Give $$$ to Brother to lower EFC

cptofthehouse
Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:49:18 +0000

These kinds of posts trying to game the system bother me. There are all sorts of things you can do to lie, cheat and steal to lower your EFC. When you give someone the money with the understanding that he is going to give it right back to you, it is very clear that the intent is to cheat on the FAFSA. Serves you right if your brother takes the money and runs with it.

How much difference is this really going to make for you? If you have $12K stashed away, you are unlikely to be PELL eligible anyways. It’s not as though there are colleges lined up to subsidize you to your FAFSA EFC. The schools that tend to meet 100% of need use PROFILE and they tend to ask for sibling accounts. So the chances are that what you gain is maybe more in loan eligibility and you take the risk of being caught playing games if audited and your brother absconding with your money.