<p>I submitted my FAFSA yesterday and my EFC turned out to be $50,000, which is pretty ridiculous if you aks me. My parents make around $70,000 a year, but the thing is they have about half a million dollars in assets (real estate). Do they expect my parents to sell their other real estate properties to pay for my college education?!?! -__- If they dont my parents cannot pay the 50 grand a year.. absurd. </p>
<p>Is there anything that I can do? </p>
<p>Oh, the private schools that I'm applying to require that I submit the CSS profile, so should I even bother with it considering my EFC. If you want to know, I applied to USC, Cornell, Brown, and Washington and Lee. Are any of these need blind?</p>
<p>First of all, yes … they are expected to borrow against their assets or sell them. </p>
<p>Second, I did an EFC calculator with your information. It came out quite a bit less than 50k (although still in the upper 30’s). You must have your own assets?</p>
<p>You may well get aid at some of the schools you want to attend - but your parents will still be expected to contribute quite a bit to your education. It would be less without the properties, but they ARE an asset. Is the half million worth minus any mortgage owed?</p>
<p>I just thought of something: Do they rent the properties? If so, there may be income that drives up your AGI (it’s not just income from work that counts). That could put the EFC at $50k.</p>
<p>Sorry! I forgot to include that I have around 50,000 in my savings account, which I suppose plays a huge factor. My parents also have quite a bit. Are they punishing my family for actually saving up? If I had known this would happen, I would’ve spent my money :)</p>
<p>and yes, they do rent the properties out. That was included in my parents’ 70 grand annual income! Darn, I was hoping my EFC was a mistake on my part. I was hoping I inputted an extra zero somewhere. :(</p>
<p>You are in a tough spot. So were my kids. My H and I also invested in our 401K and in real estate starting in the early 80s with plans to sell off properties to fund college and our incomes were modest like your parents, we were just good savers and buyers. We thought we were smart all the way up until 2007 when the market starting contracting and it was time to sell…in hind sight we should have sold when #1 was a sophomore in high school and just banked the money but who knew things were going to tank in Michigan. Unfortunately the market died right after we put the first unit on the market…things were sitting for 300-900 days and not moving. Banks wouldn’t refinance or do equity loans…they didn’t want to touch land or rental property with a 10 foot pole and no college was going to fund the kids with anything but true merit scholarships…so…we gave the kids a budget that we could actual scrape out of cash and they had to work with it. One is done with college and things are just starting to move…just…so it will probably still be awful all the way through number 2’s college experience. I only tell you this so you don’t feel like the only kid in the world with a buget.</p>
<p>Talk to your parents they are the only ones that can advise you what to do and how much can be spent for college. Need blind isn’t what you want…need blind means the college makes decisions without factoring financial need. You will have very little need on paper. If your parents knew where you were applying perhaps they understand the costs.</p>
<p>You need a college that your parents tell you they can afford if they don’t plan on selling any real estate.</p>
<p>I know it is hard to take. Someone should have advised you of this Before you applied to schools so you could have picked a financial safety or somewhere that gives merit.</p>
<p>But You and your family are supposed to pay for your college- not the taxpayers.</p>
<p>You and your parents are not being “punished” for saving. The reward of saving is that you have the money to pay for school. Need based aid is for people who do not. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of need based aid actually goes to people who need it … not to people who could otherwise afford it but blew their money. Be glad you have enough money to go to a state school. </p>
<p>A large part of your parents’ assets are protected. The rest are expected to be spent. MOST of your savings is expected to be spent. Why should someone else give you money when you HAVE money???</p>
<p>Thank you for your input! I feel like I could totally relate to it. I also have a brother that’s a sophomore in high school right now, so he’s headed down the same path… </p>
<p>I’ve talked to my parents even before I applied and they told me not to worry about the costs because they’ll take care of it. However, I don’t WANT them to have to sell their property just to pay off my debt. And I agree with veruca, it’s not the taxpayers’ job to pay for my education. I just don’t think it’s fair that I have to pay the full college tuition when students whose parents don’t even have a job (and aren’t actually trying to find a job) go to college for FREE. Sorry if this pertains to anyone on here. I’m just venting. </p>
<p>I guess even if I do get into Brown (my dream school), I won’t be able to afford it.</p>
<p>One other thing, your parents have a fairly complex situation with a business, rental income and properties, etc. They should bit sitting with you while you fill out finaid forms…if not, get them and set aside time to go through all the forms with them. It would be very easy to grab incorrect numbers and insert them into incorrect spots if you are going it alone. If they just handed you their tax forms for last year and told you to go to it, be very careful. $50,000 EFC sounds about right with those assets and income, but still…</p>
