<p>I am new to CC...I attended a state university this past year where the cost is 20k a year....I decided I wanted to transfer out to a top 25 university(its a private school)....and the Top 25 university costs 52,000 a year...My FAFSA said my familys EFC was 23,000, my CSS Profile said my family's EFC was 25,000....However when I recieved the financial aid from the school I had decided to transfer(the top 25 university) into I only had 9K in grants and 5k in loans...The top 25 university I had been accepted into is also a Best Value college(I don't know if this is important).......so that means my parents would have to pay 43K for me to go there(even though the EFC was only 25K at best).....I don't know what to do....</p>
<p>The thing is I had submitted my deposit to the top 25 university already, and I had already told my state school I will be leaving....I was supposed to submit my parents tax returns in MARCH but I submitted them in JUNE(my Financial Aid advisor(at the top 25 school) was REALLY MAD at me for submitting it late,) What should I do? Can I appeal the decision even though its so late and I start college again in late augest? Remember my FA advisior is already really mad at me.....Did I recieve less in grants because I had submitted my parent's tax returns late(I am a transfer student so they said they would accept it a little late)?</p>
<p>OH THE SCHOOL I AM TRANSFERRING TO SAYS THEY MEET 100 PERCENT OF NEED......</p>
<p>If they meet need for all, ask for an explanation of your package as the first step. Are you certain you calculated EFC correctly? Every school calculates differently.</p>
<p>Well thats what my Fafsa and CSS profile said when my paren’ts accountant punched in the numbers (based on my parents assets and income)…but thanks hmom5, I will call them and ask for an explanation on monday…could it be because I turned in my tax returns late?</p>
<p>First of all…the Profile doesn’t yield an EFC so I’m not sure where you got that number. FAFSA yields an EFC. The Profile info is sent to each school. The SCHOOLS use that info to calculate your family contribution. The Profile considers things like home equity in the equation and the FAFSA does not. It could be that the school’s computation using the Profile yielded a higher family contribution…but the PROFILE itself does not spit one out. Second…you submitted your financial aid paperwork LATE. Your financial aid advisor was correct in being annoyed. Deadlines are IMPORTANT…remember that for future years and don’t miss them.</p>
<p>NOW…you need to go and discuss your finances with the finaid folks at the school. There are a number of possibilities. It could be that the college made an error and you should be getting more aid from them. It is ALSO possible that YOU made an error filling out the FAFSA/Profile and the college corrected this when you sent your taxes to them. Another possibility is that they haven’t reconciled your finaid with your tax returns.</p>
<p>You need to call the financial aid office and speak to that financial aid advisor and find out what is going on.</p>
<p>Check to be sure that the “meets full need” policy applies to transfers. Sometimes it doesn’t.</p>
<p>You don’t mention anywhere what your family income is. If your family income is about $100,000 a year, your EFC (per fafsa) would be in the $25-$33K range. Does your family earn more than that? Does your family have significant home equity? Is there money in regular savings/CDs?</p>
<p>^^^ thanks for the detailed response thumper…</p>
<p>My dad is the only on who works(my mom doesn’t work), he makes 127,000 a year (before taxes), and around 20,000 goes to taxes…my parents do not have significant home equity(we sold our house last year, when we moved to the state we are currently living in, we are living in an apt right now as we look for a house in our area)…half of our assets are in saving accounts the other half is in the stock market(the money my parents had in the stock market fell like crazy after I submitted my forms for Financial Aid)…My efc, according to fafsa was around (23,000-25K)…If my parents have to pay 25k-33k a year, it will be affordable…</p>
<p>My dad also became unemployed in june…(his new job starts in october)…will this help any?</p>
<p>OK…on an income of $127,000, your EFC per fafsa would be in the $31K to $41K range…and that doesn’t include any assets. If your parents sold their house and put the money they made into a REGULAR savings account…that money would also be included as an asset on the FAFSA…and the Profile. It doesn’t matter that the money is “for” a house. What matters is that it’s there NOW. Your stock assets/equity are also taken into consideration. Perhaps THAT is why family contribution with the Profile is so much larger than the FAFSA. </p>
<p>You need to call finaid at your school and get this straightened out. What are your parents saying??</p>
<p>My parents told me to appeal the decision, because my dad lost his job in june and is currently unemployed(his new job starts in october-november)…the 127,000 income is before taxes though(its a 107,000 after taxes)…After we sold our house last year, my parents put the money into stocks and saving accounts( we had 80k in stocks and 20k in savings total AFTER we sold our house and had invested the money)…</p>
<p>I don’t know what your family did or when. If the money was in an account on the day you filed your FAFSA…it’s an asset. </p>
