| the problem is that people didn't research what the EFC is about and how financial aid SHOULD impact their college search before the applications go in.
fwiw, ANYBODY with income of 150K is not middle class. that is the top 5% or less of ALL incomes. Living in a high cost area isn't part of the equation. Home equity doesn't count on the FAFSA.
WAY too many people with 20K EFC (and claiming they can not afford that) applying to 50K colleges and expecting 'free money' to make up the difference. Yes, there are grants and scholarships given out to SOME. But there is no way that everyone who 'needs' it is going to get that much.
Parents should be running EFC numbers nlt the beginning of junior year so they can get a clue. Better yet, at the beginning of high school.
Middle class people (and that means less than 1/2 of 150K) need to live frugally for many many many years to save up to pay an EFC of 10-12K a year.
Truly low income families who qualify for pell grants may seem like they get more free govt money, but I am not jealous of them. Heck I WAS them 10 years ago.
Either get lucky and get a huge scholarship or be prepared to pay up.
In the past 8 years my income went from 40 to 65K. yet I was able to save 60K. Live below your means. If you have food, clothing and shelter, anything else is a WANT, not a need. |