I used a calculator that was on this site and my mom gave me the info. I realized that it was pretty low so even when I apply to the actual FAFSA, the varying factors most likely won’t change my EFC.
Am I guaranteed a 5k pell grant? Or have higher priority to one?
If it helps, by the time I apply to college (first semester of next year - senior year) I will have a good gpa, 3.7 unw with honors/ap courses, my act score wasnt so good but i’m retaking it in september and i am studying day in and day out this summer to get around a 30-32.
no investments, retirement plans, (my dad makes his money from navy retiree pay and my mom and dad dont work - we live paycheck to paycheck plus there are like 5 other people that live with us that aren’t supposed to be living here)
no home equity (we dont own a home) we rent out a home… in the ghetto of las vegas
Are you considering UNLV? As a 0 EFC, high achieving Nevada resident, you would be in good financial shape to attend UNLV as a commuter.
Between the federal Pell grant, the state-provided Millenium Scholarship, and the institutional Rebel Achievement Scholarship, you would have more than enough to pay for tuition, fees, books and supplies. If you can live at home and economize on your transportation and personal expenses, you may be able to manage on summer earnings and a part time job during the school year.
Work with the guidance counselor at your high school next year to make sure you do not miss priority application deadlines.
@Madison85 ironically even after saying I was sure it was 0, I was wrong, my mom told me that the income tax in 2014 was around 1412 and i thought it was 1412 per month. my efc is actually 66 after plugging it back in the calculator. so it’ll be around that number when i apply for fafsa, thats not too much lol
i do have a little brother going to 4th and sister going to 8th though and that wasnt part of the calculator. there are no other sources of income
@lvkris yea that was my first choice. UNLV is my safety school, but i’m retaking the act in september after getting a bad score. if I get around a 30 on my act, i’ll be able to have an automatic full ride to choose from 5 different schools though. no need to worry about pell grants if that happens im studying day in and day out this whole summer to make sure it happens… if not then i’ll be a rebel, hopefully without too much debt
You need to take your parent’s tax forms and use the data on them to fill out the NPCs. It sounds to me like you aren’t doing that and I doubt your numbers are correct. If you’ll be counting on a Pell Grant make sure the info is accurate.
@Madison85 oh I was putting 1412 x 12 as the annual income tax, when really its just 1412 lol. its that low because it’s retirement pay after 20 years of service, not earned/working pay that probably would probably float around 30%
I think you’re confusing the term taxable income with the term income tax. Is the $1412 the amount of tax owed or the income? I would think $1412 for the year is low for taxable income. And as far as I know military pensions are taxable income unless they are disability payments. And I believe disability military payments need to be reported on fafsa as ‘other untaxed income’. Though if AGI(adjusted gross income) is less than $24k and your parents file a form 1040a, not a 1040, or you are getting reduced or free lunch, food stamps etc., you should qualify for the auto 0 efc.
@annoyingdad oh no my dad makes annually about 37,200 and it’s all taxable, but the AGI is 36,000. we don’t qualify for food stamps, but I do get reduced lunch at school. it almost seems like it was planned that way by the people who design the military pension, but then again after 20+ years of service, my dad has no savings and is actually in debt lol. I checked again this time and the efc was actually $112 per 9 months of enrollment from the calculator on this website. thats still pretty low, and not 100% accurate (either for the good or bad)
It sucks cause we dont qualify for assistance but still live paycheck to paycheck in a not so nice area. it doesnt help that my dad is horrible with managing money, but i dont let that take away from him too much. i can’t get a car or any help for college, and stuff like that… but past all the sob stories, at least there could be something better out there for me… it’s why I am sacrificing my summer studying for the ACT, reading books about writing good scholarship essays, and things of that nature. It will pay off though, and thats all i can look forward to at this point
thanks for the input everyone. i appreciate it all
I gather your dad did not sign over his GI benefits to you? I am not an expert on this. But wondering when he retired from the military and if this option was available when he did.
Your EFC is $112 a year? Is that what you are saying? If so, your Pell Grant would be about $5000.
It sounds like there is some confusion about how to complete this financial,aid calculator. I would strongly suggest you use the one on your college website…and make sure what you are putting in is accurate info for the 2015 tax year (you will need to make best estimates). This should give you the amount of your Pell, as well as possible other aid.
But remember…garbage in…garbage out. If your entered numbers are not accurate, the output will not be accurate either.
@thumper1 no my dad signed him to himself. he has an MBA, but no plan to work. He got his mba last month. funny how some people think… now that really made me wonder. what the hell is going on here lol
and yes, my efc is $112 a year, which probably isnt the most accurate gauge, but given the other factors, it probably wont stray too far off the actual fafsa. The only thing I have to put is my dad’s income because everything is 0 (and some might even be negative but I just have to put 0) haha
im studying day in and day out this whole summer to make sure it happens… if not then i’ll be a rebel, hopefully without too much debt 