<p>Hi:</p>
<p>We are a single income family, and the only wage earner is being laid off. We did not qualify for Pell grants because of our assets (we have done a pretty good job with savings, both college and otherwise), but we will now have 0 income (not including unemployment) for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>is it a good idea to ask for a FAFSA recalc? Will it make any difference for the upcoming school year?</p>
<p>Hello Crizello,</p>
<p>I am in a similar situation as you except for the fact that my parents didn’t think about the future when using their money. Long story short my mother has been out of work for over a year now and my father has had to take a pay deduction to change to a sedentary job because of a disability he acquired while working this year. Now, I’m left to my own devices trying to pay for my college education and have read a few books that talked about reassessments for financial aid.</p>
<p>I think it’s a good idea, if the need is there, to ask for a recalculation. In fact I am in the process of trying to contact my school’s financial aid officer as we speak. Just be ready to show them what happened and why you need more aid using documentation to back yourself up. </p>
<p>It doesn’t hurt to ask.</p>
<p>Jake</p>
<p>Definitely ask. Many schools will not do a professional judgement adjustment until the loss of earnings has been ongoing for a while. But it is a good idea to talk to them now and find out what you can do.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Doesn’t unemployment “count” on the FAFSA? I thought it did. </p>
<p>Agreed…talk to your child’s college. We were in a similar situation when one of our kids was a freshman. The college would have done a looked at our situation but not for 3 months. They advised us to get everything ready (copy of pink slip, unemployment payment verification, any severance package, anything that would help them understand our “new” financial situation). In the end, the unemployed found a job in that three month time period.</p>
<p>I hope you are able to find a job or jobs soon.</p>
<p>Yes…unemployment, severance pay, payment for untaken vacation days, and all the pay that he’s gotten for 2011 will all count (8 months of salary).</p>
<p>And, the assets will still count.</p>
<p>And, actual unemployment has to exist for awhile for a school to consider an adjustment…there is an assumption that a new job might come in the near future. </p>
<p>If your H’s last day of work is in a couple of weeks, then it’s likely that the school won’t consider any kind of adjustment until unemployment still exists a few months from now.</p>
<p>That said, it sounds like 2011 wages, unemployment, and assets will prevent much/any adjustment.</p>
<p>Unemployment has to be reported on the FAFSA. However, when doing a special circumstances adjustment, schools can (not must) remove the unemployment income (counting that as 0).</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I think the main problem will be that the breadwinner will have received 8 months of salary and has assets. And, this is a single earner who has also managed to be a good saver, that suggests that he’s had a good income so 8 months of income could still be substantial. </p>
<p>I don’t know why the OP is assuming that they will have “0 income for the foreseeable future” which means that no job will be forthcoming. Between the laid off spouse and the non-working spouse, it would seem that at least one or both might be able to secure some kind of income.</p>
<p>The 8 months of income may or may not be counted. PJ regs allow the income to be set at 0 when doing a recalc for unemployment. Whether or not any income is counted depends on the school’s philosophy, the time of year the layoff occurred, etc. PJs are an art, not a science (by design of ED), and each one is handled differently - and even in a school, different aid officers may view the situation differently. If income is reset to 0, the student would be able to get a Pell grant - the parent is a dislocated worker, allowing assets to be ignored. If the “base year” is reset to a period of months that includes some or all of the 8 months year-to-date earnings, if the amount counted is <$50,000 the dislocated worker status allows the assets to be ignored.</p>