Hi, on the FAFSA there is a question ho many of my kids may attend college next year. How it affect the financial aid given the fact my son is in the US and is a US citizen and the rest of the family abroad so the kids will not be able to be eligible for financial aid, but fafsa might take them in count and split the aid amount evenly and provide my son in the US only partial aid ???
Are the children abroad in college?
Yes they are. But I am not sure FAFSA looks on that this way …
FAFSA doesn’t explicitly state only US Colleges.
https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1819/pdf/PdfFafsa18-19.pdf
Question 74
If they are working toward a certification or degree IMO they would count which would bring down the EFC for this student. As to whether that results in more aid, that depends on the college.
Thanks you much for the answer. The question is in tat case, would the US child will be awarded portion of the support as the FAFSA determined there is a need to “keep” the rest of the amount for the other kids upon request for financial aid for them (not counting they will never be qualified as they are non US and abroad).
See the information below which made me confused about that which claims to better declare less kids in collage if in any way there will be no financial aid for them as FAFSA diving per number of college students in the family the “family aid” regardless of their intent to apply for FAFSA.
quote:
For example, if two families each have household incomes of $140,000 and one family’s child attends a state university at a cost of $20,000 per year, while the other student attends a private college costing $54,000 per year, the student attending the “expensive” private college will qualify for need-based financial aid and the child attending the state university will not. This leads me to the first example of bad college advice.
Your Income is Too High to Qualify for Student Aid
At a presentation I gave recently a family shared with me that they had been advised by a co-worker not to bother applying for aid because their income was too high to qualify. The truth is that if they had only applied their daughter would have qualified for over $17,000 per year in aid at the private college she attended. That’s a difference of $68,000 over four years of college. And with a modest rate of return, that $68,000 could have been worth an extra $250,000 at the parent’s projected retirement age 20 years down the road.
You are not looking at FAFSA correctly. FAFSA is an application for federal aid. SOME schools also use it to award institutional aid. The student will fill out the application and an ‘EFC’ (estimated family contribution) will be calculated. The FAFSA formula makes no judgment that money should be kept for other educational expenses or other children. If the EFC is very low (under $6k), the student may get a Pell grant (federal aid). The school may also award SEOG (federal grant), a subsidized student loan, and work study. That’s the federal aid.
Different factors go into the EFC calculation, and one is how many other students in the family are in college. The EFC is cut in half if there are 2 children in the family attending college, but that doesn’t mean the student will get twice as much aid. My kids were both in school at the same time. Original EFC for one was about $40k, cut in half was $20k, and that qualified them for …nothing! One in a public school with a COA of about $25k, one in a private school with COA of $52k. Both schools gave merit aid, neither school promised to meet need. The private school daughter wasn’t eligible for institutional need based aid because of an athletic scholarship. It didn’t matter that the EFC was half - half of $0 in aid is still $0. Public school of the other child didn’t really give need based grants. They have an ‘alum scholarship’ program where need might play a part, but some are awarded to teachers or engineers or nurses, with or without need.
The FAFSA calculation gives no weight to what the siblings actually pay for their college. Each of my kids got ‘credit’ for having a sibling in college, so the EFC was halved, but one kid was on full scholarship. That didn’t change the EFC for either child.
Your child attending college in the US will complete the FAFSA, include family income information and the number in the household attending college. An EFC will be generated. No one knows if any need based financial aid will be awarded.
Thank you much.
Due to so many changes I made in the FAFSA (so many confusions), I was now
have to go through a process called verification…does not sound good but at least they gave me also the option to explain my unique situation.
What is your opinion?
Many students are chosen for verification. Some schools do a certain % - so anyone can get picked but they can also ask if they have questions. Just provide the documents they request.
Yep, that is what i intend to do. Thank you so much, really.
Right…just give the colleges whatever info they request…but do it ASAP.
You say your kids in college abroad are not eligible for aid…so if that is the case…what FAFSA would THEY have completed? Are they U.S. citizens?
BUT what FAFSA are you being verified for? The kid who is starting college in fall 2019…his FAFSA 2019-2020 becomes available for completion on…Monday. If your son isn’t starting college until 2019 fall, his FAFSA isn’t yet available.
