So I’m trying to wrap my head around this. My mom is a widow and the head of the household. She made around 45,000 and I made around 10,000. I’ve checked for errors in my FAFSA applications so many times. We have no extra assets. I also used the IRS data retrieval tool for the tax component, so I doubt there are mistakes there. My EFC comes out to be around 29,000. I don’t understand it. I have been receiving financial aid since started uni. I’m in my last year of undergrad and it’s going to have to come out of my pocket. I’m not working a lot either because of how things are right now It’s such a frustrating time.
Did your mother do a roll over of 401k account because of a job change? That is often a issue. If so, your FA officer has to make the correction.
Your making $10k is also an issue. It is above the limit (which is like $6500) so anything above that counts against you. If that $10k was still in your bank account when you filed the FAFSA, 20% will count against you.
The EFA does seem high. What has it been in past years and were there big income/asset changes since then? If no changes, take all your paperwork and contact the FA office and ask what is happening. You may find it is just a decimal point out of place when reporting assets.
You are in your last year of undergrad. Does that meant that you are a senior right now? Or are you concerned about your FAFSA EFC for academic year 2020-2021? When will you be graduating? What were your previous FAFSA EFCs? How has your need-based aid changed with a FAFSA EFC of around $29,000? No Pell grant? Subsidized loan amount reduced? Federal work study reduced? It’s hard to help you understand what has happened without more information.
Hi, I’ll try to help. Some more information would be useful to know. Just to clarify, you are currently a junior in college and have submitted FAFSA for your senior year?
What was your EFC in previous years? Were you getting a Pell grant? What kind of financial aid were. you getting? How much did you pay out of pocket or borrow?
As for any possible changes this year …
How many people are in your household? Do you have siblings? Were any of them in college in previous years, but not in the upcoming year? Does your mom own a house? Did she roll over any retirement funds?
Ask your mom if she rolled over any tax deferred retirement accounts in 2018. If she did, and didn’t indicate this correctly, this would be viewed as income.
Also, if your financial picture really hasn’t changed, give your college financial aid department a call. Ask them if they can explain why there is a jump in your family contribution.
The FAFSA EFC is no deep buried secret. You can get the formula and plug in your numbers and see for yourself if something is not right.
What was your FAFSA EFC last year? What has changed?
You alone, from the very little info you have given could possibly be contributing up to $3750 to the EFC, as others have said. Also, were previous year financial aid figures reported in your income? As others have said, any money being taken out of retirement plans could also boost your mothers income. You should understand how that EFC is calculated.
Sometimes the college’s expected contribution figure is mistaken for the FAFSA EFC. They generally have nothing to do with each other.
The other thing. Does your college have need based aid that provides more assistance for students with lower incomes? Any chance yours exceeded that amount in 2018.
Here is the formula for 2020-2021. Print it out, and work through it on paper. That way you can see where your errors might be: https://ifap.ed.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/2019-10/2021EFCFormulaGuideOct2019UpdateAttach.pdf
Oh I see. It was only that year. I’ll check my mom with to see if that’s a possible issue. In the past years, it’s been 0, 0, 0 , and this past year 1509. I’ve tried talking to them, but they told me to check my FAFSA again and that I could make an appeal in July.
I’m in my fourth year now and will be finishing in Spring 2020. I am concerned for this coming year. My previous years have been 0, 0, 0, 1509. with the $29,000 EFC they’re only offering me a loan. I’m not even sure if I’ll get work study. Which has been my main source of income since 2018 when I quit my first job which is why my income has so high that year.
I’m a fourth-year currently and will be finishing in 2021. I have submitted my FAFSA on time.
My EFC in the previous year were 0, 0, 0, and 1509. I have been getting a Pell Grant and a Cal grant as well which covered all my financial needs. I know Cal Grants finish after four years, so I was counting on the Pell grant to cover my tuition.
There are only 3 in my household. My mom and my younger brother. I’m the only one who’s been in college. My mom doesn’t own a house. I’m going to check with my mom about retirement funds.
Are you going into a fifth year of college? We are well in Spring 2020 now.
So, which is it? When will you be completing your undergraduate degree?
How did you ear the $10,000? Was any part of it through work-study? If so, you do not count your work-study earnings for the purpose of financial aid eligibility. That’s one of the benefits of work-study vs. a non-work-study job.
Another thought: If you earned substantially less than $10k in 2019, you can appeal based on your lower income in the most recent year.
Are you saying your EFC for the fifth year is $29,000?
It seems the bigger issue is that you can no longer get a calgrant. Even if your EFC was $0, you probably wouldn’t have sufficient need based aid to pay the costs. The Pell Grant was never going to cover your full cost to attend college.
Check your FAFSA. What is your mom’s adjusted gross income? Are there any asset or investment amounts listed? These two items are likely to hold the key to the mystery.
A Calgrant only covers 4 years in any combination. It will not cover a 5th year.
As a Cal grant recipient, the State expects you to finish your education in 4 years. If you have to take a 5th year, or you ask for funding over the summer, you reduce your CalGrant eligibility by a quarter/semester.
https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/understanding_my_cal_grant.pdf
Is the $29k your EFC or is it your new cost of attendance for your 5th year?
Are you saying that your FAFSA spit out a result of $29k?
Or are you saying that you got your aid pkg from your school and you’re expected to pay $29k?