what is the Dollar value for a FAFSA efc of 036651

Paying for College
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<p>

But… you should. Economic realities are economic realities. You and your husband are already under a huge debt load and likely (and luckily) cannot obtain Parent Plus loans or cosign private loans for your daughter. Without affordable options she will have NO options. Realistic thinking now will do her far more good this Fall.</p>

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<p>Your daughter sounds wonderful, and your pride in her is utterly understandable. However, keep in mind that any loans for more than the Stafford limits (around $5-7k a year depending on what year of college) won’t just be in your daughter’s name. She’ll need a cosigner for larger loans, and that cosigner is generally the parent. If you’ve not done so already, you and your husband will want to figure out how much more debt you’d be willing to take on for your D’s education. If it’s less than what’s going to be needed to make UT affordable, then unfortunately the decision on where to go isn’t just your daughter’s.</p>

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<p>This site is a wealth of information, be sure to read threads marked IMPORTANT, on the 1st page.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1505285-automatic-out-state-tuition-waivers.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1505285-automatic-out-state-tuition-waivers.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Do you have any college savings for her? A 529 plan? How much can you pay annually for college?</p>

45

<p>Double checked, am on hold with FAFSA right now, but I originally was going to use an independent company to file FAFSA, changed that after seeing $88 charge for the service.
That was where I originally was going to submit the SSI benefit check mark, but didn’t on the FAFSA website, so good there.</p>

<p>IRS 1040 for 2012
AGI—$68,133 for 2012
wages,salaries tips, etc. - $60,693
$0 for myself on wages,salaries etc.</p>

<p>As for other schools, other states, NO way says my daughter. She only applied to
A & M, and UT, no way for CO schools. My husband went to online program–Samford University -Birmingham. D says no way Alabama or anywhere.
I could co-sign for her possibly, my husband??? Prob. not because of his loans. In his name only.
Raised a stubborn girl I guess. I do realize if she chose not to pay her loans and we co-signed that yes we would be responsible.
After 10 years our loans will be paid, but… that’s 10 years from now.</p>

46

<p>On the FAFSA did you out in anything for the value of your home? </p>

<p>Your primary residence does not get included in that number.</p>

47

<p>More thoughts/questions:</p>

<p>What is the $8,000 difference between wages and AGI?</p>

<p>Where can you obtain and co-sign a loan if you have zero income?</p>

<p>Merit aid generally requires a higher ACT score.</p>

<p>Is your daughter an underrepresented minority?</p>

48

<p>With your income and over $250,000 in current loans, your plan to send her to an expensive oos university by cosigning huge loans will not work and will leave her with no options other than community college. Time for a reality check for her AND you.</p>

49

<p>Its unfortunate your daughter is turning her back on affordable options, but if you poke around in some of the threads dominated by students, you’ll see equally immature responses. :rolleyes:
If push comes to shove, she can always take a year or so off and investigate more reasonable choices.</p>

50

<p>Your daughter should be proud of her achievements. As should you. </p>

<p>That said, she should apply in state or somewhere as a SAFETY that you can afford or where she can get big scholarships just in case. MOST out of state schools–especially highly desireable/competitive ones–just aren’t going to give her enough money and she won’t be able to borrow it. To get merit money she has to be BETTER than about 75% of the class. The money is an inducement to get her there…dream schools don’t need to induce people who are begging/hoping to get in. </p>

<p>There’s lots of good info on this site…stick with it.</p>

51

<p>You said your own loans would be paid off in 10 years, you also said your loans are $250,000 plus interest. How much per month are you paying on your loans? Can that amount be adjusted through a change in the payment plan so that more of current income can go toward your daughter’s college costs? If not - perhaps it’s time to consider commuting or a CC.</p>

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<p>While you’re on hold, here’s another possibility that your D (and maybe you) won’t like one bit: a gap year. </p>

<p>You’ve got a kid with a high GPA and accolades but lower test scores (did she take the ACT more than once? Did she try the SAT?). She’s applied to schools that might not be affordable without you cosigning for loans. If you could roll back the clock a year, the folks here on CC could’ve helped her come up with other, more affordable possibilities. And if the reworked FAFSA shows significant need, then she could target schools where she’d be more likely to be offered more money.</p>

<p>If she takes a gap year (and people here can suggest ways to fill that time productively) and waits until the next admissions cycle, she might end up happier and less in debt. </p>

<p>Something to consider.</p>

53

<p>Ok…disability income may count as well. And if so, it would have a harsher calculation because it isnt’ subject to regular working stuff (FICA and other stuff).</p>

<p>Ok…take a deep breath and set FAFSA aside so you can look at it with Fresh Eyes later. :)</p>

