Financial aid is a scam

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest is a rising 10th grader, so we're just starting to think about colleges. I truly thought financial aid was based on need and/or merit. According to this article, I was wrong. https://slate.com/business/2022/07/college-financial-aid-sham.html

Yes. It's based on need and is very narrow.. Not many people meet the university's criteria for need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From Harvard:

Assessing Your Need

Once you're admitted, the Financial Aid Committee will assess your family’s financial need and offer you an award to meet it. We determine need based on your family’s income, assets, and overall financial circumstances. You'll never be required to take on loans, and we don't factor in home equity or retirement savings when crafting your aid package. Most importantly, your financial situation will not affect your chances of admission to Harvard College.

We know that each student's financial circumstances are unique. Your financial aid officer will work with you all four years to understand your needs and take the stress out of affording Harvard.

Maybe not directly, but don't they consider whether you have a mortgage payment or not? So, indirectly, equity is considered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I tell parents to have their children apply to 20 schools that all fall in a similar category. I did this with each of my kids (pissed off our FCPS guidance department) but the results were insane.

Oldest. Applied broadly and ended up at Wellesley which ended up costing us 10K a year less than in-state at UVA. She was fine with a women's college fwiw

Second, applied broadly and landed a full ride at Wash U. Also, fine with it (wanted STEM and though hopkins and CMU were a fit. Oddly got less money at Tech or "lesser" schools fwiw). We negotiated among these schools and Wash U basically bit itself up to a full ride.

Third -- pulled a full ride at Malacaster. same story.

PP, can you say more about this? Did you negotiate price among the schools that had offered admission to your kids once they were in? Did you pick the top school and go back to them with a request for more aid based on what was offered elsewhere?

It is a crazy hustle but only a month of nuttiness so worth it.

In late March to early May each college sent their aid packages. We immediately asked for more/reconsideration and expressed interest in attending the school if the aid situation made it feasible (no hard numbers). A lot of schools didn't care (NYU) but others really opened their wallets or we willing to have calls to discuss. For the latter, we had phone meetings that my kid AND BOTH PARENTS attended together. Expressed interest, asked for more funding, etc.

During late April, we took all of our peer schools (so schools that fell around each other in rankings etc) and if they were willing to match an offer. most didn't just match but exceeded them. The kid then picked.

You have to divorce the idea of a perfect college once you get beyond a general approach and be very flexible but for the money all three of my kids were willing to do this.

ALL OF THIS endlessly pissed off FCPS guidance and admin fwiw. Like my kids got a metric ton of shit requesting so many applications letters from guidance but whatever. Half of the apps were fee waivers, fwiw. We got them automatically or just asked and were given them in the fall.

Did any schools not offer more?

Yes. for some, they said they were willing to provide more aid or consistent aid (all four years, lower GPA min etc).

This is a highly unpopular approach for some reason fwiw.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.

I think people are jarred by EFC not because they don't have the money, but because they didn't expect to be asked to spend it. I get it, it's a sticker shock, but if you don't want to spend down the assets you have, you can't expect to send your kids to a college that isn't otherwise a compromise.

I get this on one level. At the same time though, this has been a key part of our retirement strategy, that is assets in non-retirement accounts. It does feel unfair that a family that has more income but less assets is expected pay less than a family that has less income but more assets because we will not be able to replace those assets in the same way that a higher income family will be able to build their assets.

This is not correct. Income is weighed more heavily than assets in determining financial aid availability. In fact, only about 5-6% of the net value of the parents' assets count toward the EFC from the FAFSA, which does NOT require parents to report their qualified retirement assets or primary home equity. (The CSS is different.)

From Money magzine:

Income is the major deciding factor in whether you need financial aid. Savings and other assets are factored into what you can afford to pay, but only a little.

"Assets don't impact the bottom line all that much," said Kal Chany, the author of Paying For College Without Going Broke.

For every dollar you save, you might — at most — lose 5.6 cents in financial aid.

"You will be much happier if you have saved for college," Chany said.

