High EFC -- not sure I did the FAFSA correctly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: "Oldest" parent is 54, if that makes a difference. Did not include any retirement accounts or house.

Makes very little difference. Apparently the protected asset threshold has been going down. When we first filed, something like the first $25K of savings wasn’t included in the formula. The exact amount was tied to parental age, but this is negligible for someone with high assets outside retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

AGI from 1040: $217,019
Assets: $1,275,000
EFC: 139894

How was the OP’s EFC more than the total cost for tuition, room and board for any school??? Or is that for all 4 years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

AGI from 1040: $217,019
Assets: $1,275,000
EFC: 139894

How was the OP’s EFC more than the total cost for tuition, room and board for any school??? Or is that for all 4 years?

Per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

AGI from 1040: $217,019
Assets: $1,275,000
EFC: 139894

How was the OP’s EFC more than the total cost for tuition, room and board for any school??? Or is that for all 4 years?

The number is hypothetical. It means they would have to pay full fare if the costs went up, even if they went as high as $139,894.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

AGI from 1040: $217,019
Assets: $1,275,000
EFC: 139894

How was the OP’s EFC more than the total cost for tuition, room and board for any school??? Or is that for all 4 years?

Per year.

That’s just per year for how much the family can afford, so no aids even for 2 kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

AGI from 1040: $217,019
Assets: $1,275,000
EFC: 139894

I'm guessing the high EFC is due to the assets. Is this just investments and bank accounts? It should not include primary home value or retirement.

Our income (w/ retirement contributions added back) is around 140K. Savings/investments were 130k. EFC 35k

+1 We have a higher income but non-retirement assets were a lot lower (plus $2M in retirement accounts), EFC about $60k. Are you sure you did not include assets in retirement accounts in your number?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

AGI from 1040: $217,019
Assets: $1,275,000
EFC: 139894

Similar stats here and similar EFC with 2 in college so I don't think you made a mistake

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

AGI from 1040: $217,019
Assets: $1,275,000
EFC: 139894

That seems about right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

AGI from 1040: $217,019
Assets: $1,275,000
EFC: 139894

It is the asset, for us

AGI from 1040: $300,000
Assets: $2,000,000
EFC: $233,000

I feel it is not fair to older parents close to retirement with limited future income.

They're not punishing older parents. They are not taking retirement into account so as long as you maxed out your IRA/401K you should be fine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, Part II: Does the EFC seem right for what I posted?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like how Purdue does things: merit scholarships exist, but every kid largely pays the same tuition no matter how rich or poor their parents just so happen to be. Every kid should have some skin in the game.

Purdue is a public school snd beautifully run by Mitch Daniels

I don't hate the guy, but I live in West Lafayette and know any number of people who would disagree with the "beautifully run" contention. I'd say he's done more good than bad but Purdue has its share of problems, and Mitch probably resigned at the right time. His governing philosophy probably cut what bloat was possible. If he stayed on, it would probably be at the expense of the education Purdue is able to provide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m still confused. If we make 250k AGI and have 1.5 million in assets (outside of retirement accounts and home) we aren’t getting financial aid right? I’m certainly not expecting it, even at schools that are 85k/year. Am I missing something though??

There are a few schools that require you to fill out Fafsa or css in order to get merit. I have 3 kids, none of the 30+ schools they applied to required fafsa to get merit.

Only reason someone in your situation might want to fill it out is in case your situation chances drastically for some reasons. However, with those assets, it's not likely to make a difference (ie. going to zero income wouldn't change much, they'd still expect you to drain the assets before getting FA).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m still confused. If we make 250k AGI and have 1.5 million in assets (outside of retirement accounts and home) we aren’t getting financial aid right? I’m certainly not expecting it, even at schools that are 85k/year. Am I missing something though??

There are a few schools that require you to fill out Fafsa or css in order to get merit. I have 3 kids, none of the 30+ schools they applied to required fafsa to get merit.

Only reason someone in your situation might want to fill it out is in case your situation chances drastically for some reasons. However, with those assets, it's not likely to make a difference (ie. going to zero income wouldn't change much, they'd still expect you to drain the assets before getting FA).

No, if they fill it out their children get access to the federal unsubsidized loans which start at $5500 a year for about $26,000 total. Both of my children took those out. We received no merit and no financial aid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like how Purdue does things: merit scholarships exist, but every kid largely pays the same tuition no matter how rich or poor their parents just so happen to be. Every kid should have some skin in the game.

Purdue is a public school snd beautifully run by Mitch Daniels

I don't hate the guy, but I live in West Lafayette and know any number of people who would disagree with the "beautifully run" contention. I'd say he's done more good than bad but Purdue has its share of problems, and Mitch probably resigned at the right time. His governing philosophy probably cut what bloat was possible. If he stayed on, it would probably be at the expense of the education Purdue is able to provide.

My kid goes to Purdue and I am delighted by the value as compared other state schools we were looking at. Mitch Daniels ran a tight ship, the value is unmistakable. It has the same challenges as most other large state schools- but overall I am impressed. My son didn't even have any of those giant freshman lecture type courses, everything was pretty reasonable in size. I will say they are struggling with housing. Too many kids were accepted and they ran out of room, it's a bit Hunger Games in that regard. All that said, with inflation they will have to raise tuition at this point (frozen for 11 years!) but I am betting it will still be a bargain. Those tuition payments come up fast, it's incredible to think of the money we all spend for essentially 15 weeks of classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, that seems high to me. Our EFC I think was around 110K and we have adjusted income of around 500K and assets in the 3-4M range.

The EFC seems low
Does 3-4 million include retirement and primary home
I am the PP with EFC 233k for lower income and asset (300k and 2 million)

Does not include home but yes on retirement, so I guess those were excluded - so if its just cash maybe 2m. We also have multiple younger kids so maybe they factor that into it.