<p>Now…about Texas OOS schools. Can you tell us how much TAMU is expecting your D to pay without any merit money? I think you may be looking at semester costs, not yearly costs if you think it’s cheaper OOS than instate at UC or CSU in Colorado.</p>

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<p>TAMU OOS</p>

<p>Tuition and fees $25,126
Room and board $8,450<br>
Books and supplies $1,246
Estimated personal expenses $2,349 </p>

<h2>Transportation expenses $500 </h2>

<p>Estimated Total $37,671 for an OOS student</p>

<p>There’s no way, without good merit, would TAMU or UT be cheaper than UColorado or Colorado St U as an instate student.</p>

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<p>FAFSA is a system designed for the masses, not for anyone’s individual situation. I have a good paying job - for now. It ends April 5, but of course my FAFSA will be based on 2013, a time when I made good money. The ‘system’ doesn’t care that I have been saving for money to live on if it takes me a while to find another job, it only cares about the income I made and how much I’ve saved, and the system thinks I should happily use all that savings for college but I don’t agree. The EFC doesn’t care that I drive a 13 year old car that will need to be replaced, don’t own a house, and won’t take out parent plus loans.</p>

<p>So I’ve made financial decisions with that in mind. My daughter would prefer to go to school in California, but she’s just an average student and that is beyond my means, so she had to choose between an instate school or an affordable OOS. Still plenty of choices. My other daughter found a school with great merit aid, also earn some state scholarships and an athletic one. Did she DREAM of this school? She didn’t even know it existed until last spring, yet it is perfect for her.</p>

<p>This site can be very helpful with ideas about how to fill out the form, scholarships you didn’t know about, how to pay for college. Many of us are in the ‘donut hole’ where we don’t qualify for financial aid but can’t write a check for $40k/year either. Sometimes the opinions are not what we want to hear (“sorry, U of California Berkeley isn’t going to give you any financial aid so you might want to consider XXX”) but people are just being honest.</p>

<p>Sometimes you read posts and it seems like it’s “HYP or die!” but there are plenty of people on this list with kids attending State U or community college, and they are happy there. If your child is insisting on a certain OOS and you cannot afford it, you may find hints on how to make her happy elsewhere or how to make her dream come true. You’ll also find people who think you should mortgage the farm to pay for the highest ranked school you can get into. You have to decide for yourself.</p>

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<p>UC-Boulder instate</p>

<p>Tuition and fees $10,529
Room and board $12,258
Books and supplies $1,800<br>
Estimated personal expenses $3,546<br>
Transportation expenses $1,296
Estimated Total $29,429 for an instate student at Colorado-Boulder</p>

<p>Now…if you subtract $800 from Boulder’s total to compare fairly “transportation costs”, and subtract $1000 for personal expenses and a few hundred for books for the same reason, then Boulder’s cost is MUCH less than TAMU’s cost. It’s over $10k per year less. </p>

<p>Also, Boulder has a higher R&B estimate. I don’t know if that’s for pricier choices or not.</p>

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<p>We probably have about $10,000 for each kid</p>

<p>With my husband having been in school and tuition/loans etc. put a huge crunch
in our savings for our kids.
We also have a sophomore, … Can’t wrap our head around his education at the moment. lol</p>

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<p>I don’t think there was anything in there re: value of home.
I obviously made SOME sort of error from all the posts I’ve read about $36,000 EFC from an AGI of $68,000</p>

<p>In 3-5 days I can get into the application and make any changes, just had to submit… as FAFSA is first come first serve.</p>

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<p>CU Boulder is a great school, lots of my daughter’s friends are attending there.
She will have none of that. lol</p>

<p>TEXAS or bust… may be BUST!</p>

60

<p>Ok…so are you saying that you can contribute $2500 per year for each child. OK…so that’s what your D needs to deal with.</p>

<p>SHE can only borrow the following amounts without YOU cosigning…</p>

<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>

<p>*Quote:
Originally Posted by vetham
so would I begrudge any OOS with her accolades??? Absolutely not.
*</p>

<p>Ok…this is going to be harsh, so BRACE yourself…but it’s said with a hug and understanding.</p>

<p>Both of my kids had MUCH higher stats than your D. They were Val and Sal of their classes, VERY high test scores, wonderful ECs, etc. And YET…it was EASY to say no to some of their demands. EASY…very EASY. lol </p>

<p>Did it hurt them? NO. They went to their state flagship and got super big merit scholarships. The older one was accepted to EVERY PhD program he applied to, including elite schools. My younger son is now in med school. </p>

<p>So, yes…you can and should say “no” to your D …even with her accolades. Parents do it EVERYDAY to devoted and accomplished students. EVERYDAY.</p>

<p>Do you want your D drowning in debt? Do you want to co-sign that debt and have to pay it if she can’t??? And she likely won’t be able to pay it on her newish grad salary. YOU will have to pay it.</p>