From consulting firm Strategies for College, Inc.

[b]The reality is that a family’s income is assessed at 47%, after allowances, and the parent assets are only assessed at a maximum of 5.64% after allowances. BIG difference!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.

I think people are jarred by EFC not because they don't have the money, but because they didn't expect to be asked to spend it. I get it, it's a sticker shock, but if you don't want to spend down the assets you have, you can't expect to send your kids to a college that isn't otherwise a compromise.

I get this on one level. At the same time though, this has been a key part of our retirement strategy, that is assets in non-retirement accounts. It does feel unfair that a family that has more income but less assets is expected pay less than a family that has less income but more assets because we will not be able to replace those assets in the same way that a higher income family will be able to build their assets.

This is not correct. Income is weighed more heavily than assets in determining financial aid availability. In fact, only about 5-6% of the net value of the parents' assets count toward the EFC from the FAFSA, which does NOT require parents to report their qualified retirement assets or primary home equity. (The CSS is different.)

From Money magzine:

Income is the major deciding factor in whether you need financial aid. Savings and other assets are factored into what you can afford to pay, but only a little.

"Assets don't impact the bottom line all that much," said Kal Chany, the author of Paying For College Without Going Broke.

For every dollar you save, you might — at most — lose 5.6 cents in financial aid.

"You will be much happier if you have saved for college," Chany said.

From consulting firm Strategies for College, Inc.

[b]The reality is that a family’s income is assessed at 47%, after allowances, and the parent assets are only assessed at a maximum of 5.64% after allowances. BIG difference!

Ok, so what is making up the remaining percentage?

[Anonymous]

It's really wild how little people understand about how this works. Join the Paying For College 101 Facebook page and just read it for half an hour every day. You'll be ready to guide your kid through this in about a month.

[Anonymous]

"The reality is that a family’s income is assessed at 47%, after allowances, and the parent assets are only assessed at a maximum of 5.64% after allowances. BIG difference!

Ok, so what is making up the remaining percentage?
"

This means that the amount you're expected to be CAPABLE of paying is set at about 47% of your income in the year you fill out FAFSA. Add about 5% of whatever you have in assets not counting retirement or your house, and that's pretty close to your Expected Family Contribution number, the EFC. The EFC is just what the feds use to determine whether you qualify for a Pell Grant. Filling out the FAFSA enables your student to access the low-interest Stafford student loans, and it enables you to borrow using the Parent PLUS program.

Our family EFC is about $100K, but we only pay $32K/year at a private school thanks to a merit award. Our kid applied to some schools that would have cost a little over $80K/year and that are very tight with merit awards, so we'd be paying about $70K/year there after merit. Same EFC, but different schools offer different discounts. And that merit money is not at all dependent on our EFC or whether we renovated our kitchen or bought a new Range Rover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD received full ride scholarship to the school she will attend this fall (Clemson). We have high EFC and the our EFC was more that the COA for the school she is attending but she was selected for a unique scholarship opportunity only presented to four students that covered full tuition room and board for all 4 years. She also received over $100k in outside scholarships that she will be able to get a refunds each semester due to overages on her account. So basically she is getting paid to go to school. Point is there is merit money available at the schools and outside school that does not even take your income into account.

There are 4,600 freshman at Clemson. .08% will receive that scholarship. We must have very different definitions of available.

This. The first PP here obviously had a child who was an extremely strong applicant for a school like Clemson. Most kids will not be in that position and while her DDs achievement is genuinely impressive, sharing such an anecdote will give false hope and expectation to most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From Harvard:

Assessing Your Need

Once you're admitted, the Financial Aid Committee will assess your family’s financial need and offer you an award to meet it. We determine need based on your family’s income, assets, and overall financial circumstances. You'll never be required to take on loans, and we don't factor in home equity or retirement savings when crafting your aid package. Most importantly, your financial situation will not affect your chances of admission to Harvard College.

