Parent Plus loans are not student need based financial aid…they are loans to the parents.
@Emsmom1 USC uses the Profile. For ANY college using the Profile, the data on that form is what is used to determine institutional need based aid using the college formula.
The FAFSA EFC really is meaningless in the context of a school that uses the Profile. The Profile delves into more depth in terms of finances.
In addition, there are things for the Profile that are never on the FAFSA…primary home equity, and non-custodial parent financials, for example. Businesses with less than a certain number of employers are not included.
Some students for FAFSA purposes qualify for the simplified needs test whereby their assets (and that includes very substantial assets if they have them) are NOT counted. There is NO simplified needs test for the Profile…and everything counts.
It’s very easy for me to think of several scenarios where the family contribution at a Profile school could be double the FAFSA EFC…divorced parents? Significant equity in primary residence? Qualifies for simplified needs on FAFSA… but assets are counted for Profile school? Business deductions?