monkey75

Please help!!
I recently filed for financial aid and my university seem to think my mom make too much money (about 40-45K), They gave me a bunch of loans which I wasn’t to excited about but my mom made me accept them anyway. BUT THEN, I went back on my financial aid page and I noticed my EFC was close to 80,000!!!!!!!!!! IDK what to do. That is way too high and I can’t afford to pay that. I’m not sure whether it’s a mistake or what but I am scared out of my mind!!!

Also I don’t quite understand the term EFC! Does my mom have to pay 80,000 and what will happen if we can’t pay? PLEASE HELP!! IM SERIOUSLY IN TEARS!!!!!! I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend the college that I want (University of Texas!!!!)

P.S does anyone know anything about veteran benefits?

Pea

EFC is short for "Expected Family Contribution". It is the amount that your family is expected to contribute to your education per year. 80,000 can't be right.

Erin's Dad

While the definition Pea supplied for EFC is correct, it is NOT the amount your family is expected to contribute. It is the MINIMUM your family is expected to contribute. Most schools cannot meet the full financial need of their applicants so they gap the students. That is VERY common for out of state schools. Are you in-state for UT?

Pea is right that there must be a mistake in your info. $40K of income does not equal a $80K EFC. $40K income should be at most $12K EFC. What do you want to know about Vets benefits?

dodgersmom

Okay . . .

(1) YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO PAY $80,000!

Even if your EFC is $80k, the most you would have to pay is the actual cost of attending your college, which is certainly going to be less than that.

(2) It is possible that your EFC is that high because both your mom's and your dad's income were taken into account. Is your dad in the picture and does he have a high income? If not, then it appears to be a mistake . . .

swimcatsmom

Unless there are major assets, there is no way an income of $45k would generate an EFC of 80,000. You need to go back into your FAFSA and check your data for errors.

FlMathMom

You can also check your computation by using the worksheets on this site: http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/a...aGuide1213.pdf

cptofthehouse

You need to look at the FAFSA again. SOmething is not right. If your mother makes what you say she does, and there are no other significant income figures or a lot of assets, there is some mistake.

FAFSA is the form you complete to get your Expected Family Contribution, the EFC. That number is just used to determine whether you qualify for the PELL grant and subsidized loans. You need to get that fixed, because it is possible you are eligible for some PELL and some of your loans could be subsidized.

Unless your school guarantees to meet need, even a zero EFC is not necessarily going to get you more money from the school itself. BUt really, you need to get your true EFC and ask if there are any other funds available.

What loans were you offered?