<p>So the EFC is determined by the previous year right? But what if for example parents made 30,000 every year and then something happened and they start making over 100,000 the year before their children go to college? Obviously they couldn't have spent the past 17 yrs saving up but now they would be ineligible for financial aid?</p>
<p>That’s the way the system is set up, for right or wrong.</p>
<p>The EFC is much more heavily driven by income than assets.</p>
<p>It won’t make a difference. But, if the family has been living on $30k for years, then suddenly earning $100k might mean that their housing and other expenses are low, so maybe that can pay something towards college.</p>
<p>That said, if the family still can’t pay much towards college - even after suddenly TRIPLING its income - then you’ll need to consider schools that will give you merit scholarships regardless of income.</p>
<p>A lot of people suddenly make a lot more money (maybe not tripling), but often a mom goes back to work or begins working full time, and the family income suddenly soars. They, too, haven’t been able to save for college.</p>
<p>In truth, most people don’t save for college.</p>
<p>Or this student can start at a community college and commute from home.</p>
<p>What’s more difficult is when a family is living up to every cent of a large income and then it disappears. That’s means for most people, at best, a year or so to transition. Happened to a number of people we know. </p>
<p>That’s it’s based on a single year, does have inherent unfairness but to do more would be more work and checking it out which would be more money expended in this area. But yes, some who has been making $X for many years is a whole other situation than someone who just started making that kind of money, but both situations have its issues.</p>
<p>OP described a scenario that happened to us. When we started looking for colleges about 2 or 3 years ago when my D started HS, most of the schools that we were looking at are somehow “affordable” and just a little bit more expensive than a full-pay UC. Fast forward and somewhat we passed a certain threshold and now we’re practically full pay (except HYPS and one or two schools) to every school that only gives need-based grant. And I’m using our last year’s data. Oh well.</p>
<p>We “suddenly” made more when I went back to work … and I used that money to pay for school. That made sense to me.</p>