Parents,
Can someone clarify these doubts:
If the college cost of attendance per year is 30k and if FAFSA EFC value is 50k, will the college ask parents to pay 50k?
If the parent is filling FAFSA for school year 2019-2020, should the parent report salary for the year 2017 or current salary?
No, you won’t be asked to pay over the cost of attendance regardless of the EFC. Your FAFSA for the high school class of 2019 will use your 2017 income this year.
You will not be charged more than the COA. Don’t worry about that!
The FAFSA has very clear instructions as to which year’s income must be used. So yes, this means 2017 for the 2019-2020. If the family has experienced a reduction in income since 2017, after the FAFSA has been filed, the family can ask each college on the list for a Special Circumstance review that would allow the current income situation to be considered.
We had this happen. We presented the specific tax info as requested by FAFSA. Unfortunately my husband lost his job of 23+ years and this does not reflect our current situation at all. I think the info we provided reflected the most money he had ever made. Which compared to his current salary of zero, is now totally wrong. I feel like there should be a way to indicate this on the FAFSA application. He called the school and they were very understanding. It was a load off his chest. Thankfully our daughter has a trust fund that will help.
@wylieA…you had what happen?
You absolutely were NOT charged more than the cost of attendance at any college.
If you are talking about special circumstances…you were fortunate that the college considers this. Some do and some don’t…and all are on a case by case basis. Did you include the value of the trust in your financial aid application forms? It supposed to be included.
@WylieA when did your H lose his job? Some schools wait awhile before adjusting.
And you had what happen?
Yes, your FAFSA EFC can be more than the COA of any of your colleges. It can be a lot more. I don’t know what the limit is for the EFC, but it is certainly way up there, even as college costs are so very high. The most expensive US colleges are at the mid $70K range, I believe.
Your FAFSA EFC tells you what the government calculator generates as to what your family should be expected to pay for college that year. It comes up with that figure based on the prior year tax returns and the assets at hand the day you fill in that number. It has its loopholes, in that it does not include certain assets, takes the final numbers form the 1040s, only includes custodial parents, doesn’t count your primary residence value. It doesn’t take into account what your job and life history before that window of time where the assets and incomes are frozen in snapshots. It certainly cannot even know what happens afterwards.
FAFSA does not GIVE money. It just generates that Expected Family Contribution. The federal government has grant money (PELL) and interest free while in school loans (student DIrect) that student with low enough EFCs can automatically get as part of their financial aid package. Usually that is the first layer of financial aid a school gives. Then, states may also have funds for college students. If there is still more need ( as defined by EFC), the college then considers giving some of their funds as financial aid. How each college gives out their own money is up to them.
If things happened, (and things often do) after the FAFSA is filed, that change the financial situation, the school financial aid officer can investigate, and may change the EFC accordingly. Certain crises could trigger a huge change in EFC. Death, or serious illness of a parent, for instance. Abuse, danger,loss, homelessness. Disasters, casualties, job loss are all things that can be considered.
However, the automatice amounts like the PELL and the subsidized DIrect Loans generally are not enough to go to sleep away college or to a private school, unless the college kicks in money of its own.
My husband will be unemployed 2 years in May.
Ironically, when we filled out FAFSA his last income tax info reflected his highest pay check in probably 28 years.
He really messed up, losing his job right when our youngest will be going off to school, but that’s life. These things happen and are never convenient.
It was life changing for him and not in a good way. It was not just a job to him.
Frankly, I don’t think he will ever recover from it.
Yes we included the value of the trust.
We were totally transparent and provided all the info as honestly as we could.
That is the issue.
This information in no way reflects our current situation.
I am glad he spoke with the school.
?? If you’re filling out FA forms, and a spouse has been out of work awhile, didn’t the school make adjustments to EFC using Professional Judgement and give some aid once you contacted them? Or were your assets and trust fund and your own income so high that you still didn’t qualify?
Was this a FAFSA only school? If so, and an adjusted EFC was still too high for aid, then that may also be an issue.
I hope your husband has sought some counseling to help him deal with the emotions of losing his job. From your words, it sounds like he “did something wrong” which led to the firing. If so, that may also be part of his low feelings. He really needs to be speaking with a professional and maybe a life coach. Unless financially you’re prepared for him to be “retired,” getting help so that he can find another job is important Keep in mind that if he was fired for a negative reason, the company won’t disclose that if a prospective employer contacts them. The company will only indicate the length of time he worked there. Best wishes.