Very low FAFSA EFC, high college EFC

<p>My parents' EFC on the FAFSA turned out to be less than $700, but the school I plan to attend is around $50,000. They are giving me less than $5,000, and my parents were not expecting the numbers to be so low. Could it be because we have about $200,000 in our savings account? I have a younger sister who will be attending college in a couple of years, so will that make a difference? I know some other students from the school who go to the school for practically nothing.</p>

<p>I’m more curious to know how in the world you ended up with a FAFSA EFC of only $700 if there is $200,000 in regular savings.</p>

<p>Very few colleges meet 100% of need, so your efc could be lower, but that is all the $ the college is offering…</p>

<p>msmayor - my parents dont make a lot of money. most of the savings account is the result of my parents working hard and money from relatives.</p>

<p>so i guess the answer is yes, the college wants my parents to use up those savings for my tuition even though some people have said savings arenot supposed to pay for the majority of tuition</p>

<p>I’m curious about a $700 EFC with $200,000 in savings too. The numbers don’t make sense if the savings are in non-protected accounts (ie, not in an IRA or 401k). Assuming around $50,000 in asset protection allowance, the non-protected savings would be $150,000. Of that, 5.6% is assumed to be available for college, so that would give you a minimum EFC of $8400, much higher than the reported $700 EFC. This is using the FAFSA methodology. If Profile or the college’s own calculation is used, which seems likely if the COA is $50,000, then the EFC could very well be much higher.</p>

<p>Regardless, paying $45,000/year for college with parents not making a lot of money and a sister attending college in a few years doesn’t seem very wise.</p>

<p>If your parents had that amount in a regular savings account or CDs…not retirement accounts…the savings should have been listed as an asset on the FAFSA…unless you qualified for the simplified needs test…I think.
Someone more familiar will have to chime in…is it simplified needs where if your income is lower than a certain amount, you do not have to report assets?? I’m not sure…but if it is, that could explain the discrepancy here.</p>

<p>Regardless…schools using the Profile WILL require that the savings be listed as an asset regardless of your family’s income and YES, they will expect a portion of that to be used annually to fund your college education.</p>

<p>If it is expected that 5.6% of parents’ non-protected savings is available for use, how much of graduate students’ savings is expected to be available? Is it 5.6% also? just curious since there is usually minimal income but might be past savings…</p>

<p>Two questions come immediately to mind…</p>

<p>What is the financial track record of the school to which you applied?</p>

<p>When did you file for financial aid?</p>

<p>You may have filed with a school that simply has a lousy track record and does not have the money to go around. Or if you filed too late, all the money would already be distributed.</p>

<p>I also think the FAFSA does not consider home equity, while the Profile and other systems may. Am I wrong about this? My kids’ financial aid ended up being determined by their colleges’ own formulas. So I’m vague about the FAFSA.
In some states, people with $400,000 or $500,000 in home equity regard themselves as middle class.
Another factor could be a non-custodial parent’s income. Not counted on the FAFSA, but of interest to most private colleges.</p>

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<p>I don’t know who said that, kit, but most colleges and the government plainly state on their websites that they feel it is primarily the student/family responsibility to pay for college. Their aid is intended to supplement, not completely replace, savings. Without knowing the exact circumstances of other student’s family, academic, and financial picture and the policies and goals the college set for distributing their funds, it’s not possible to compare your award to anyone elses in a meaningful way.</p>

<p>My guess is that you qualified for the simplified needs method for FAFSA, which resulted in a much lower EFC than you otherwise would have. But, at some point, you either provided asset info on FAFSA (check your SAR - perhaps you had to provide this info for your state aid calculations?) or Profile or on the college’s own financial aid application. Anyway, the FAFSA EFC only determines your eligibility for federal aid. State and institutional aid are provided according to different formulas/policies and they may look at the whole picture. Many people feel that this more holistic view makes more sense.</p>

<p>thank you</p>

<p>scottaa - yeah, i applied kind of late, so maybe that’s why they didn’t give me very much. i’m not sure how the school’s track record is. all i know is that some people get a lot and others, for some unknown reason, don’t and therefore a lot of students have complaints.</p>

<p>i guess next year i will try to apply earlier and see what happens.</p>

<p>What school and when did you apply?</p>

<p>Does your college guarantee to meet full need? What is their definition of need? Also if you missed the deadline, you missed the goodies which were dispensed to those students who applied on time. Also, home equity is counted for PROFILE and many school’s institutional aid apps. Schools also have their own methodology in determining what % of assets should go towards college costs. Still, with $200K, I would not think that they would be assessed $45K, so other factors are in place. </p>

<p>Call the fin aid office and ask how they arrived at your need figure. That is, if the package reflects what they consider is your need. As mentioned, they may have just gapped you or run out of money since you were late.</p>

<p>Yes it will make a difference if your younger sister attend school but because your parents have so much in savings they are going to suggest your parents pay after all isn’t that the reason why parents save money.</p>

<p>Simplified needs ONLY is used when the parent meets one of the following: Eligible to file 1040A/1040EZ; someone in immediate family received federal means tested benefits within the previous 24 months; parent is dislocated worker/displaced homemaker. What I have discovered is that many students answer the parent question “Are you eligible to file a 1040A/1040EZ?” incorrectly. Assets then come into play when they were not originally considered. In OP’s case, this made a big difference.</p>

<p>ALWAYS FILE FAFSA AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE!!! We are enforcing the deadline for the first time this year … our students who filed before our VERY highly publicized deadline … AND who submitted all requested verification documents before another VERY highly publicized deadline … will get the best aid. Those who filed late and/or ignored our reminder calls will be out of luck. There is only so much money to go around, and first-come/first-served is only fair.</p>

<p>kelsmon, when is VERY highly publicized deadline for 2010-2011 award year? Thanks.</p>

<p>Dukect, I’m not Kelsmom…but I will make a suggestion. The deadlines for submission of financial aid (and admissions) applications are HIGHLY publicized and very easy to find on EACH college website. Because the deadlines vary by school, I would suggest that you look on the websites for YOUR colleges and check them ALL to find out each school’s deadlines. </p>

<p>Most schools have had the deadlines for submission for this year on their school websites since at least September of this year. AND until they had those up, the ones for last year were posted which would at least have given you an indication of the deadline timeframe for the school.</p>

<p>Another thing to check…for early applicants (EA and sometimes early rolling admissions), there is an EARLY priority filing deadline for financial aid. This is also true for some competitive scholarships where need is considered.</p>

<p>Check your college websites for the deadlines for your schools.</p>

<p>And Kelsmom was speaking about HER college. It doesn’t matter what her deadlines are if you are applying to other colleges. That is why Thumper said to look at the schools you are interested in.</p>

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if income is below $50k and the parents meet the other qualifications for the simplified needs test then assets are completely disregarded in the FAFSA EFC formula.</p>

<p>Did the OP have to also file CSS Profile? If not, and this is a private school, I’ve heard that FAFSA-only private schools don’t often give much aid. (is that true?)</p>

<p>Perhaps, also, the OP parents have a “paid off” residence and therefore don’t have rent/mortgage to pay. If so, the school could be figuring that the family can afford to pay a lot more. (I’m only suggesting this because a family with a lowish income that has been “given” or has “saved” that much money sounds like family that doesn’t have a mortgage or rent to pay.</p>

<p>BTW…it doesn’t matter that you have a younger sister that will be going to college in the future. That issue will only come into play IF and WHEN she goes to college.</p>