I’m going to be a freshman in. College next year, and I just happen to be independent. So my guardians don’t put down there info on the fafsa. I recently got a minimum wage job. My question is will I still receive the maximum amount of aid if I had not been working? Or will I receive less? By the time I get into the college I will have saved around 2,000 from my current min wage job. Will that hinder my chances of still receiving the 5775k pell grant, some seog grant and work study?
You can earn near $6K without affecting your aid, but the $ in your account will be considered available for school (I think it’s 20%).
The income protection allowance for Independent Student Without Dependents is $9,960 for a single student according to the 2016-17 EFC Formula worksheets ($6,400 is the dependent student allowance.) After that, 50% is used toward EFC. For cash and savings, 20% is counted toward EFC.
SEOG isn’t a guarantee, it is only available on a very limited basis so don’t count on it. The Pell and Loan are your entitlements. W/S can also be first come first served. W/S you earn is subtracted from your total income for counting next year.
^ Thanks for the correction on the protection allowance.
@BrownParent - just to clarify, for an independent student, the first $9960 is not included in the EFC formula even if it is sitting in a savings account. Fifty percent of all earnings above that number would be included in the EFC calculations and 20% of that counted towards EFC, so a net 10% per year above the $9960? Are the calculations the same for an dependent student except the protected amount is less at $6400?
No, I’m sorry if I was not clear, you don’t quite have it. You need to understand that both income and assets are counted.
Income is what your earnings are and 9960 is the income protection on those earnings. 50% of earnings for the calendar year being reported over that amount will count toward EFC.
Now for assets, you report assets the day of filing. Assets are cash, checking, savings, investments, everything except primary home if you own and any funds in retirement fund 401k pretty much. It doesn’t matter when you earned that. (So money you save gets double counted in a way if you earned it that year.) there is no income protection for independent students so everything you didn’t spend is counted each year at the 20% rate. Excepting work/study.
Yes same with dependent students at lower income protection plus of course parent income and assets.
Now I just realized that you have a guardian and you likely qualify for an automatic 0 EFC. In that case assets are disregarded entirely by the fafsa formula.
Its definitely double counting. So, if a student takes a year off and works to save money for college, 50% of income above $6400 or $9960 is included and then counted again in the savings account. That is why it is recommended to give to parents for 529 account so at least the percentages are lower. That doesn’t help somebody that is considered independent.
The student should spend savings what he can on necessities before filing FAFSA. Since this is an independent student, that might mean…getting a car repair, pre-paying car insurance 6-12 months in advance, buying an inexpensive car, etc.
There are many ways that an independent student can “spend” down their account safely.
@brownparent I don’t think there is an “auto zero” for independent students. The student is automatically an independent if his guardians were court ordered. That needs to also be clarified. But, being independent THAT way does not mean auto-zero for assets.
@kelsmom can you chime in here?
How much can an independent student earn before it affects aid?
How much can he have in savings? (I thought that there wasn’t much (or any) asset protection for independent students, but I could be wrong).
I wanted to add…
Since federal aid isn’t much, this student shouldn’t really be looking for Work Study…he should be looking for a real, regular job near his future college. That job should be year-round, with fulll time work option in the summer. This person is going to have to provide his own support for his summer costs, and likely for a good bit of school year costs.
Work study would not be enough.
Sounds like you qualify for HOPE in Tenn. Take advantage of that. your stats are too low to get into other schools with great aid (3.0 GPA 22 ACT).
find the Tenn public where:
- Use HOPE
- can find cheap off-campus housing and a JOB that is will provide year round income. You’ll need a summer place to live since your relationship with your uncle sounds like you won’t be welcome there for summers.
Are you working now? If not, you should…and work this summer.
http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/100615EFCFormulaGuide1617.html
Page 4 and 5
Independent student without dependents other than spouse can’t qualify for auto 0 EFC.
But independent student could qualify for simplified needs test which disregards assets.
The student wouldn’t need to “give” the money to a parent for a 529 account. The student could open their own 529 account, and it would still be considered a parent asset for FAFSA purposes. If the student wasn’t yet of legal age, a custodial 529 account could be opened, with a parent as the custodian, but the student would still be the legal owner of the account.
No auto-zero for independent students without a dependent other than a spouse. The assets can be ignored if the student meets the simplified EFC criteria (in this case, if the student received federal means-tested benefits such as SNAP or free/reduced lunch … OR if the student filed or “could have filed” a 1040A or 1040EZ (or was not required to file a tax return) … AND the student earned $49,999 or less.
The income protection allowance for a single independent student is $9,960.
Sorry I meant simplified needs, not auto zero. He likely has low enough income for that where assets won’t count. Did he say he can’t live with guardians in summer? Again income protection for independent single with no children is 9960. No asset protection.
@brownparent He mentioned in an earlier thread that he doesn’t get along with his uncle. While I don’t know for sure whether he can’t live with them over summers, it’s likely that he can’t count on that.