We know that each student's financial circumstances are unique. Your financial aid officer will work with you all four years to understand your needs and take the stress out of affording Harvard.

very interesting. thank you PP for posting this but I wonder if with Harvard's insane endowment and other resources that Harvard's approach might be more the outlier?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.

I think people are jarred by EFC not because they don't have the money, but because they didn't expect to be asked to spend it. I get it, it's a sticker shock, but if you don't want to spend down the assets you have, you can't expect to send your kids to a college that isn't otherwise a compromise.

I get this on one level. At the same time though, this has been a key part of our retirement strategy, that is assets in non-retirement accounts. It does feel unfair that a family that has more income but less assets is expected pay less than a family that has less income but more assets because we will not be able to replace those assets in the same way that a higher income family will be able to build their assets.

Right. Seems to reward consumerism. Guess I should have vacationed more and bought that SUV like everyone else did.

Except that’s really not how it works. Assets up the EFC at about 6%, income is more like 50%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.

I think people are jarred by EFC not because they don't have the money, but because they didn't expect to be asked to spend it. I get it, it's a sticker shock, but if you don't want to spend down the assets you have, you can't expect to send your kids to a college that isn't otherwise a compromise.

I get this on one level. At the same time though, this has been a key part of our retirement strategy, that is assets in non-retirement accounts. It does feel unfair that a family that has more income but less assets is expected pay less than a family that has less income but more assets because we will not be able to replace those assets in the same way that a higher income family will be able to build their assets.

This is not correct. Income is weighed more heavily than assets in determining financial aid availability. In fact, only about 5-6% of the net value of the parents' assets count toward the EFC from the FAFSA, which does NOT require parents to report their qualified retirement assets or primary home equity. (The CSS is different.)

From Money magzine:

Income is the major deciding factor in whether you need financial aid. Savings and other assets are factored into what you can afford to pay, but only a little.

"Assets don't impact the bottom line all that much," said Kal Chany, the author of Paying For College Without Going Broke.

For every dollar you save, you might — at most — lose 5.6 cents in financial aid.

"You will be much happier if you have saved for college," Chany said.

From consulting firm Strategies for College, Inc.

[b]The reality is that a family’s income is assessed at 47%, after allowances, and the parent assets are only assessed at a maximum of 5.64% after allowances. BIG difference!

Ok, so what is making up the remaining percentage?

Everyone wants to complain about what someone else gets, so you need a way to compare. If another family has $100K more saved than you, all things being equal, their EFC will be $6K higher than yours. If another family has $100K more in income than you, their EFC will be $47K higher than yours.

Yes, savings are considered, but at a much lower rate than income, and the expectation is not that all your savings will pay tuition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.

I think people are jarred by EFC not because they don't have the money, but because they didn't expect to be asked to spend it. I get it, it's a sticker shock, but if you don't want to spend down the assets you have, you can't expect to send your kids to a college that isn't otherwise a compromise.

I get this on one level. At the same time though, this has been a key part of our retirement strategy, that is assets in non-retirement accounts. It does feel unfair that a family that has more income but less assets is expected pay less than a family that has less income but more assets because we will not be able to replace those assets in the same way that a higher income family will be able to build their assets.

This is not correct. Income is weighed more heavily than assets in determining financial aid availability. In fact, only about 5-6% of the net value of the parents' assets count toward the EFC from the FAFSA, which does NOT require parents to report their qualified retirement assets or primary home equity. (The CSS is different.)

From Money magzine:

Income is the major deciding factor in whether you need financial aid. Savings and other assets are factored into what you can afford to pay, but only a little.

"Assets don't impact the bottom line all that much," said Kal Chany, the author of Paying For College Without Going Broke.

For every dollar you save, you might — at most — lose 5.6 cents in financial aid.

"You will be much happier if you have saved for college," Chany said.

From consulting firm Strategies for College, Inc.

[b]The reality is that a family’s income is assessed at 47%, after allowances, and the parent assets are only assessed at a maximum of 5.64% after allowances. BIG difference!

Ok, so what is making up the remaining percentage?

