Help me understand my EFC for my FAFSA please

[Anonymous]

Filled out my fafsa and got the result - my efc is 27000.

Since I only plan on spending $8100 in tuition for the year, does that mean I can't get any help at all?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

EFC is what government believes you (and your family if dependent) can afford to pay for school.

With EFC of $27K there was either a mistake or you make a substantial amount of income ($100K+).

You should talk to fincial aid dept at your school.
Either they can find mistake and refile or if the EFC is accurate they may still be able to get you a student loan (if you want).

[Anonymous]

Even with an EFC that high you should be able to get at least the unsubsidized portion of the Stafford Loans, which, depending on how many credits you have, would be anywhere from 4000 to 5000.

[Anonymous]

My wife and I together make over $100,000 - but we certainly don't have thousands of dollars in spare change. We barely make ends meet.

It just makes me wish that I would just quit and go on welfare like thousands of lazy people out there living off my paycheck. Here I am worrying about FICOs and trying to make ends meet, just so that some people don't have to work at all. Sorry, venting. Some people need welfare, I understand that.

ARGH!

Thanks for all of your help!

[Anonymous]

OK I'm over that now

Draken (or anybody) - I plan on take 6 credits which is half time - what do you think I would qualifty for?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Bad news is you are "rich". Notice I put it in quotes. Anytime politicians talk about the "rich" paying more they are talking about you. You filthy capitalist how DARE you earn a decent income. I am in the same boat. Bad news is you will get little help from government (because you committed the sin or being "rich").

Good news you likely will be able to get a stafford loan. Talk to fin-aid department at your school. It may cover part or all of the cost of your school. Stafford loans will generally get you the lowest possible rate so you might as well take advantage of it.

Only your fin=aid department will be able to tell you exactly how much you can get a loan for so your next step should be to talk to them.

[Anonymous]

I am glad someone else there shares my frustrations. "RICH" in quotation marks is exactly right. We're getting squeezed.

[Anonymous]

I found the FAFSA very confusing; like filling out tax forms.

My EFC came back as almost my whole salary for last year, so either there were mistakes or someone at the DOE is on drugs. I still have to do the final draft, so I have an accountant friend helping me.

I found a lot of help on these boards, but I'm still mostly baffled by how they make financial aid decisions.

I don't know your school, but mine offers assistantships that cover most or all of your tuition, and last year every student in my program had them. I don't have one yet...*crosses fingers*. I'm fine with loans, but it would be nice to be less in debt at the end of three years!

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Assistantships generally are not financial aid, they are pay for work you do and they differ based on school/department so good luck! It's a great way to pay for school!

If your EFC is close to your salary you either made a mistake or you have a large amount of investments. A real quick and dirty estimate is that the EFC is approximately 1/3 of income...but there are so many things that can quickly change that up or down.

[Anonymous]

Agreed it looks like you did something wrong on the FAFSA. Talk to fin-aid department at your school. They do this all day everyday. For most people (income $25K-$100K) your EFC will be "around" 25%-35% of your income.

Assets affect EFC so if you have more assets (properties, stocks, bonds, etc) then your EFC could be higher. For an EFC close to your income you would need assets equal to 10-20x your income (i.e if you make 50K a year you have $500K-$1Mil in assets).

Bring your original FAFSA applications and any worksheets, tax documents, asset statements, etc to your fin-aid department. It isn't hard for them to submit an amended application.