<p>I think I am obsessed with not losing my son's college money by making a mistake.<br>
If the college required you to mail student assets and then cancelled the requirement can they still use them this year or next year against your financial aid package.</p>
<p>They said we itemized when we didn't on our taxes so required the student asset documentation to be sent in. They corrected their paper work and gave my son the student aid package according to our income and filing a 1040A minus the student asset requirement since we were eligible to file a 1040A. The financial aid then mailed the student asset form that was filled out with the student assets back to us----- but it was opened. </p>
<p>Can they change his financial aid package this year since they know the student assets, and very well could have made a copy of them for their records.</p>
<p>Or could they flag his financial aid file, so they request the student assets next year even if we meet the simplified needs test of income below $50,000 and file a 1040A tax form.</p>
<p>If there is any chance they can use the student assets against the student financial aid for next year, I will have my son buy the car that only he uses anyway, so he doesn't have any assets. It's only fair as I put money in his name with no tax advantage or anything just because I was unaware of the money in the students name being assesed at 20% against him.</p>
<p>I would say it’s unlikely they’re going to use it next year (assuming you still qualify for simplified needs) if they didn’t use it this year! If this was your money to begin with, why not just put it back in your own name?</p>
<p>I remember your posts. Our family situation is very similiar. Son received a partial Pell Grant. We also totally filled out all of the FAFSA info each year for the last 4 years including our son’s bank account which is a few thousand. Son will be a senior next year. Each year our assets and our son’s assets are not counted because we are under the $50K income. They don’t care about it if it is a FAFSA school. Filling out all the info means that they can already see what we have and we have never been asked to send in more. Stop worrying, you are fine.</p>
<p>I could transfer the money back just to be safe. </p>
<p>But I was just wondering if the simplified needs test would trump a college’s right to arbitrarily ask for student assets and use them to decrease his Pell and Tap if they wanted. (For next year)</p>
<p>Or would the student be able to say, you can’t use my assets against my Pell or Tap, because I legally met the simplified needs test by my parents having income under $50,000 AND parents could fill out a 1040A tax form.</p>
<p>It sounds like the college is following the rules as they are laid out. They opened the envelope because it was addressed to them. I really don’t think you should complain about someone opening mail you have sent to them. They sent it back to you and I seriously doubt they made a copy first just to put you off the trail.</p>
<p>Yes, Pea, I can be like Barney Fife on that old sit com and over react. </p>
<p>What made me feel a little bit nervous, is that they said we don’t need the student asset information at this time. But that could just be a manner of speech, and nothing to make a mountain out of. </p>
<p>The Financial Aid at the College are very nice and very smart.</p>
<p>Reported assets are only relevant for the FAFSA year they are reported with. So assets from 2010-2011 FAFSA are not relevant at all for the 2011-2012 FAFSA. Only the assets you have on the date you file FAFSA for 2011-2012 will matter. They do not carry forward to the next years formula any more than the income reported on the 2010-2011 FAFSA will carry forward to the 2011-2012 FAFSA. If they need asset data next year they will ask for the assets your son has at that time (next year), not the data from this year. </p>
<p>You file a new FAFSA every year and all the financial data will be new every year. They won’t go back and cherry pick information from the previous year’s FAFSA.</p>
<p>Didn’t realize you were talking about a SUNY school. No, the SUNY’s absolutely will not adjust your FAFSA EFC (or TAP app) upward over this. I provided “optional” asset info for myself and D last year as some of the private FAFSA only schools she applied to required it…SUNY did not consider it as I met the SNT and they gave us a great package. They will use whatever the correct EFC is to determine Pell and TAP awards…and looks like they agree with you that they made an error. You’ve been verified, you’re good to go…time to worry about other things!</p>
<p>So the right conclusion is----- if you go to a FAFSA SCHOOL or FAFSA ONLY College they only use your income and not whether you file a 1040 or 1040A tax form, to determine your EFC. So even if you file a 1040 tax form because you must fill out line 21 other income for jury duty, they will not request your student and parent assets, but if they do, it will not figure into the equation for determining your Pell or Tap grant. At a FAFSA ONLY school the only factor used in determining your financial aid Pell and Tap is that your income is under $50,000, regardless of parent and student assets. Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it. </p>