Everyone wants to complain about what someone else gets, so you need a way to compare. If another family has $100K more saved than you, all things being equal, their EFC will be $6K higher than yours. If another family has $100K more in income than you, their EFC will be $47K higher than yours.

Yes, savings are considered, but at a much lower rate than income, and the expectation is not that all your savings will pay tuition

+1 I would also add that if you have a $700,000 house and no mortgage then your equity is $700k. If your financial contribution is 6% of that amount than that is a lot higher than someone that has $200,000 of equity in the same $700k house with a mortgage. The EFC will be $39k from assets vs $11k plus any savings, 529, etc. AND 47% of income/salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.

I think people are jarred by EFC not because they don't have the money, but because they didn't expect to be asked to spend it. I get it, it's a sticker shock, but if you don't want to spend down the assets you have, you can't expect to send your kids to a college that isn't otherwise a compromise.

I get this on one level. At the same time though, this has been a key part of our retirement strategy, that is assets in non-retirement accounts. It does feel unfair that a family that has more income but less assets is expected pay less than a family that has less income but more assets because we will not be able to replace those assets in the same way that a higher income family will be able to build their assets.

This is not correct. Income is weighed more heavily than assets in determining financial aid availability. In fact, only about 5-6% of the net value of the parents' assets count toward the EFC from the FAFSA, which does NOT require parents to report their qualified retirement assets or primary home equity. (The CSS is different.)

From Money magzine:

Income is the major deciding factor in whether you need financial aid. Savings and other assets are factored into what you can afford to pay, but only a little.

"Assets don't impact the bottom line all that much," said Kal Chany, the author of Paying For College Without Going Broke.

For every dollar you save, you might — at most — lose 5.6 cents in financial aid.

"You will be much happier if you have saved for college," Chany said.

From consulting firm Strategies for College, Inc.

[b]The reality is that a family’s income is assessed at 47%, after allowances, and the parent assets are only assessed at a maximum of 5.64% after allowances. BIG difference!

Ok, so what is making up the remaining percentage?

Everyone wants to complain about what someone else gets, so you need a way to compare. If another family has $100K more saved than you, all things being equal, their EFC will be $6K higher than yours. If another family has $100K more in income than you, their EFC will be $47K higher than yours.

Yes, savings are considered, but at a much lower rate than income, and the expectation is not that all your savings will pay tuition

+1 I would also add that if you have a $700,000 house and no mortgage then your equity is $700k. If your financial contribution is 6% of that amount than that is a lot higher than someone that has $200,000 of equity in the same $700k house with a mortgage. The EFC will be $39k from assets vs $11k plus any savings, 529, etc. AND 47% of income/salary.

PP again: Forgot to add that’s why schools like Stanford and USC stop using home equity in their financial aid calculations. Because of the high equity in houses in California area especially San Francisco Bay Area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.

I think people are jarred by EFC not because they don't have the money, but because they didn't expect to be asked to spend it. I get it, it's a sticker shock, but if you don't want to spend down the assets you have, you can't expect to send your kids to a college that isn't otherwise a compromise.

I get this on one level. At the same time though, this has been a key part of our retirement strategy, that is assets in non-retirement accounts. It does feel unfair that a family that has more income but less assets is expected pay less than a family that has less income but more assets because we will not be able to replace those assets in the same way that a higher income family will be able to build their assets.

This is not correct. Income is weighed more heavily than assets in determining financial aid availability. In fact, only about 5-6% of the net value of the parents' assets count toward the EFC from the FAFSA, which does NOT require parents to report their qualified retirement assets or primary home equity. (The CSS is different.)

From Money magzine:

Income is the major deciding factor in whether you need financial aid. Savings and other assets are factored into what you can afford to pay, but only a little.

"Assets don't impact the bottom line all that much," said Kal Chany, the author of Paying For College Without Going Broke.

For every dollar you save, you might — at most — lose 5.6 cents in financial aid.

"You will be much happier if you have saved for college," Chany said.

From consulting firm Strategies for College, Inc.

