first time FAFSA shock

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The EFC is one quarter of our adjusted gross income. Is this "normal"? One quarter?!

Remember, the idea is that you saw this coming and were saving for it. Not that you pay it from each year’s earnings.

I’m going to have to pay from my earnings. I barely earn enough to pay our bills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The EFC is one quarter of our adjusted gross income. Is this "normal"? One quarter?!

Ours is like more than half. I think $180K EFC or something crazy. We only make $280K per year but we have $4M in assets.

Most is in our house or 401Ks. Mortgage our house or sell our 401Ks no thanks.
I think this is why a lot of UMC families are going to their state school- you get raked over the coals otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The EFC is one quarter of our adjusted gross income. Is this "normal"? One quarter?!

Ours is like more than half. I think $180K EFC or something crazy. We only make $280K per year but we have $4M in assets.

Most is in our house or 401Ks. Mortgage our house or sell our 401Ks no thanks.
I think this is why a lot of UMC families are going to their state school- you get raked over the coals otherwise.

Yeah, that's BS. I'm not selling my house or mortgaging it further -or sell my retirement off- to finance college. And it is unreasonable to have that as any sort of expectation. Those should not be considered. And, no, we are not some millionaires with multiple homes, fancy cars, etc. But, reading this, we will be SO because we don't have those things, too. We saved aggressively. And now we'll be penalized for that AND not have the other things we could have had had we not saved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The EFC is one quarter of our adjusted gross income. Is this "normal"? One quarter?!

Ours is like more than half. I think $180K EFC or something crazy. We only make $280K per year but we have $4M in assets.

Most is in our house or 401Ks. Mortgage our house or sell our 401Ks no thanks.
I think this is why a lot of UMC families are going to their state school- you get raked over the coals otherwise.

Yeah, that's BS. I'm not selling my house or mortgaging it further -or sell my retirement off- to finance college. And it is unreasonable to have that as any sort of expectation. Those should not be considered. And, no, we are not some millionaires with multiple homes, fancy cars, etc. But, reading this, we will be SO because we don't have those things, too. We saved aggressively. And now we'll be penalized for that AND not have the other things we could have had had we not saved.

https://www.aboveboardfinancial.com/blog/dangerous-delusion-alert-not-saving-for-college-maximizes-the-financial-aid-package

[Anonymous]

I was speaking to college classmate who is now an admission officer at a prestigious private college, and she tells me that their students are either on significant financial aid or from very wealthy family, and there is no middle. The cost are so high that staff/faculty who get free tuition don't send their kids because the tax costs (free tuition is considered a table benefit) exceed state tuition costs.

[Anonymous]

I will preface this by saying college costs have gotten out of control and the FAFSA is flawed. But it is based on the premise that you’ll fund school through 3 sources: 1) current earnings, 2) loans you’ll pay back in the future, and 3) savings you’ve accumulated for the 18 years you’ve had this kid. People forget about 2 and 3.

And there’s no a nice way to say this, but a college degree isn’t a right. Pick a cheaper school. You don’t buy a Mercedes when you can only afford a Hyundai and expect the government to make up the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the reality parents need to realize and not get their kids hopes up of going to the most competitive elite schools and graduate with a ton of debt.

Debt free and happy vs. tons of debt and not so happy

This is a misperception. A lot of times the more elite scores have more money and can provide better aid packages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FAFSA shock? So you were expecting a bigger handout or more debt availability?

Literally every college lists tuition, room, board, and standard expenses on its website.

Don’t blame your student for your unrealistic expectations.

So hostile! I am not blaming anyone. I honestly think the whole system is messed up. And I obviously was aware of college costs. It just struck me as ridiculous how much money they expect people to just have saved up for their kids' college. Maybe some people do - and good for them - but we definitely don't.

New question: if it's the same price for public in-state versus small LAC that's not top tier, which would you recommend your kid do? I went to a tier 3 SLAC and loved it and got mentored by terrific profs. But I am sure people have great experiences at big state schools. Depends on the kid, I guess. But it's interesting to me that the out of pocket costs are about the same for these two totally different experiences.

[Anonymous]

So we filled out our FAFSA and included 10 schools to send the information to. Are we going to be barraged with info from these colleges now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, that's BS. I'm not selling my house or mortgaging it further -or sell my retirement off- to finance college. And it is unreasonable to have that as any sort of expectation. Those should not be considered. And, no, we are not some millionaires with multiple homes, fancy cars, etc. But, reading this, we will be SO because we don't have those things, too. We saved aggressively. And now we'll be penalized for that AND not have the other things we could have had had we not saved.

You did the right thing for your family. Take immense and deserved pride in that and let the rest go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be clear, fin aid is based on your income and assets. Thus the importance of the Net Price Calculator. A public service announcement that bears repeating, because above all I see are references to EFC. FAFSA EFC, alone, is not enough information!!!

FASFA asks about neither house or retirement.

Which was the point of my post. Most financial aid comes from the colleges, which require more information in addition to that found in FAFSA. Many require the CSS Profile, which includes assets.

Again, FAFSA does not give you an estimate of what you can expect to pay at a particular college. Use the college's Net Price Calculator to see an estimate specific to that college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we filled out our FAFSA and included 10 schools to send the information to. Are we going to be barraged with info from these colleges now?

Aren't you already on their mailing lists?

[Anonymous]

Think of it as about 7-8 percent of your AGI across about 8 years before college starts and during college.

[Anonymous]

We had a large jump in salary 2 years ago. We could not have saved enough before that. I’m sure some folks have had a consistent rate of increase year after year but we literally doubled our income two years ago and it will likely drop again due to Covid. Yes, we are happy for two good years but the FAFSA EFC seems impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The EFC is one quarter of our adjusted gross income. Is this "normal"? One quarter?!

Ours is like more than half. I think $180K EFC or something crazy. We only make $280K per year but we have $4M in assets.

Most is in our house or 401Ks. Mortgage our house or sell our 401Ks no thanks.
I think this is why a lot of UMC families are going to their state school- you get raked over the coals otherwise.

Yeah, that's BS. I'm not selling my house or mortgaging it further -or sell my retirement off- to finance college. And it is unreasonable to have that as any sort of expectation. Those should not be considered. And, no, we are not some millionaires with multiple homes, fancy cars, etc. But, reading this, we will be SO because we don't have those things, too. We saved aggressively. And now we'll be penalized for that AND not have the other things we could have had had we not saved.

This is a fallacy that you are penalized for saving. Most financial aid is in the form of subsidized loans. So if you hadn’t saved, you would have gotten the “aid” of loans. Only very low income families get outright grants. Why do you think so many young people have student loans debt?