How do I decrease my EFC?

rainmama
Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:55:31 +0000

goaliedad - Thanks, and yes, I had a feeling I wasn’t being too clear. I am just trying to figure out when a Roth is better than a regular IRA, even absent FAFSA concerns. But I’ll try to find an article to read so I don’t have to bug you.

Well, I tried the calcuator linked above, and boy was that depressing. The FAFSA amount was fairly close to what I got using the Princeton and Dartmouth online calculators, but the “institutional methodology” one was shockingly high, thanks to our inflated home equity. The tough thing about borrowing against equity is that then you have largish additional payments, and therefor less income to devote to the college costs. Catch-22.