<p>My EFC is $0.
But keep in mind that even with all the aid I’m likely to get with an EFC that low, my parents can’t afford to pay for anything. A lot of my friends have complained about that, but really low EFCs aren’t much better off by the sheer fact that they can’t “tighten their belts” like someone with a higher EFC can. I will have to shoulder the loans (so far I have offers will $6,000 and $11,000 in loans per year) by myself.</p>
<p>^ so true. My EFC isn’t zero though, its 400.</p>
<p>my efc estimate is 9886! (random?!)</p>
<p>5k oh yeah!</p>
<p>27k 
Looks like I’m going to Michigan for sure 
(It’s okay though, not like I’m unhappy about it, but I can’t say I’m super-excited either, cause I always thought going OOS would be more fun)</p>
<p>3098
But this means I’ve got $6500 in loans a year at one school, and 8500 at another
Still, I’m very grateful</p>
<p>16k</p>
<p>unfortunately riceU costs 4k more than efc even though they said they’d meet 100%… but parents say its ok so i’m happy (:</p>
<p>Our EFC for my D is $0. I am disabled, divorced and custodial parent living on meager means here in mega expensive Jersey. Sounds great in theory, that $0, but alas University of Delaware’s “award” package came today and was most disappointing. Total of $13,800 with work/study and Fed. Direct Sub loans. I had to double check it. Total cost for one year is $29,700. So even with having an EFC of $0, my D would be more than 50k in debt at graduation. Doesen’t this seem really stingy?</p>
<p>It looks like she won’t be going to her dream school, but much more GENEROUS and affordable Monmouth U. It’s a bitter pill to swallow when she worked so hard all of high school not to be able to send her to the school of her choice, but $0 debt versus $50k speaks for itself.</p>
<p>Oh, and BTW… To all of you that sit in wonder and sometimes in judgement on how people manage to live on such pitiful amounts of money in order to come out with an EFC of $0, it’s like this. "S**t happens in life that is unforeseen. No one plans on becomeing divorced, injured and poor…believe me. But the good Lord does provide and we make it despite not having a new car or summers in Europe. My kids never lacked for anything, we always gave them the best we could afford and when they came of age they went out and worked for their “extras”. They have their cars, A&F clothes, an excellent work ethic and most of all Faith in God. I am Blessed and it has nothing at all to do with money. Some of you on these boards really scare me with your views of entitlement and your value system.</p>
<p>No one plans on becomeing divorced, injured and poor…believe me.</p>
<p>I wonder why not? The economy has been flucutuating for sometime now, and everyone should plan for a downturn in circumstances, isn’t that why we buy insurance?</p>
<p>* we make it despite not having a new car or summers in Europe*</p>
<p>Yes I know some on these boards compare tips on cruises, but many don’t have either new cars or use airtravel I have been married 26 years and I have never been on a plane with either my kids or my H- I have other values- that don’t include those things- they wouldn’t come up as things I felt I was missing.</p>
<p>They have their cars, A&F clothes,</p>
<p>guess what I dont understand if they have such a great value system, living in circumstances that give them a zero EFC, how those things came together to motivate them to buy A&F clothing and automobiles and all the expenses that come with that.</p>
<p>My kids don’t have either cars or A&F clothes- and our EFC is high enough to not qualify for aid at an instate public.
However oldest * did* go to her dream school , because she was offered enough aid to do so, although her values include using public transportation, and shopping at Value Village ;)</p>
<p>Some of you on these boards really scare me with your views of entitlement and your value system.</p>
<p>this I will agree with</p>
<p>Agree! I am a divorced custodial parent. Jean Paul Satre said it best - “We are our choices.”</p>
<p>I worked long and hard to save for college and emergencies, and to put my daughter in a good private school to meet her educational needs - with no help from her deadbeat father. DD got critically ill two years ago, and almost died, so college savings went to pay for her treatment. I am not bitter - I am sooo thankful I had that money saved so she could get the best treatment possible! She recovered, and was accepted into her dream school. Both she and I will have debt. She is not into cars or clothes. Neither am I. Sure, I’d like to have some luxuries, but I read somewhere that the best “inheritance” you could give your child would be a solid foundation, strong values, and a good education. Although they’re not tangibles, my daughter is one of the “richest” kids around! Life happens - sometimes ROTTEN LIFE happens. I actually am thankful that she went through what she did, because there will likely be no curve ball in her future that she won’t be able to handle with the strength, dignity, grace, and humility that she put into play while trying to survive. Clothing ends up at Goodwill when it’s worn/outdated. Inner strength lasts a lifetime…</p>
<p>You are very warped to have misconstrued my post in the way that you did. I was merely pointing out that having a $0 EFC isn’t a magic ticket into your dream school. We were lucky in buying a very average home in an outstanding area, (Holmdel, NJ) 20 years ago. Their peers from a very young age were of a significantly higher economic class. We sent them to private school on ONE blue collar salary and sacrificed every bit of the way, as ALL parents do. I don’t look for some pat on the back, but resent your sarcasm about insuring my marriage or insuring myself against the debilitating injury that I sustained. That is pretty callous, I gotta tell you.
