<p>So this was the e-mail I recieved from Davis today…</p>
<p>"Hello,</p>
<p>I am responding to a letter your family submitted to our office explaining your recent loss in income. We are able to do a Preliminary Special Circumstance based on the information you have provided This estimate will give you enough information about the likely changes in your aid to allow you to make a decision regarding attending UC Davis.</p>
<p>**After removing the winnings from your AGI and placed in your Cash and Savings it brings your EFC from 99,999 to 62421. Your awards would not change from their current offers.</p>
<p>If you decide to attend UC Davis, you will then need to submit an official Special Circumstances Appeal in September. At that time, you can complete a Special Circumstances Review Form from the “Forms” section of our website at [Undergraduate</a> Financial Aid Forms](<a href=“http://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/undergraduate/Forms/ugforms3.html]Undergraduate”>Undergraduate Forms and Appeals). Please submit the appeal form along with documentation related to your loss of income as requested on the form, and based on the documentation submitted we can then make the revisions to your financial aid package. </p>
<p>Thank-you,</p>
<p>UC Davis Financial Aid Office"</p>
<p>My question is: why should I even bother changing my EFC with a Special Circumstances Review form? My finaid situation isnt going to change at all.</p>
<p>It appears they dropped your EFC by 1/3. In real dollars its still large, but percentage-wise that’s a good chunk.</p>
<p>Its hard to know why that is such an issue; there must be assets somewhere that they feel can be used for college expenses even with the adjustment.</p>
<p>FAFSA is based on income from the previous year so if your family income has seen a recent change in circumstances this won’t really show up on your FAFSA until the next cycle. The UC websites are very clear about the form and when to fill it out. You should go ahead and fill it out in September, assuming that you meet the guidelines. For instance, if a parent has been laid off, there is a waiting period from the lay off to the time you can file the form.</p>
<p>I assume OP expected the windfall to be totally ignored in the EFC formula. No such luck. Counting it as savings rather than income is the expected adjustment. In my area, many parents have been bought out by their companies. They received large lump sum payments which are included in AGI. The expectation would then be that they would make this much money every year (obviously not the case). Putting it into assets helps, because assets receive a generous protection. Even though many people who received buy outs used the money for things like paying the bills or starting up a new business, they <em>could</em> have used it to pay for school (flawed thinking for those still unemployed months after the buy out - but they can also ask for adjustment to expected income due to job loss).</p>