FAFSA

My Expected Family Contribution turned out to be a 5 digit #.

My Family does not make a lot of income, relatively speaking...any explaination?

what are you talking about?

Federal Student Aid.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

my family's comes up as about 15% of their taxable income... it all depends on your application.

Jeeze PokerNerdAA, kids these days... P

stackmjwiz -- my parents actually didn't make very much either, relative to most families, and we had a 5 digit EFC. All I qualified for were unsubsidized loans ( I was lucky enough to get some merit-based scholarships to put a huge dent in it, but still..

sorry I didn't know what he meant......needed it spelled out for me...

but now that it's been explained, i still have no clue what's going on oops

Do assets have a big impact on the Expected Family Contribution?

Luckily, this year I could file as an independent because I am 24. So it went just off of my income which was around $5000. So I had an EFC of 0. So I got Pell Grant, another Fed grant, and a couple of loans. Booyah! Free school... (assuming I pass on the loans)

Im doing it right now but i cant find the stupid school code!!

Did you/they do the 1040A or the regular 1040? If you find out you are not going to get any money (grants) for your EFC, you might want to look back and see if doing the regular 1040 would get you some tax refund money. Any amount of money back into your pocket is a good thing. Although, sometimes there are a lot of this you have to compute to fill out that regular 1040...

To tell you the truth, I don't see how they expect people to pay those crazy EFCs anyways.

Yeah I know....the EFC is a load of shit (mine also 5-digit). According to my school, it's just a ballpark figure to find out what need-based financial help I qualify for (shit). So you're basically screwed if you have a high EFC. I even filed with just my dad's salary (divorced) and child support on top of that, and they still screw us over. So....what I'm saying is just don't hope for too much money when it comes to need-based shrug

[quotebed1540975="PsychoAU"]Luckily, this year I could file as an independent because I am 24. So it went just off of my income which was around $5000. So I had an EFC of 0. So I got Pell Grant, another Fed grant, and a couple of loans. Booyah! Free school... (assuming I pass on the loans)[/quotebed1540975]


Could you PM me details on this? My EFC is around $13,000 and not only do I not even live in the same state as my parents, I receive 0 support from them and pay my own tuition. This is the first year they aren't claiming me, too, so that'd be superb if I could file as an independent - I'm 20, if it matters.

FAFSA's a bitch. They don't help me at all. I pay straightup 30k a year for college and I make more money than my mom does.

Yea, I'm getting no aid despite my family's income being lower than 40k.

EFC is over 30k.


All I can say is, wtf.

As an update to my post...I guess regardless of your family's contribution you still have to report their income until you're 24....BLAST!

Yep, whether or not you can do the FAFSA as an independent solely depends on what year you were born. My parents never paid for my tuition and I still had to report them until this year. My mom re-married a couple of years ago to a guy who makes $75000 a year so it completely shot my financial aid that year. But this year I didn't have to factor that in, so I get alot more off of my low income.

Plus, because my income was so low, I didn't have to pay any federal taxes so I got back every penny of my withholding. So basically, I am not paying a dime to the government and am getting free money for school. America rocks.

[quote7850467d42="FreeOffersNow"]As an update to my post...I guess regardless of your family's contribution you still have to report their income until you're 24....BLAST![/quote7850467d42]

There are some situations in which you can file yourself as an indepenent. The usual ones are
- a student who was born before January 1, 1982 (for the 2005-2006 academic year); or
- a U.S. Armed Forces veteran; or
- a graduate or professional student; or
- married
- an orphan or ward of the court; or
- legal dependents other than a spouse

You might want to still try contacting the financial aid department and asking them about a "dependancy override."

i just filed for it.

i'm probably not going to get the grant, my dad makes too much -/ i'm not sure if the large family comes into play..

i just got an EFC of about 13 grand this year (my school estimates about 19 grand to go there for a year including housing and whatnot) ( the last 2 years it was only 4 grand...damn my making 12 grand of my own last year!!!...i have no idea what i even spent that on, i swear i didnt make that much heh. i have like $500 to show for it now (

hooray for trying very hard not to spend a dime of my summer income this year to make up for it...i hope i still get my Cal grant for my senior year...