<p>You should talk to financial aid. Take documentation of your dad’s job loss…but remember that the FAFSA (and Profile ) used income from 2008 to determine your aid. In most cases, schools have a “waiting period” for those who become unemployed before they will reconsider financial aid because there IS the chance that (like your dad) the person will find another job. </p>
<p>But it’s worth a discussion with financial aid. Good luck.</p>
<p>the 100k was an asset when I filed the FAFSA, and our income was 107,000 after taxes…My fafsa came out to be around 23k-25k(I think it was filled out correctly, because my parents accountant filled it out)…</p>
<p>If I could just get 9-10k more in grants, I could afford my university…</p>
<p>Would another FA advisor review my file if I appealed the award? I doubt my FA advisor would even consider my file again, because she was really mad when I turned in the tax returns late.</p>
<p>Is there a reason you were late submitting? You should file a speical circumstances appeal based on the job loss anyway. It’s likely that the FA advisor has found other people to be mad at now anyway:) Make nice and make sure you respond to every request from FA in a timely manner!</p>
<p>There is an asset protection…let’s say that only $60K of that is unprotected…that would be assessed at 5.6%…so that’s about $3500 or so. The EFC estimate I gave you is based on GROSS income (before taxes) not after taxes.</p>
<p>With the income and assets you give, and my guess that the school is USC, what they are asking you to pay seems about right.</p>
<p>You can and should appeal, but my guess is you will not see a penny more in grants. So if this money is essential to you, have a good backup plan.</p>
<p>^^^^ yah sk8rmom, I have learned my lesson now, in the future I will make sure I know the deadlines…</p>
<p>so thumper your saying my efc may be around 44,000? because, without any assets(just based on gross income) it was around 31k-41k and with assets it is possible my efc could be anywhere from 34k-44k?</p>
<p>My school isnt’ USC, I am transferring to a top 20 school.</p>
<p>hmom5: Yah it doesn’t hurt to appeal(I will just make my FA advisor even more mad), since my dad lost his job…</p>
<p>Every school that uses the Profile uses a different formula to compute aid. They take the info on the Profile and put it into THEIR formula. I don’t KNOW what your family is expected to contribute to YOUR college. I’m giving you guestimates based on past experiences.</p>
<p>You need to contact the financial aid office at your school ASAP…because you need to KNOW whether what they have offered you is correct OR if there is some mistake.</p>
<p>“The Financial Aid Administrator (FAA) at your school has made corrections to your application. If you think you need to make additional corrections, please contact your FAA before doing so.”</p>
<p>^^^ When I checked the last correction made to my fafsa, my efc had changed and was 27,345(this correction was made by the financial aid officier at the school I was transferring to)…but that still doesn’t explain why I have I only got 14k in FA(inculding loans and grants) and only 9k in grants…I will call them and tell them about my dad’s unemployment and ask why I wasn’t my full need wasn’t met…</p>
<p>Remember…that is your FAFSA EFC. What the school computes using Profile may not match that at all. The school may very well have MET the need that THE SCHOOL computed for you based on the Profile information. BUT do call them immediately. You need to at least ask what to do regarding your dad’s recent unemployment…and ask about your finaid package.</p>
<p>^^^^ My school’s FA advisor made the correction to my FAFSA’s EFC, she increased my EFC to 27,345(from 23,000) on FAFSA so I don’t understand why I only get so little in loans and grants, if my advisor knows I should only be paying 27,345(but I see what your saying thumper, they school may have met my need already by using their own equation)…</p>
<p>EFC isn’t what you “should only be paying.” Schools are free to make their own determination about what they think you actually need, and they are free to decide how much of that need is loans. I think you need to see if you can still return to the school where you started.</p>
<p>transfer097 – the income levels you are describing put your family in a tough position, not eligible for much need based assistance but also not able to carry to full price of tuition.</p>
<p>One mistake you made was in thinking that because you thought you knew your EFC then you knew how much this specific college would give you. Colleges vary in what they believe a student’s need is, the calculators are often internal, specific to the college. The aid is often consistent in the sense that the college follows the same guidelines for all of its students but it is not consistent with what another college that also meets full need would award.</p>
<p>As the other posters have said you need to get in touch with the financial aid office. At this point I don’t think you should worry about your financial aid officer being mad, you’re just asking her to do her job. It’s hard to say whether your turning in your parent’s tax forms late impacted your financial aid package, maybe it did, maybe it didn’t.</p>
<p>If you are only short about 10K you might want to consider a private loan. Your parents would have to cosign for it but it would be in your name and you’d pay it back after graduation.</p>
<p>Your story sucks, but the way. I’d be upset too if a financial aid package fell so far short of making up the difference between my EFC and the cost of attendance.</p>