Student's Income and FAFSA...Question HELP!!!

Paying for College
1

<p>Hello...
I just finished my FAFSA for this year, and the EFC for this is zero (I didn't earn a lot of money this year). I am wandering that if student's income is about $8500 per year, and the student's mother (parent) made about $13000. Will the EFC still be zero, since that the parent only make $13000. (I used the calculator in <a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.finaid.org&lt;/a>, and it said the EFC is zero, but i am not too sure with the website)
Or, will the student lost the eligibility for FAFSA because the student's income is too high.<br>
Also, what is the qualification for a student to be considerate as a dependent to his/her parent? If the student's income is considered high (like about $8500 per year), will the student not be considerate as a dependent to his/her parent? </p>

<p>Thanks for your help!!!</p>

2

<p>FAFSA is an application for federal aid (Stafford loans, Pell grants, work study, etc). FAFSA is a computer program that looks at four factors: parent(s) income, student income, parent(s) assets, student assets, subtracts some standardized deductions and then calculates an EFC. </p>

<p>There are two alternative FAFSA calculations (the automatic zero EFC, and the simplified needs test). If the parents AGI (as reported on a federal tax return) is under 50K, and the parents file a short federal tax return (1040EZ/1040A), then two of the factors (parents assets, students assets) will be excluded from the FAFSA calculation. This is called the simplified needs test. </p>

<p>The second exception: if the parent files a short federal tax form and the parents AGI is under 20K, FAFSA will automatically set the EFC to 0 (the automatic zero) and all other inputted info on FAFSA will be ignored. Thus, the reason you’re getting an EFC of 0 is because your mom’s income is beneath the 20K threshold and FAFSA is programmed to ignore all other reported FAFSA data including any income you report.</p>

<p>Financial aid packages can include money directly out of the school’s own pocket and from an outside source (e.g., fed govt). If the school can get money comes from the feds pocket, they will try to do so because it means less money out of their own pocket. Money obtained from the feds pocket will be based on the FAFSA calculation. If a financial aid package has the schools own money, the school has discretion about all the reported FAFSA info even if the school only requires FAFSA, and even more discretion if the school also requires the Profile. This is because the Profile also asks questions about assets (e.g. equity in primary residence) that FAFSA does not. So your income may come into play with the school’s own money.</p>

<p>I’m not sure what you mean by “I’ve just finished FAFSA for this year…” Do you mean that you’re applying for aid for 2007/08? Although money from the fed govt. may still be available, I believe money out of the majority of schools own pocket may be long gone.</p>

<p>Also keep in mind that schools may not meet your full need as calculated by FAFSA. Let say a school costs 20K and they give you a package (loans, grants, scholarships) of 18K. They haven’t met your full need and you’ll have to come up with 2K out of your own pocket. Again, your income may come into play.</p>

<p>Being dependent for FAFSA purposes is not the same as being dependent for tax purposes. FAFSA uses very specific criteria to determine whether or not someone is independent (e.g., student over 24, student married, etc).</p>

3

<p>Thanks for you reply ,Jugulator20.<br>
I have completed the FAFSA for this year, and the EFC is zero because my Mom's income is about 13000. However, I got to get a job ( because my dad just passed away of heart attack this year), and I would earn about 8500 from the job. However, the money i earned goes toward the family, not school. I don't want my income to reduce my grand.<br>
Therefore, if my mom's income is less that 20K, no matter how much i have earned, the EFC is automatically zero?<br>
I know this is a stupid question, just to make sure, my income doesn't count with my mom's income ,right?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

4

<p>There is not an absolute yes or no answer to your question. </p>

<p>As I believe I indicated, the answer is maybe. FAFSA = free application for FEDERAL student aid. When it comes to federal money (Pell grants, Stafford loans), yes, your income will be ignored. However, although relying on FAFSA, when it comes to a school's own money, or if the school doesn't meet 100% of your FAFSA calculated need and you get gapped, then a school MAY consider your income. Good luck</p>