because she did this for her daughter and things did not work out.</p>
<p>The easiest way to take care of this is to ask one parent to apply for a Direct Parent loan–PLUS. Applying for the loan does not mean committing to it. One has to accept the loan and sign the promissory note in order to get it. But with a FAFSA already on file and a PIN, the parent can apply which takes just minutes on line and get an instant yes or no. If the answer is yes, then the parent needs to decide whether s/he should take out that loan for you. The loan is forgiven if either the parent or you should die. Payments can be held off until 6 months after you are no longer a full time student, or repayment can start right away, Repayments will mean interest possibly deductible for tax purposes. </p>
<p>If the parent is declined the loan, you, the student then get an additional $4K for the year in Direct Student loans, $2K per term. Terms the same as the Direct loan you probably already were awarded. </p>
<p>The devil might want your soul, but lenders do not want an undergrad’s promises to repay money taken out for college. It has always been a bad investment, so they are not likely to give you a loan. </p>
<p>(Looks like @BrownParent had some questions for you on your last thread that are still unanswered, as people try to understand your financial situation in order to provide helpful advice:</p>
<p><a href=“Another student in a financial dilemma - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Another student in a financial dilemma - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums; )</p>
<p>I did not catch that this is the same student in another thread. </p>
<p>Still, what I have said still stands. I don’t know any lenders that will give a teen or young adult without a good job history, earnings, credit record, a loan for undergraduate education. It’s not so much lenders being dishonest and unreliable and “screwing people over” but the borrowers over a long history, so it just isn’t done. Can’t get the money back historically. So they rope the parents or someone with credit, reputation at stake. </p>
<p>Correct me if I am wrong, but if, as the OP stated, the EFC skyrocketed from $230 to $2,880 based solely on assets, since income didn’t change, then doesn’t this mean that assets increased ($2,880-$230)/.056 ABOVE the allowance or exemption amount? An increase in assets of $47,321? </p>
<p>So, OP, is there an error on your FAFSA or do your parents have $47,321 more in assets (above the exemption amount) than the previous year and can this cover your $7,000 shortfall?</p>
<p>I am not going to make any presumptions on what the family should be doing with their assets. A $2880 EFC is just that. The FAFSA formula which most folks find way too high is $2880, but this family is clearly being asked to pay more than EFC and is doing so. Given our family does not find it a wise financial move to pay our EFCs for our college kids, there are any number of reasons why this one may feel the same way, and possibly justifiably. The problem is that there is this $7K shortfall that has to be met somehow and that is after parents are covering some of the costs.</p>
<p>Something isn’t right here. Assets are only assessed at5.6% of their value for FAFSA purposes. You had more than $2500 increase in EFC. That is a large increase in assets. </p>
<p>This would decrease your Pell grant by about $2500. </p>
<p>When did you learn about this increase in EFC?</p>
<p>OP…can you clarify?</p>
<p>How much in non-home assets did your parents have when your EFC was lower?</p>
<p>How much in non-home assets did your parents have now on the latest FAFSA?</p>
<p>No one is going to lend the student extra money without a qualified cosigner,</p>
<p>If one parent has bad credit, then have that parent apply for Plus, and once denied you will get a larger loan of about $4k. </p>
<p>I think Kelsmom clarified a situation like this awhile back. In that case, I think the family lost their simplified means testing (or something…???) and then assets got counted and EFC jumped…because previously held assets had been ignored.</p>
<p>Maybe someone can chime in here…if a family gets a large tax return, does that go on the next FAFSA somewhere? </p>
<p>Hmmm. Your tax refund is not income…I don’t believe.</p>
<p>A federal income tax refund is not taxable.</p>
<p>Generally, a state income tax refund is taxable if the taxpayers itemized it on Schedule A and received a tax benefit for it in the previous year (i.e., taxpayers were NOT in an alternative minimum tax situation, for example).</p>
<p>See IRS Publication 17:</p>
<p><a href=“Publication 17 (2022), Your Federal Income Tax | Internal Revenue Service”>Publication 17 (2022), Your Federal Income Tax | Internal Revenue Service;
<p>Recoveries</p>
<p>A recovery is a return of an amount you deducted or took a credit for in an earlier year. The most common recoveries are refunds, reimbursements, and rebates of deductions itemized on Schedule A (Form 1040). You also may have recoveries of non-itemized deductions (such as payments on previously deducted bad debts) and recoveries of items for which you previously claimed a tax credit.</p>
<p>Tax benefit rule. You must include a recovery in your income in the year you receive it up to the amount by which the deduction or credit you took for the recovered amount reduced your tax in the earlier year. For this purpose, any increase to an amount carried over to the current year that resulted from the deduction or credit is considered to have reduced your tax in the earlier year. For more information, see Publication 525.</p>
<p>Federal income tax refund. Refunds of federal income taxes are not included in your income because they are never allowed as a deduction from income.</p>
<p>State tax refund. If you received a state or local income tax refund (or credit or offset) in 2013, you generally must include it in income if you deducted the tax in an earlier year. The payer should send Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments, to you by January 31, 2014. The IRS also will receive a copy of the Form 1099-G. If you file Form 1040, use the State and Local Income Tax Refund Worksheet in the 2013 Form 1040 instructions for line 10 to figure the amount (if any) to include in your income. See Publication 525 for when you must use another worksheet.</p>
<p>If you could choose to deduct for a tax year either:
State and local income taxes, or</p>
<p>State and local general sales taxes, then</p>
<p>the maximum refund that you may have to include in income is limited to the excess of the tax you chose to deduct for that year over the tax you did not choose to deduct for that year. For examples, see Publication 525.</p>
<p>Right…I agree with Madison. </p>
<p>I know that a federal tax refund is not taxable.</p>
<p>I vaguely remember Kelsmom commenting about what frequently changes EFC from initial estimates. I thought she said that people forget that if they received a significant tax refund, then that is part of the calculation.</p>
<p>So, if that were true, if a person has a AGI of $40k, but got back $10k in a refund from the prior year…then somehow that $10k is included on FAFSA. Hopefully someone can clarify. I may be out to lunch.</p>
<p>Actually… I could be mistaken…getting a state tax refund makes one ineligible for the simplified needs test…or maybe the auto zero. Maybe that’s it.</p>