<p>I am now studying how to do the taxes. My husband always did the taxes, and I always did the FAFSA’S. Thank you. </p>
<p>My son’s best friend is considering not going to college because he received O Financial Aid. He is a good student, but has unusual circumstances and his step mother can’t help him. I have helped him a little, but I told my son we need to all go down to the STAR at the college, maybe they can help with his difficult situation, and very nice but unable to help, step mother in doing his FAFSA. I will try to pass it on. Thank you</p>
No that is not true at all. Not sure where you are getting that from the above posts. The FAFSA rules for simplified needs are that you must meet the income requirements and one of the other requirements. If you meet the income requirement (income under $50k) but do not meet one of the other requirements then assets are taken into consideration. It is only if you meet the income requirements and one of the other requirements that assets are not considered. Not everyone with income <$50k is eligible for simplified needs.</p>
<p>This year it you qualified for simplified needs because you met the requirements. Your school made an error thinking you were not eligible for it because of the car credit (which could have been filed on a 1040A). Next year whether you are eligible for it will depend on your circumstances next year, nothing to do with this year. If you are not eligible to file a 1040A or 1040ez next year then FAFSA itself will ask for your asset information as of the date you file FAFSA in 2010, and the assets as of that date will be used in the EFC calculation and will affect aid eligibility. If you say you are eligible on FAFSA and it turns out you are not eligible then the school will have to ask you to report the current assets (they won’t use this years assets) and your FAFSA will be adjusted to include the assets and your EFC will reflect that.</p>
<p>To reiterate - you must be eligible for simplified needs to have assets disregarded. Just meeting the income requirements is not enough. You must meet also one of the other requirements. If you meet the income limit and you meet one of the requirements no school is going to adjust your FAFSA EFC to include assets. If you meet the income requirements but do not meet one of the the requirements then either you must report your assets on FAFSA or, if you do not and were supposed to, the school has to ask you for the asset info and it will change your FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>OH, So calling the college a FAFSA ONLY College means they only use the fafsa to determine need aid, no other information.</p>
<p>But, being a fafsa only school has no effect on the formula for arriving at the EFC, and consequentially the amount of the Pell and Tap if from NYS. </p>
<p>So the formula in our case would be income under $50,000 and one other requirement, which in our case would be filing out the 1040A</p>
<p>After studying how to fill out taxes I figured the only way we would have to fill out a 1040 instead of a 1040A is if some one has jury duty. </p>
<p>Last year jury duty could only be filed on a 1040 line 21.<br>
That is why I am filling out the taxes first, incase there are any new laws next year that require one to fill out a 1040. </p>
<p>A FAFSA only school generally will use only the EFC that you got from filing FAFSA…whatever the circumstances (automatic 0, simplified needs, or full reporting) that determined the information FAFSA required. In other words, most FAFSA only schools, including the SUNY schools, will only use the FAFSA EFC to determine aid. Some do require additional info, even though they are FAFSA only schools, which they use to determine their institutional aid. </p>
<p>Some people do not qualify for SNT and have assets in excess of the protection allowance. That didn’t apply to you this year, and it may or may not have made a difference in your EFC, depending on whether you would have exceeded your asset protection allowance. You can follow the FAFSA EFC calculation through on these worksheets and tables:</p>
<p>I do now understand the EFC, simplified needs, asset protection that I never even knew existed before I found this site just in the knick of time, and all you very nice people helped me figure it out.</p>
<p>I especially like the efc formula quide. I see it also is connected to the academic competitive grant. I have saved the efc formula guide. Thank you. clbmom</p>
<p>Yes the ACG requires Pell eligibility and that the student meets certain academic criteria. When you completed FAFSA you would have been asked questions to see if the student meets the academic eligibility requirements (it varies by state). If so then the school is alerted by FAFSA that the student may be eligible and will then verify eligibility based on the student’s academic records. If they are eligible then the freshman ACG is $750.</p>
<p>Unfortunately the ACG and the SMART grant programs are scheduled to “sunset” after the 2010-2011 school year and apparently there are no plans to change this, so this is the last year they will be available.</p>
<p>Oh, My son received the ACG this year, his freshman year, at the $750 level.<br>
I told him today to look up the GPA needed as a freshman to receive next’s years ACG.
I think it is 3.25 or 3.50. Too bad the ACG is sunsetting after next year.</p>