My kids grew up surrounded by nice “things” while doing without. When they became old enough they went out and worked to attain those things as well as buy themselves cars, while remaining honor students. I think the majority of kids and adults like nice things and are willing to work for them, duh! You sound a little bitter. With almost 5000 posts under your belt, I have to wonder if you disect each post as you did mine.</p>
<p>Granted we should all plan for tough times and try to set up a “safety net”, but the ability to do so depends upon circumstances–and sometimes the “safety net” we set up is not large enough to handle what we expected life would strike us with. And even though 50% of marriages end up in divorce, this doesn’t mean that we should expect the love of our lives to just up and walk out.</p>
<p>Susan R. did not come here to complain, but rather to share her story on how she has helped her daughter cope with an unrealized dream–and make the best of the current situation. Susan R. hasn’t complained about anything except that she wishes she had the means to help her daughter more–a wish I think many on this board can relate to. She has stated the situation she and her family faces and explained how they are meeting the challenges as best as possible. For that we should thank her–and be glad that she has provided a blueprint for others needing to make similar choices. </p>
<p>I see no reason that Susan R. should be the object of an unprovoked and unwarranted attack, and the fact that she was is really quite disturbing.</p>
<p>Also, someone saying that because they haven’t flown anywhere in the last 26 years this somehow makes them more “worthy” to me is just a joke. All this shows is that this person must live in the middle of nowhere and doesn’t know that life consists of more than just visiting the local diner and going into town on Sunday. My son flies a minimum of eight times a year–but then he has to get to and from his college halfway across the country multiple times, attend his summer program at a different school, interview for interships, and come home for Christmas. I guess these are all just extravagances in some people’s eyes–but I like to think that it’s training for the kind of life that today’s fast-paced business requires if you want to get ahead and truly accomplish something. </p>
<p>P.S. Since this thread was supposed to be about posting the EFC, my son’s EFC is 42K.</p>
<p>Wow, I’m kinda shocked…some of these EFCs and the incomes are just…I don’t even know what to say…am I supposed to say something?</p>
<p>Oh yeah, EFC is $36,700 and income is $140,000…
COA at University of Maryland CP is $15,064…
Something seems wrong here…
Or is this normal? I don’t completely understand the whore financial aide situation</p>
<p>Ours seems to be around 18K, but I think I might be doing it wrong. I’ve done it several times, with varying results. LOL–guess I’m not the math whiz in the family. I have no problem with paying for my Daughters’ college and nursing school tuitions. Of course I’d rather not–who would? lol…But we’ve been fairly fortunate, and have worked for years to do this. They will still need to take some loans, but we will do the best we can to minimize them. If neither of them can get anything toward school we may just take a home equity loan to add to what we have saved. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve been having a bit taken out of our pay automatically each week. And both girls have jobs and are saving money themselves.</p>
<p>Calcruzer, Thank-you for understanding the “spirit” in which my post was written. I had to go back and re-read it several times after receiving what appeared to be harsh criticism of me AND my kids. I am proud that my kids have saved enough to buy their own cars. And if someone on here thinks that I should somehow apologize for that they are totally nuts. That’s as ridicules as them bragging that their kids DON’T have cars or nice clothes.</p>
<p>It was so NOT my intent to look as though I was having some pity party or worse yet wanted some pat on the back for our situation. I don’t think my circumstances are unique in any way, actually. And this point is reiterated by several on the thread. EFC of $0 isn’t what it appears. </p>
<p>p.s. We managed to take the kids to Disney when they were young and they flew from NJ to Fla MANY times alone to visit their grandparents. I guess some may feel a little more $$ in the bank is better than building memories.</p>
<p>Mine was 94,500. I knew it was going to be pretty high, but that was even higher than expected.</p>
<p>Susan R., the purpose of this site is to help guide parents and their children with some of the key career choices of life;–to go to college or not, which college to choose, how to get in, and how to afford the college where one is accepted. </p>
<p>While people occasionally get off on a rant relative to other things (myself included), it’s important that we all remember that the purpose here is to share experiences or tips that help each other. As you point out, the “spirit” of your post was to share your own experience. For that we should be thanking you, not attacking you.</p>
<p>I hope you will continue to share your experiences and that of your daughter here and on the other forums. We’d all like to know how things go for the two of you over the next few years.</p>
<p>Thank you Calcruzer for making me feel welcome. I will indeed keep you posted and remain a presence here. I love the site. It’s been a tremendous help to us in the entire process of college admissions. I sure wish I knew of it before my D’s senior year. I would have encouraged her to do things a lot differently. Oh well, live & learn, right?</p>
<p>Our EFC on FAFSA was $9300.</p>