[b]The reality is that a family’s income is assessed at 47%, after allowances, and the parent assets are only assessed at a maximum of 5.64% after allowances. BIG difference!

Ok, so what is making up the remaining percentage?

Everyone wants to complain about what someone else gets, so you need a way to compare. If another family has $100K more saved than you, all things being equal, their EFC will be $6K higher than yours. If another family has $100K more in income than you, their EFC will be $47K higher than yours.

Yes, savings are considered, but at a much lower rate than income, and the expectation is not that all your savings will pay tuition

+1 I would also add that if you have a $700,000 house and no mortgage then your equity is $700k. If your financial contribution is 6% of that amount than that is a lot higher than someone that has $200,000 of equity in the same $700k house with a mortgage. The EFC will be $39k from assets vs $11k plus any savings, 529, etc. AND 47% of income/salary.

Important to once again note that the FAFSA does not ask for home equity information - the resulting EFC doesn't reflect the value of one's primary home whatsoever. Only schools that use the CSS, or for some reason decide to ask on their own about home values, may take that information into account.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re middle of the road, you don’t get much.

We are middle of the road income. Paid approximately $100,000 for an ivy degree. Of that amount, I subtract room and board. Less than half went to tuition.

What do you consider middle of the road income?

$150,000

Wow, what year did you pay $25K / year at an Ivy? My EFC was a lot higher, yet income wasn't much more.

Suspect I may be dinged for having modest house paid off and driving old cars that are paid off and worth nothing. Not sure they care that I am paying tuition for younger kids' private school, either, though they do ask if I will be paying college tuition for anyone else.

You must have had assets - investment, house equity, etc.

I think people are jarred by EFC not because they don't have the money, but because they didn't expect to be asked to spend it. I get it, it's a sticker shock, but if you don't want to spend down the assets you have, you can't expect to send your kids to a college that isn't otherwise a compromise.

I get this on one level. At the same time though, this has been a key part of our retirement strategy, that is assets in non-retirement accounts. It does feel unfair that a family that has more income but less assets is expected pay less than a family that has less income but more assets because we will not be able to replace those assets in the same way that a higher income family will be able to build their assets.

This is not correct. Income is weighed more heavily than assets in determining financial aid availability. In fact, only about 5-6% of the net value of the parents' assets count toward the EFC from the FAFSA, which does NOT require parents to report their qualified retirement assets or primary home equity. (The CSS is different.)

From Money magzine:

Income is the major deciding factor in whether you need financial aid. Savings and other assets are factored into what you can afford to pay, but only a little.

"Assets don't impact the bottom line all that much," said Kal Chany, the author of Paying For College Without Going Broke.

For every dollar you save, you might — at most — lose 5.6 cents in financial aid.

"You will be much happier if you have saved for college," Chany said.

From consulting firm Strategies for College, Inc.

[b]The reality is that a family’s income is assessed at 47%, after allowances, and the parent assets are only assessed at a maximum of 5.64% after allowances. BIG difference!

Ok, so what is making up the remaining percentage?

Everyone wants to complain about what someone else gets, so you need a way to compare. If another family has $100K more saved than you, all things being equal, their EFC will be $6K higher than yours. If another family has $100K more in income than you, their EFC will be $47K higher than yours.

Yes, savings are considered, but at a much lower rate than income, and the expectation is not that all your savings will pay tuition

+1 I would also add that if you have a $700,000 house and no mortgage then your equity is $700k. If your financial contribution is 6% of that amount than that is a lot higher than someone that has $200,000 of equity in the same $700k house with a mortgage. The EFC will be $39k from assets vs $11k plus any savings, 529, etc. AND 47% of income/salary.

Important to once again note that the FAFSA does not ask for home equity information - the resulting EFC doesn't reflect the value of one's primary home whatsoever. Only schools that use the CSS, or for some reason decide to ask on their own about home values, may take that information into account.

Yes, I should have noted that I was referring to CSS schools and the ones that ask for home values. Many of the private schools discussed on this board, including top publics such as Michigan, UVA, and UNC use home equity.