Should my EFC be lower??

Paying for College
1

<p>I had a mid 3000 EFC number but my school corrected my FAFSA form and now it says I have over 8000 for my EFC. I looked at my Student Aid Report line by line and saw what my school corrected.. I am 20 and classified as dependent </p>

<p>I currently have a sister who is 29 and recently started school and she lives at home going to the local community college so when FAFSA asked how many people live in the household I put 4 then when it asked how many attended college I put 2</p>

<p>So when my SAR got corrected, they changed it to 3 people in the house and 1 in college (took her out of the equation) which led to a HUGE increase in my EFC. So what im asking is are independent students not classified as people attending school in the household, or would that be a error made by the school?</p>

<p>Any help is greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>I believe she is her own ‘household’ even though she lives in the same home.</p>

3

<p>Your sister is considered independent for financial aid purposes & receives aid as a family of one with just her income considered. As a result, many schools do not allow students who are classified as independent for financial aid purposes to count in household size or number in college.</p>

4

<p>The info above is true.</p>

<p>Your sister is a household of one because of her age…she can’t count you either if she does a FAFSA (I don’t think).</p>

<p>In the world of FAFSA, your parents are not expected to contribute to her college or other costs, only yours. that’s why she doesn’t count. Independent means just that…she’s independent.</p>