How do Siblings Play into the Equation

kelsmom
Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:55:08 +0000

Make sure you are following all the instructions & entering everything properly. $20k is about right at that income level, but as noted by others … you may not get aid that actually bridges the gap between your 1/2 of the EFC and the cost of attendance at that school. And remember that loans are ON TOP OF your EFC … that is, they are considered part of your financial aid package to meet need.

Profile is used by a lot of private schools. Assets are treated differently than they are by FAFSA … for example, your home equity is considered an asset your parents can borrow against in the Profile formula, but it’s not in the FAFSA formula. There are other differences, and each school can throw in its own stuff, making the IM formula just a ballpark figure. Another big difference is that Profile asks for info from both sets of parents (and stepparents, if any) if they are divorced, while FAFSA just asks for info from the parent (and stepparent) with whom the student lived the most during the previous year.