Your kids would have to each have EFC per FAFSA that is under about $6000 to be eligible for a portion of the Pell Grant. Did your kids have FAFSA EFCs under that amount?
Thanks I didn’t realize that! This is really helpful and it’s looking like there is a way to use home equity to pay. In combination with the 5.6% rule, things are not looking so bad!
1 Like
That makes sense. I was wondering about any grant aid that FAFSA-only schools might distribute.
No no pell grant. our EFC is 16k each. I was hoping to borrow money to come up with that 32k (not all but most), but for my son it’s looking like additional loans and work study to get to that 16k, but he does have one offer in hand, from a CSS.
My daughter does not yet, but her overall prospects are better and the hope is to get to 19k contribution with no student loans, or 16k or lower with loans.
EDIT: I don’t remember what I was responding to here.
Oh I was trying to respond to Thumper
That’s what I recalled…your kids aren’t Pell eligible anyway. So…when the rules change…it’s not like they will lose their Pell eligibility.
Another option which I don’t recommend…but it’s an option. You can apply for Parent Plus Loans for the first few years, and then refinance your house to pay off those loans.
But really…I’m not recommending that.
Work study is fairly limited and sometimes hard to get but if he can also work during the summer he can earn as much as almost 7k for the year and it won’t hurt future financial aid.
Around here (LA) minimum wage is 15 an hour and someone working full time all summer can earn about 6k before taxes for a 10-week summer. And others have posted that several large employers have a nationwide minimum wage of 15/hour. Of course, a student might not be able to get full time work but could likely help make a dent.
1 Like
If these kids earn money, and it’s in they still have it on the date they file the FAFSA, it will be treated as a student asset and 20% of the value will be expected to be added to the EFC.
1 Like
Around here McDonalds pays $16 now and my son already gets $16 as a lifeguard. Full time is not easy to get though.
Anything they make can obviously be easily spent before FAFSA comes around. Colleges do see their past earnings though and may reduce aid.
Since we are talking about support that is institutional grant here, since no federal money is involved, they can calculate our contribution as they see fit.
As for the FAFSA rule changes, which have been bumped back one year, I just have to think that I have so much on my plate that I can’t worry about that. If they are kicked out of school half way, so be it, along with hundreds of thousands of others. All I can do is try to get colleges to acknowledge and address this issue now, take into account what they tell me, and hope for the best.
After accumulating a lot of PLUS debt, my debt to income ratio would to skyrocket. Can’t know what the terms of the home equity loan after that will be!
Also, I don’t see how interest rates don’t rise in the future but of course that’s way beyond this discussion and if a moderator cut that off it would be the first time I didn’t get mad at them.
But wouldn’t it work if they earned during the summer and then used it to pay for tuition before they filed the next year’s FAFSA/Profile? Then the income is protected if under the limit and the assets have been spent so no impact there.
yes that’s what I was saying too-- but the college can then see that they made all that money and expect them to do it again. In other words, first they pay part of my contribution, then the whole contribution rises, because they do see their earnings apart from what FAFSA rules are.
I know FAFSA schools have a student income protection allowance of around 7k. Can anyone comment on whether Profile schools have the same student income protection allowance or not? I was assuming they did…but of course they may not.
1 Like
Most FAFSA only schools don’t meet full need anyway. Your kids aren’t going to get bounced out of college. The colleges will figure this all out.
But…what affordable this fall?
ETA…your son WILL be likely able to get a life guarding job on campus. Most places have a shortage of lifeguards.
wait… after initially being excited about the 529… I’m realizing the colleges can still account for the existence of these funds as assets and adjust my contribution up and their grant down.
Yes but my son already has a CSS offer that meets need with student loans and work study. Thats about the best we can hope for. I am hoping for a little better for my daughter through regular process, and she still has a couple jackpots that she might hit.
When people are warning about FAFSA they are warning, in effect, about the possibility of being bounced out of college, since I can’t do double EFC (which were it the case, would include a hundred thousand others who have siblings).
I am saying I’m not going to worry about that because there’s too much on my plate already. It is however a possibility. The more reputable the college, the less I worry.
1 Like
Contact the 529 office. They are really good about answering questions. Double check it before any monies are moved.
I already see now that 529s are considered assets by CSS. Anyways… good idea! Just didn’t pan out for this specific situation.
I’m thinking you are thinking that FAFSA calculation rules matter here, and they would for pell grants, but since it’s not federal money at stake it’s up to the colleges to determine what we can pay and EFC is one data point for them.
If that is all they see, there might be something to this. I assumed colleges see the whole FAFSA form, not just the EFC number.
Maybe if all they see is EFC, and no 1040s or W2s, these rules could matter.
Of course CSS schools see everything.
I see what you are saying.
I think in this case, the NPC is your best bet. Enter all the information into their NPC, including student earnings, and see if it changes anything. You can run the numbers with and without student earning and it your award is significantly different than the NPC number, you can ask them why.
1 Like
Plus loans are simple interest. I assume you home loan also has some interest you will be paying, so it isn’t just the 5.6% that will be assessed as an asset but also the amount you are paying as interest on the loan.
1 Like