Financial Aid for Upper-Middle Class

notrichenough
Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:14:28 +0000

Regarding the “rule of thumb” notrichenough mentions that EFC roughly equals $10,000 plus 50% of your income over $80,000, does that mean gross income?

Yes, gross income.



If you’re asking about FAFSA, it means AGI with certain things added back in including contributions to pre-tax retirement accounts.

That’s getting a little complicated for a “rule of thumb”.

Retirement contributions tend to be the bulk of the add-back IMO, which is why using gross income is close enough for a quick estimate.