What's the general cut off point for Federal Aid to someone who makes a lot of money.

Paying for College
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<p>Untrue. Even someone who makes six figures is eligible for federal aid. I have awarded a TON of students who had EFC of 99,999 federal aid…just sent another one out today.</p>

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<p>If one has ever paid a tacx preparer or a CPA to complete their taxes, odd are it is out there somewhere besides the IRS Office. Also, if one has ever transmitted their tax return via e-file, your information is most likely out there somewhere. Even if you’ve sent it off via postal mail, the data could still be out there. </p>

<p>Your asset information is also out there…thanks to all those who hold your assets in trust like banks, etc. There is nothing sacred in this day and age of technology and data theft. </p>

<p>It surprises me how many people expect a handout, taking money directly out of my pocket, but expect to give nothing in return. You may think that providing your income and asset information is too intrusive…fine. Just don’t ever expect to take any of my hard earned money to subsidize anything you want or need. If my tax dollars are going to fund someone besides myself, they had better be prepared to lose their privacy.</p>

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<p>“Untrue. Even someone who makes six figures is eligible for federal aid. I have awarded a TON of students who had EFC of 99,999 federal aid…just sent another one out today.”</p>

<p>Try it with a million in liquid assets and tell me how it turns out.</p>

<p>“If one has ever paid a tacx preparer or a CPA to complete their taxes, odd are it is out there somewhere besides the IRS Office. Also, if one has ever transmitted their tax return via e-file, your information is most likely out there somewhere. Even if you’ve sent it off via postal mail, the data could still be out there.”</p>

<p>Yes, best to not use a CPA or tax preparer and do send it in by paper. Yes, the IRS has your data, and, as our presidential candidates found out, it can be accessed by people that shouldn’t be looking at it. As a database expert and one with an information security background, I’m well aware of the risks but we have to pay our taxes and file returns.</p>

<p>“Your asset information is also out there…thanks to all those who hold your assets in trust like banks, etc. There is nothing sacred in this day and age of technology and data theft.”</p>

<p>It helps to be security-aware of your personal processes and procedures. Hold assets overseas and maybe in safety deposit boxes - not in cash, stocks, etc. Why do 50,000 Americans hold assets with UBS?</p>

<p>“It surprises me how many people expect a handout, taking money directly out of my pocket, but expect to give nothing in return. You may think that providing your income and asset information is too intrusive…fine. Just don’t ever expect to take any of my hard earned money to subsidize anything you want or need. If my tax dollars are going to fund someone besides myself, they had better be prepared to lose their privacy.”</p>

<p>Why the expectation? Colleges strongly urge you to fill them out as you have no possibility of aid without it. They don’t talk about the downsides in privacy. I mentioned filling it out to a coworker. He just laughed at me and said that noone working in our building will get any aid. After watching others go through the process, I have to agree with him. Noone fills out the FAFSA more than once.</p>

<p>As far as taxes go, I do pay some of them too.</p>

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<p>Your last two posts, BCEagle, help make my points exactly. You have developed paranoia to an art form. You should know money stored at home may burn down, as may a house you’ve bought with cash. And those who seek to squirrel money overseas may find they can’t evade the iRS as those UBS customers are just finding out. And while you may have flown just once in the past ten years, I look forward to exploring the world and its great cultures. We are richer for engaging with each other and with the world, rather than letting our lives be lived in fear.</p>

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<p>You don’t know anything about life.</p>

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<p>Really. You know that for a fact? You know that we might get hit by an
asteroid too. Ever hear of fireproof safes?</p>

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<p>Ever hear of insurance?</p>

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<p>There is nothing illegal about keeping money and assets overseas.</p>

<p>What’s illegal is money laundering and tax evasion. Please pay attention.</p>

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<p>I’ve been all over the world. My wife has been all over the world. She
grew up in a third-world country. To set up foreign accounts, it’s best
to travel to those countries in person to set them up. Right? You’ve
done that before, right?</p>

<p>Grow up a little before criticizing others.</p>

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<p>EFC would be 99,999 and one would still qualify for federal aid. And, yes, I know this for absolute certain, because I have had a couple of students with $1m+ in assets reported on their FAFSA.</p>

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<p>“EFC would be 99,999 and one would still qualify for federal aid. And, yes, I know this for absolute certain, because I have had a couple of students with $1m+ in assets reported on their FAFSA.”</p>

<p>I know what happens first-hand.</p>

<p>But seeing as you’re the expert, what kind of “aid” do you think these kids get?</p>

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<p>Depends on grade level and anticipated course load. It would also depend on whether you were classified as dependent or independent. You could get anywhere from $5500 to $20500 in Unsubsidized Stafford Loans.</p>

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<p>What we were offered was far less than that.</p>

<p>If you had a million in cash, what would you do with $5,500 to $20,500 offered to you in loans? Seriously. Even if it were gift-wrapped in a really nice box.</p>

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<p>Not everyone with $1 million in assets has the ability to liquidate it immediately and some who could liquidate it immediately chose a loan over cashing out an asset. I had one student who recently reapplied for additional loans with more than 100k cash in the bank. She said she wanted the loan (less than 8k) because she didn’t want to risk needing the cash for an emergency (not sound advice given the little bit she needed to finish paying her tuition but her choice).</p>

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<p>“Not everyone with $1 million in assets has the ability to liquidate it immediately and some who could liquidate it immediately chose a loan over cashing out an asset.”</p>

<p>I wrote:</p>

<p>If you have significant liquid assets…
Try it with a million in liquid assets…
If you had a million in cash…</p>

<p>What part of liquid in liquid assets don’t you understand.</p>

<p>“I had one student who recently reapplied for additional loans with more than 100k cash in the bank. She said she wanted the loan (less than 8k) because she didn’t want to risk needing the cash for an emergency (not sound advice given the little bit she needed to finish paying her tuition but her choice).”</p>

<p>There’s a small difference between $100,000 and $1,000,000.</p>

<p>It’s $900,000.</p>

<p>Would you take out an $800 loan with $1,000,000 in the bank?</p>

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<p>That is not aid, that is loan. </p>

<p>I’m with BCEagle on this, don’t file FAFSA because you release a lot of information and then you may get nothing. Use the calculator first to test out your EFC.</p>

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<p>You can always get unsubsidized Stafford loans and/or PLUS (the parents) as long as you meet the the requirements of those loans, regardless of how high your income/assets are. I think people are asking about GRANT money when they ask about financial aid.</p>