<p>Sybbie: Your 35% rule is incorrect, according to my EFC. I have around $30,000 in the bank, and my EFC is $25,000.</p>
<p>llf:</p>
<p>Student assets are only one of four things that contribute to the EFC. The others are Student income, Parental assets, and Parental income.</p>
<p>If you’re the student and you have 30K in the bank in your name, your 30K is contributing $10,500 to your EFC (30K X 35%). The other $14,500 comes from Parental income, Parental assets, or perhaps (but unlikely) your income.</p>
<p>See some of the other threads that discuss how the FAFSA formula works, it’s to your advantage to understand so you can try to structure your finances in the best possible light to increase your aid.</p>
<p>Since college is for 4 years (minimum) I think that it’s a bit wierd that FAFSA expects 1/3 of a college fund to be spent each year.<br>
Granted each year it’s 1/3 of a declining balance, but it seems wierd.</p>
<p>If a person has $40K in a college fund and spends 1/3 the first year ($13,600), then only $26,400 is left. </p>
<p>Then the second year, 1/3 of the balance is to be used ($8,976), which leaves $17,424. </p>
<p>The third year, 1/3 of the balance is to be used ($5,924), which leaves $11,500 for the last year. (I am not including interest because college costs go up each year, so any interest earned is cancelled by cost increases.)</p>
<p>So FAFSA’s plan would be:
1st year: $13,600
2nd year $ 8,976
3rd year: $ 5,924
4th year $ 11, 500</p>
<p>I know that people probably wouldn’t spend this way; they probably would level load their allocation. It’s just that the 1/3 rule is just wierd. I would think that if a freshman has $40K in their college fund, then FAFSA would speciify that 1/4 be spent the first year 10K; 1/3 be spent the second year 10K; 1/2 be spent the third year 10K; and the balance be spent the forth year $10K. The percent should decline as each year passes.</p>
<p>It’s 35%, which changes your numbers slightly.</p>
<p>Your suggestion is that the % increase each year, not decline (25%, then 33%, then 50%).</p>
<p>I guess the thinking is that not all the assets the student has are earmarked for college, although certainly most are.</p>
<p>sb: thanks for cleaning up my math. :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Ok,</p>
<p>But if you read my post, I did preface it with the words for example and
If you have…</p>
<p>I was just providing you with an example for demonstration purposes.</p>
<p>While you may not have the amount of $ the percentage of $ based on the amount of money in your name is still correct</p>
<p>"Remember FAFSA is ultimately a government handout, Welfare. Would your want your politicians to change the methodology? Remember the Republicans are in power. "</p>
<p>What is that supposed to mean?</p>
<p>“Sybbie: Your 35% rule is incorrect, according to my EFC. I have around $30,000 in the bank, and my EFC is $25,000.”</p>
<p>If you had 10,000 in January and MADE 20,000 in income this year, you will have to contribute 50% of earnings (less a small allowance) AND 35% of the assets. This would be about 9,000 on the income and 10,500 on the assets.</p>
<p>Xiggi: I wondered about that statement, too. </p>
<p>It doesnt’ matter which political party is in power; people did not get more from the FAFSA system under the Dems.</p>
<p>Mine was only $2,301…</p>
<p>If you think you made a mistake, go online to <a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov%5B/url%5D”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov</a> and on the bottom right-hand side there should be a “Make Corrections to a Submitted FAFSA” button.</p>
<p>Go ahead and review the information!</p>
<p>Xiggi: I don’t have a job, so therefore I didn’t have any personal income last year. The only income for my family is my mom’s, which they don’t take as high a percentage of. That $30,000 has been sitting in the bank for several years untouched.</p>
<p>okay i may be steppin on toes here but not all of the money you get from gov is a hand out. unsub loans are loans not a hand out and they have intrest incurring from the day of the loan it is not like you do not have to pay intrest for four or five years and i dont think it is fair if you have to take money from your retirement for emergency repairs on your home and it is now income that your child has to now suffer along with you for having extra income that you actually did not make but had to fix home. there has to be a better way for gov to help with cost of college.</p>
<p>Ok, the political party cut was not warranted because the current political party may have made the system more expensive to the Government, hence the future taxpayer.</p>
<p>FAFSA will never be right for anyone. You either make/saved too much or you don’t make/saved enough. The government cannot do everything for you. If you don’t believe in the philosophy, ask yourself, “what will you do or not do for future Children of the now 18 year olds?”</p>
<p>I am curious. Do foreigners applying to US colleges fill out a FAFSA and get tax-payer money? ??? If so, why???</p>
<p>colleges may require all students to fill out FAFSA to help determine need-but for international students need will be met by institutional aid.
( not all need- not all colleges- not all students)
</p>
<p>I have an EFC of 00405. What exactly does that mean? The lower the number, the better, right? I’m confused…</p>
<p>Lower the better. $405, your Estimated Family Contribution, is a calculation of what your family can afford to spend each year on your total college expenses.</p>
<p>Colleges will offer an aid package that will fill much of the difference between the EFC and the total cost of college (including books, tuition, room & board). Aid packages include grants, scholarships, loans, and work study programs.</p>
<p>“Xiggi: I don’t have a job, so therefore I didn’t have any personal income last year. The only income for my family is my mom’s, which they don’t take as high a percentage of. That $30,000 has been sitting in the bank for several years untouched.”</p>
<p>LF, all I can say is that your assets are assessed at 35% and your income at 50%. This means that the difference between the $10,500 of student contribution and your total EFC must come from the parents’ side, namely from your mom’s income and your parents’ assets. In your case, it seems that the IM or CA method used by private school might work out better than the Federal Method. Play with a few of the online calculators and see what happens.</p>
<p>how do you know the amount you will be recieving by filling out fafsa?</p>
<p>It has an estimate at the end once you submit it.</p>