<p>So all I know about my parents' gross income is that they make over $175,000
I have an older sister who has paid off her own debts so essentially I'm an "only child"
I don't have any extenuating circumstances.</p>
<p>I would say the majority of the income comes from my father's real estate and my mother works. </p>
<p>Does FAFSA just look at the numbers or do they look at how much real estate
my family owns?
Will FAFSA give me any money besides loans?
Am I highly likely to receive only loans? Would those loans be paid off with or without interest in my case?
Also how do colleges know that I'm not applying for FAFSA and factor that in my application? Because I'm applying EA and FAFSA begins in January...</p>
<p>If your parents own real estate that produces that much income, it is likely that their equity is very high. This will count as assets. Between the assets and the income it is likely that your EFC will exceed the COA of any school. You will qualify for unsub loans at an interest rate of 7.8% or whatever it is now. </p>
<p>Some applications ask whether you will be applying for financial aid. For others it probably doesn’t matter (need blind). Either way, you will probably not receive aid based on what you have told us here and in the absence of other extenuating circumstances.</p>
They look at income AND assets. Real estate holdings count
FAFSA does NOT give money. It is a test for federal aid. With that income you will be allowed to take out loans totaling $27K over the four years.
Loans and ALL loans have interest. Subsidized loans which are offered to lower income families have the gov’t paying the interest while the student is in school.
There are some colleges that are need aware for admission but the majority are need blind - they don’t care if you are asking for aid. That being said, with your family’s income you can say you aren’t going to apply for aid, then fill out the FAFSA after you’ve selected a college so you can take out the unsubsidized loans.</p>
<p>Please remember that FAFSA does not give any money. FAFSA is an agency that collects your information and disperses your information to the universities. The universities dispense their own money, not FAFSA.<br>
If your parents make over $175K, I doubt that you will be eligible for any significant financial aid at your institutions. You may try for merit aid, but even that will be limited.</p>
<p>Your family’s income and assets are too high for you to get any free money. Your family will be expected to pay all costs.</p>
<p>You need a strategy…</p>
<p>1) Find out how much your family will pay each year.</p>
<p>2) Understand that you can only borrow $5,500 for freshman year.</p>
<p>3) If your parents won’t pay much for college, then you need to look for schools that will give you large merit scholarships for your stats.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that aid is for families who don’t have the means to pay. FAFSA is a federal app form for federal aid, which is not much aid at all…AND is for low income families…not for families with your income/assets. Tax payers don’t provide aid for families with your income. That wouldn’t make sense. That would mean that the tax-payers who earn a lot less would be providing for your college costs. you can see why that wouldn’t be fair.</p>
<p>Agree with all the above. Both income and assets are used to determine your EFC. With an income of $175k and substantial real estate holdings, you will not be eligible for need based aid. (eve without the assets, the income is too high for need base aid at any but the most generous institutions such as the Ivies).</p>
<p>Definitely too high for any need based federal aid including need based (subsidized) loans. You will be eligible for federal unsubsidized student loans. The current interest rate is 6.8% and the maximums are $5500 for freshman year, $6500 sophomore, $7500 the 3rd/4th years. Your parents will also be eligible for parent PLUS loans which have an interest rate of 7.9%.</p>