Both my parents and I made more in 2005 than 2004, and yet our EFC went down about $1000 from 2004 to 2005. Fucked up.

[quote2e84333890="EatChex89"]i just filed for it.

i'm probably not going to get the grant, my dad makes too much -/ i'm not sure if the large family comes into play..[/quote2e84333890]

same situation here...xept i'm filling it this week.

Yeah, my EFC was 85% of my Dad's income.

[quote3fedda28e4="Gigante"]Yeah, my EFC was 85% of my Dad's income.[/quote3fedda28e4]
Damn. Mine was about half my dad's. That sucks.

Mine was higher than my dad's income.

They really need to devise a better way to calculate this stuff. Everyone has different situations. maybe you have a parent that makes 150k but refuses to help you in any way. Expected Family Contribution, stupid idea. I don't see why, if you are 21 and working to pay rent/living expenses you will get less aid because of your income than if you stayed at home and didn't work. Also, if you ever got convicted of ANY drug charge (i've been charged with possession of marijuana for a roach) you cannot get financial aid at all. If you are a convicted child molestor or rapist, whatever you can still get aid. Like the earlier poster said "America rocks"

[quote17d35efc4f="johnjimjones"]FAFSA's a bitch. They don't help me at all. I pay straightup 30k a year for college and I make more money than my mom does.[/quote17d35efc4f]
the hell are you a drug lord. Holy shit.

[quote416cc755d2="xigxag"]They really need to devise a better way to calculate this stuff. Everyone has different situations. maybe you have a parent that makes 150k but refuses to help you in any way. Expected Family Contribution, stupid idea. I don't see why, if you are 21 and working to pay rent/living expenses you will get less aid because of your income than if you stayed at home and didn't work. Also, if you ever got convicted of ANY drug charge (i've been charged with possession of marijuana for a roach) you cannot get financial aid at all. If you are a convicted child molestor or rapist, [/color416cc755d2]whatever you can still get aid. Like the earlier poster said "America rocks"[/quote416cc755d2]

Really... you can rape a kid and get money to go to a college near more kid's high school or school but you can't get money for having possession of marijuana charge(Weed is from the earth... God put this here for me and you lol ). Which if you'll be doing tons of while your in college anyways. America not only rocks but apparently our law makers and officials are on rocks.

I am as big a weed smoker as the next guy, but I have always had a problem with the legalization people using the platform that because it comes from the Earth, we are supposed to use it... I mean, come on. Arsenic is also a natural substance, but we are not supposed to consume it. I always saw that as a weak argument.

But as to the druge offenses and financial aid, we are at the mercy of the government on how they give us the money. If someone (the government) is willing to give us free money, then they get to decide how to give it out. If you want a loan without a drug check, go to a bank. Otherwise, we have to play by their rules. It sucks ass, but it is how it is...

Oh and while you can get financial aid and be a rapist or child molestor, I highly doubt that would make up for the hell your life will be once you get on a registered sex offender list. Good luck getting a good job after that. That degree you got with the financial aid won't be worth much then.

the weed thing was JOKE from FRIDAY (A MOVIE). i've never tried weed i live a drug free life

It's not FREE MONEY, IT'S OUR MONEY, that money is from the tax payers of the U.S. so yeah the shit that they took from your check and the shit that you pay every year it all goes in a big pot and they pick and choose how to fuck it up, but if you don't pay they garnish wages, put you in JAIL, or take property. SO why those officials in Washington are getting raises and their kids are getting full scholarships we're all trying get OUR money back from them so that we get further in life.

I know I have certainly gotten alot more from them then I paid in so I consider that free money. I am living off of the hard work of my fellow Americans (like you). So I guess I should thank you for buying me this awesome stereo.

I love exploiting the system.