<p>Keep talking to them. Your parents are probably pretty smart or they wouldn’t have amassed the savings they have. There are many people who have trouble saving with double the income of your family. Make sure they understand everything you are doing and everything the colleges and universities ask and let them be part of the decision in the spring since they will be funding. If you keep them in the loop and keep talking to them there should be no reason for you to feel guilty.</p>
<p>momofthreeboys: thank you so much for your input!! You’ve just lifted a huge burden off of my shoulders. Well, UC schools are about 30 grand a year, so I guess that’s better than privates being 60 grand. Also, I’m planning on going to grad school too, so the thing is I just don’t want to end up 400 grand in debt or so… that sounds like a nightmare</p>
<p>Why is it “punishing” to expect people to use their savings to pay for college? I do not get this reasoning at all. I speak from the perspective of someone with a relatively high EFC whose family is unlikely to get any need-based aid. I worked with my daughter to come up with a list of schools where she was competitive for merit aid or that we could afford out-of-pocket. To me, this was a no-brainer. Oh, and yes, I saved money for my child’s college fund, on the assumption that one day I would be required to spend those savings. My daughter now has in hand two very good offers to schools she would be thrilled to attend, and she’s waiting to hear from a third (as well as three out-of-state Us that range from super-affordable to a bit steep for us).</p>
<p>The other thing I feel the need to add is that there is nothing to be gained by concerning yourself with other people’s situations. You can’t know everything there is to know about another family’s financial and employment situation, so it’s fruitless to wonder (especially about things like whether someone is looking hard enough for a job). Honestly, that way lies madness. Some people will game the system. Maybe it will catch up with them and maybe it won’t. If you feel something is out of whack, of course you should look into it. But beyond that, all anyone can do is fill out the forms carefully and honestly.</p>
<p>^^I don’t get upset when young people ask these kinds of questions. I get upset when parents ask these kinds of questions. With the exception of part-time jobs (which not all kids have) kids don’t really have the understanding of what family financial dynamics are. They “see” what friends have, or what other families “do” and all the superficial things. Kids also don’t know what college costs are until this point where they are applying and people are talking. Why would they? Most kids don’t think about college until they are juniors in high school. Maybe they are aware from the media of the high cost of college but it isn’t their reality until they are juniors and seniors. This family may very well live modestly and it can be a surprise to discover what your family is expected to be able to afford.</p>
<p>This is an incorrect assumption…the vast majority of low income students (and this includes the so-called “working poor”) do not go to college for free. Student aid is quite limited and they tend to borrow more money than the average student because their parents are unable to contribute, or they go to CC’s/local publics and live at home. Only the relatively few who have the stats to get into the handful of schools that guarantee to meet need are the exception to this. Stop hating on those less fortunate and count your blessings…</p>
<p>Agreed and point taken. Thank you for the perspective.</p>
<p>I have to admit that until I had spent some time on College Confidential myself, it hadn’t occurred to me that anywhere I wanted to send my kid wouldn’t be affordable. As a hovering parent myself, and one who has talked this stuff over with her kid, I guess I’m surprised when I find out how little some parents discuss these matters with their kids.</p>
<p>sk8rmom:
I wasn’t “hating” on the less fortunate. My closest friends are low-income, so please don’t take my post as offensive to anyone! </p>
<p>Well, the reality is that college expenses are rising every year. Because my income was under 80 grand, I was riding on the hope that I would’ve qualified for the UC Blue and Gold (under 80 grand) or the Ivy League financial aid (under 100k) but that was with normal assets. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who gave their inputs. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>One thing to remember is to spend your assets the first year. That way your second year of college your efc will reduce, all other things remaining constant. The efc of student assets is 25% and parents is 10%. My parents also saved quite a bit, even though their income has taken a hit from layoffs these past 3 years. We decided it wasn’t worth spending 50k on anything less than a top 10 school and I’m not getting in any of those. I did get merit aid at several less prestigious schools but even with 15k to 17k/yr the cost is still 28-34K, so I’ll probably end up at the flagship state school in the honors program. Without any aid there I’ll get a great education for 20k a year max. I have plenty of friends who are sweating the aid package at state schools. If ones parents can’t pay, one isn’t going to an expensive school. That’s just the way it is. Poor kids get aid packages that let them go to cheap schools. Only the most outstanding get free rides anywhere and if you’re that outstanding, you would qualify for merit aid too. I know it seems like savers are penalized, but the truth is most people borrow lots of money to go to school. If you go to a cheaper school, you’ll graduate debt free and be able to spend your first job’s income without paying most of it to the bank.</p>
<p>Perhaps your EFC will be adjusted by the FinAid officers at the individual schools to which you applied. I am pretty sure that real estate (especially that owned by the parents) cannot be used as a countable asset.</p>