College Confidential - View Single Post - Is financial aid based primarily on income or savings?

thumper1 · 11-09-2008, 07:24 PM

>>my parents are pretty old, 53 and 61. and what is EFC? would you say someone in my situation would be wasting their time applying for financial aid?>>

Well...Your parents are about the same age as many parents of college students. The 53 year old parent is probably the average age of a college student's parent. 61 is closer to retirement...and that will factor into the EFC calculation on the FAFSA.

EFC is your Expected Family Contribution. This is a calculation done with the information submitted on the FAFSA form. It is based on income and assets (not primary home...but it does take into account any other real estate your family might own). This is primarily used for federal funds...but MANY schools use the information on the FAFSA to determine the awarding of all monies including institutional money (e.g. U of San Diego uses only the FAFSA...but it does award institutional money as well as federal money).

Schools that use the Profile ask for more financial information from the families, and these schools use that information to determine how they will award their institutional monies.

Now...regarding "wasting their time applying for financial aid"...you should apply. In my opinion, EVERYONE should apply for financial aid. The bottom line is that you may not qualify for much aid right now (I'm guessing this would be especially true for Profile schools that would also count your home equity in the mix for the most part)...but if your family financial situation changes, you will have to have these forms on file if you want the school to reconsider your financial aid situation during the school year. We all hope we won't be the ones with a catastrophic financial burden during the school year. But this can happen to anyone. If your family financial situation changes, you will want the school to be able to reevaluate your financial aid situation. You will be required to fill out these forms and then document the changes in your income situation. The last thing you will want to do if there is a financial catastrophe in your family is do these forms. Do them now.

At the very least, you would qualify for a Stafford Loan (unsubsidized) which is a loan in the student name.

11-09-2008, 07:24 PM	#5
thumper1 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 9,091	>>my parents are pretty old, 53 and 61. and what is EFC? would you say someone in my situation would be wasting their time applying for financial aid?>> Well...Your parents are about the same age as many parents of college students. The 53 year old parent is probably the average age of a college student's parent. 61 is closer to retirement...and that will factor into the EFC calculation on the FAFSA. EFC is your Expected Family Contribution. This is a calculation done with the information submitted on the FAFSA form. It is based on income and assets (not primary home...but it does take into account any other real estate your family might own). This is primarily used for federal funds...but MANY schools use the information on the FAFSA to determine the awarding of all monies including institutional money (e.g. U of San Diego uses only the FAFSA...but it does award institutional money as well as federal money). Schools that use the Profile ask for more financial information from the families, and these schools use that information to determine how they will award their institutional monies. Now...regarding "wasting their time applying for financial aid"...you should apply. In my opinion, EVERYONE should apply for financial aid. The bottom line is that you may not qualify for much aid right now (I'm guessing this would be especially true for Profile schools that would also count your home equity in the mix for the most part)...but if your family financial situation changes, you will have to have these forms on file if you want the school to reconsider your financial aid situation during the school year. We all hope we won't be the ones with a catastrophic financial burden during the school year. But this can happen to anyone. If your family financial situation changes, you will want the school to be able to reevaluate your financial aid situation. You will be required to fill out these forms and then document the changes in your income situation. The last thing you will want to do if there is a financial catastrophe in your family is do these forms. Do them now. At the very least, you would qualify for a Stafford Loan (unsubsidized) which is a loan in the student name.
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