The school might not award aid just based on the FAFSA, they might require CSS profile.
When we looked at schools, we looked at some that were instate publics and some instate private schools that only required FAFSA for need based aid.
We qualified for a state grant and some merit aid.
The net price came to about the same number at the public schools (with merit and state grant) as the private schools (with merit, state grant and need based grants), and was well above our FAFSA EFC.
Both of our kids applied to local scholarships for their major, which helped in the first year.
In subsequent years, being able to cook and not have to get the meal plan, saved some money.
Need based aid can change from year to year, and with number of kids in college, as the EFC changes (if the school gives need based aid).
It might be better to focus on merit aid that is available for all four years, and has an attainable GPA requirement for renewal.
I heard that FAFSA Financial Aid is only for 4 years is that correct? If my son in College for transferring to university, what would be then?
What FAFSA aid are you talking about?
The Pell Grant is limited to the equivalent of 6 years of college study.
The Direct Loans have an aggregate loan limit for undergrad students. In any event…they are limited to
Freshman $5500
Sophomore $6500
Junior $7500
Senior $7500
The United States Government has limits on the amount of federally funded aid it will give to students.
How much do you think your student would need.
Back to my other question…if your son isn’t starting college until fall 2019…what FAFSA did you complete for him?
FAFSA doesn’t give money. The data on it is used to determine IF your kiddo qualifies for U.S. federally funded money.
Sorry for not being clear.
He started in 2018 and his school cost was paid (Pell Grant). But I have heard that some students are getting support such as $4000 dollar a month, I am trying to find based on what (I believe they over age 24 and no income).
What $4000 a month do you think these students are getting?
By completing a FAFSA, he will be eligible for the $6095 a YEAR Pell Grant…and a $7500 Direct Loan as a college third year student. Those are the ONLY guarantees with a $0 EFC per FAFSA. Is that what he had?
What school do you hope he will transfer to? Let us know…because we can tell you if that school guarantees to meet full need…but if the school DOES meet full need, you will need to complete the Profile too.
FAFSA doesnt have one sumn it divides by the number of children in college. The award is individual.
They want to know how many children are in college (regardless of where they attend and how much they pay) because typically college costs parents more than high school. So, having 3 kids in college means you are eligible for more money per child at meet-need schools, and even at schools that don’t meet need if may push you into Pell Grant eligibility. If your EFC is zero, it doesn’t change anything that you indicate how many of your kids are in college.
Tell the truth: if you have 4 kids, with 3 in college (2 abroad, 1 in the US), indicate you have 3 kids in college.
The only support I can think of that college students would be getting (and not $4000/mo) are students going on the GI Bill and getting a housing and meal allowance. Some athletes on a full scholarships with a stipend (D1 athletes in Power 5 conferences) get about $5000 per YEAR, not per month. They can take the stipend or the Pell grant, not both.
No student is getting $4000 per month. But it doesn’t really matter if everyone else is getting $4000/mo. If your son is getting a Pell grant, that’s the same amount he’d be entitled to at any school in the US, no matter if it costs $30k or $75k, the maximum Pell is $6095 this year.
If your son’s EFC is $0…he could have 100 siblings in college at the same time…and his EFC would still be…$0. His federally funded Pell Grant would not be more than $6095, and his Direct Loan is based on his year in college. Period.
You are utterly confused about financial aid. FAFSA does not pay tuition or room or board by paying the difference between your EFC and total cost of attendance. It does not give students $x per month. It is a federal caculator that qualifies students for federal loans (limited to the amts stated above) or qualifies a student for Pell grant or FSEOG $$ (which is very limited in amt.) Being over 24 means students file FAFSA independently (based on their income, not their parents) and it does not lead to any more $$ than the same.
If FAFSA says your EFC is $8,000 and the school is your avg school (meaning not one of only approx 70 schools that meet need based on their institutional formula) all that means is that your student can take out a federal loan and whatever the bill is, you have to pay. It in no way means that you only pay $8000.