So the point of federal aid and the fafsa is helping families finance education for their kids… so why on earth are people’s EFCs so high??? My family EFC was found to be 20k per kid (I am a twin, and both of us are going to college next year), so a combined contribution of 40k a year. Some colleges aren’t even willing to pay for the difference between out EFC and their sticker price!! And my family cannot pay that much money a year, I have no idea why it is so high. My family income is high, around 180k a year, but we have many expenses that the fafsa and college financial aid people aren’t considering. There is no way in hell that we can pay 40k a year. Why does this happen?
Because colleges assume that a family with a $180,000 per year income should be able to (a) pay some of the kids’ college costs from current income, and/or (b) have saved up some money in the past for the kids’ college costs.
After paying income and payroll taxes (US and MA state), your family probably has about $131,800 after tax, according to http://www.tax-rates.org/income-tax-calculator/ . If $40,000 per year is paid from current income, that still leaves $90,000 per year, which is nearly double the median pre-tax household income.
However, if your family has a high cost lifestyle with no current income and not enough savings to spare to help you pay for college, then your college search must focus on large merit scholarships. For example:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/ (if National Merit)
Check college web sites carefully, because some may have changed.
Why would they? The cost to go to College A is $X. It is $X for everyone, just like the cost of the dress at the mall is the same for everyone, the cost of the airline ticket is the same for everyone. The government has decided that if your EFC is low enough, it will give you a Pell grant to help with the cost, and it will loan you some money. If a college wants to attract some students because those students will benefit the school by bringing diversity or brains or a special talent, the school can give grants or scholarships to bring the cost down.
Just wanting the school to be cheaper doesn’t make it happen.
@twoinanddone There are a lot of colleges that understand the “middle class problem” with paying for college, and will meet 100% of need, meaning the difference between their sticker price and what you can contribute. Right now, private 60k per year colleges that meet 100% of need will be more affordable than any state schools for me and I think that is just insane.
@ucbalumnus thank you for those links, but I unfortunately do not qualify for national merit 
this is why I’m kind of freaking out about the cost of school at the moment :((((((
^^^Yes, and they all have single digit acceptance rates. At meet full need colleges outside of the ultra endowed it is the colleges own determination of need, not yours. Colleges are not charities that support those who did not save for college.
There are college options out there for any student that cost less…So let’s start there. Look for schools that have a less costly price tag. Commute from home. Go to college part time.
Colleges make the assumption that your costs will be paid three ways…current income, past income (savings), and future income (loans) or some combination of the three.
If you are a top student, you could get merit aid to soften the financial blow to your family. Merit aid ismawarded based on your stats…not your income.
Also, on a $180,000 income…are you saying your parents don’t have $40,000 for college costs? Even after taxes and retirement contributions, there should be money left to fund college for you…or at least part of the costs.
How much can your parents pay per kid for,the next four years?
@TomSrOfBoston I know of several colleges in the 20-30 percent acceptance rates that are committed to meeting 100% of aid…
Federal aid is not meant to finance every child. It is meant to help defray costs for low income students.
FAFSA IS AN APPLICATION=Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is not an agency that hands out free money.
Having a university education is not mandated by law. The government is not in the role of financing all childrens’ education. College is a choice. Many countries do not spend a dime toward their students educational systems. Many small countries do help.
Your parents had the choice of starting to save for your college education from the day you were born. Even with twins, it is possible to put aside $25 per month in a 529 account. We did it for 3 kids, but it was not easy. Newsflash: Everyone has bills and obligations, mortgage, insurance, cars, medical bills, education supplies, upkeep and maintenance on a home, etc. If your parents make $180K you are not going to qualify for anything but a $5500 loan for your first year. Hindsight is a PITA, but your parents should have saved, especially with twins.
If your family can’t pay $40K per year, then it is up to you to find cheaper in-state options. Having caviar tastes with a McDonalds budget is not going to pay for that $60K per year fee.
You are not guaranteed a $60K education by anyone. Work with your parents.
@thumper1 no, my family cannot afford that… we are still paying off loans from a kitchen renovation in 2006, a new car, our mortgage… I could go on. I would say that can’t actually contribute more than 15k a year for both me and my sister.
They may meet 100% of need but it is the need they determine, not the need you feel you are entitled to.
@“aunt bea” we have about 20,000 each in our college funds, but it will all be drained within the first year. My parents tried their best, but they haven’t been making that much money aside for 5 years ago, when my dad was promoted to a school principal. We have a high income now, but it hasn’t always been that way, and for that reason, we don’t have a lot of money to spend.
The colleges are not going to consider your consumer debt issues. They just aren’t.
Maybe…but all of these schools use the CSS Profile to determine their institutional need based aid awards. The FAFSA is the tip of,the iceberg. The Profile delves much deeper onto your finances. MUCH deeper.
@TomSrOfBoston no, actually, these colleges all define need as the difference between EFC and their total cost…
Priorities^^^
Those are family choices.
Most of us, who don’t qualify for a dime from the federal government, do belt tightening by:
driving old cars-1999, patching and re-staining our kitchen cabinets, paying our kids’ bursar bills to college, and scrimping by on everything else.
@thumper1 does this mean that I’m going to be penalized for some spending my parents did over a decade ago???
@“aunt bea” I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t control what my parents do; Don’t colleges consider that?
Then you need to go to one of those colleges that agree with you that your family needs more money. Good luck.
We were in a very similar situation with two going to college, although my income wasn’t $180k. Schools really do understand that families have other expenses like mortgage payments, groceries, cars, insurance, etc. EVERYONE has those, even people who only make $50k. My kids each had an EFC of about $18k and I could not have afforded to pay that for each of them for 4 years. They adjusted their expectations and found schools within the budget. What they didn’t expect was for the schools to give them money because they were ‘middle class.’ One used sports and an athletic scholarship to go to her school of choice. The other got a small talent scholarship, a grant from a group her grandfather is a member of, worked, borrowed a little. She’s also not going to a $60k college (more like $20k). Happy as can be wearing the Gold and Brown.
@twoinanddone so are the average kids who aren’t special enough for these scholarships supposed to drown in debt? I can’t afford to even have loans from undergrad… I want to go to medical school, and I’ve already accepted that I’m going to be paying full price for that. I really don’t know what to do at this point.
You don’t get it.
There is no free money. Why are you assuming you are being penalized?
Your family has a new car and kitchen and you have a home with a roof. My clients don’t have that.
Try living on $20K per year.
Kids with tippy top scores may get merit aid, but usually that is few and far between.
You and your family are responsible for your own bills, that includes college costs.
Find affordable schools. Live within your means.
Medical school will run you about $200K. You are going to have tremendous loans.