<p>One of my parents got laid off today. The other doesn't have a job.</p>
<p>Does this effect my financial aid, or will the look at the income they had at the job they got laid off from?</p>
<p>Because as of now, I don't have any income.</p>
<p>Have you filed any financial aid papers yet? (can't remember if Indiana has you file anything early) If so, call up the financial aid department and explain what happened and see what they say to do. If not, be sure to add an explanation when you file FAFSA.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how they will look at it, but changes in circumstances ARE considered.</p>
<p>After you file FAFSA, you will receive a SAR (Student Aid Report) which includes your EFC (estimated family contribution). A familys EFC is a sum of a percentage of four factors: parents income, students income, parents assets, students assets. The largest portion of your EFC is, in most cases, a percentage of your parents income (more specifically, your parents adjusted gross income (AGI). As to parents/ students income, FAFSA looks at adjusted gross income (AGI) from 1040s from the previous tax year. For example, for school year 2006/07, FAFSA looks at parents/students AGI from 2005. </p>
<p>So yes, if youre applying for school in fall 2006, the income that your parent earned prior to being laid off will show up on FAFSA. FAFSA tries to take a picture of a familys financial situation based in large part upon the prior tax year since its verifiable via looking at tax returns. Unless you talk to them directly, colleges have no way of being able to know what a familys situation during a particular school year other than whats on FAFSA (or the PROFILE).</p>
<p>Keep in mind two important points regarding FAFSA. One, if your parents AGI for 2005 is below $50K, FAFSA will exclude two of the above factors when calculating your EFC (parents assets, students assets). In addition, if your parents earned income from work is less than $15K (and they file short tax forms (1040EZ, 1040A)) for 2005, your EFC will be automatically set to $0, which will make you eligible for a lot of need based aid.</p>
<p>So dont get discouraged, but try to be realistic. Apply to not only the schools of your dreams, but also some safety schools (safety both from an admission standpoint, but also a financial standpoint). Once accepted, see what aid package they offer and be prepared to explain your current situation to a financial aid officer. Good luck.</p>
<p>frankly- since this fiscal year is almost over- I doubt it will have signifcant impact on their initial offers.
However- contacting the finaid offices of each school and indicating to them that your 2005 income is not indictative of your 2006 income and ask what adjustments would be possible before you commit, will give you a look at how accomodating they are willing to be</p>
<p>if your parent has recieved a severence package, compensation payout from the package will still be considered income and counted toward your EFC</p>
<p>After you receive your FA offer, you should write an appeal letter, explaining the layoff and your financial situation (especially if your savings were used to live on after the layoff). Many schools will "adjust" your package.</p>