College -FAFSA HELP!!!!

[kathy387]

I'm probably making this more difficult than I need to! My daughter is going to a college that will cost about 31,000.00 Yup, she picked out a private school. Our EFC came back from FAFSA as $13856.00. Do they pay the rest? And of this $13856.00, the college is giving her a merit scholarship of $11,000.00 Does this mean that we only have to come up with $2856.00 in addition to the EFC of 13856.00? Please don't flame me about being so dumb about this! This is our first experience with this and the harder I think about it, the more confused I get.

 

[Hedy]

Depends on the school-some do, some don't-check out their aid page-do they "meet the full need of all students?" Do they require the CSS profile? What do they say about the merit scholarship in the fine print of the award letter.
Your best bet might be to call the aid office of DD's future school-they specialize in dealing with anxious parents.
PS-congrats to your DD! Where's she off to?

 

[kathy387]

She'll be attending Sierra Nevada on Lake Tahoe near Reno. She's our first one into college and I'm probably just overthinking everything but I'd like to have a financial picture in mind now so that we know what to expect in August. Then she'll go 5 states away and the real worrying begins!

 

[vandergriff4]

The EFC is the amount the DOE expects that your family can contribute to your daughter's education. If she is getting a merit award for $11000 then yes you will have to come up with the rest. Your daughter will be eligible for $2625 for the Stafford loan and you will need to try for the PLUS loan but that is credit based if for some reason you are denied your daughter will be eligible for an extra $4000 with her Stafford loan. If you are approved for the PLUS then you can borrow up to the cost of attendance of the school. I hope this helps.

 

[disneyfanatic60]

My DD's tuition is $17,000 a year. She has a scholarship in the amount of $6,000 and another for $1,000 year. They deduct "all" scholarships "first." So her tuition is basically $10,000 less the $2625 Stafford Loan, which we are responsible for. Our EFC for FAFSA was over $10,000 (well over). Hope this helps! Good luck.

 

[smartestnumber5]

I'm probably making this more difficult than I need to! My daughter is going to a college that will cost about 31,000.00 Yup, she picked out a private school. Our EFC came back from FAFSA as $13856.00. Do they pay the rest? And of this $13856.00, the college is giving her a merit scholarship of $11,000.00 Does this mean that we only have to come up with $2856.00 in addition to the EFC of 13856.00? Please don't flame me about being so dumb about this! This is our first experience with this and the harder I think about it, the more confused I get.

Only the college can tell you for sure. As far as I know a college which doesn't promise to meet the full need of all admitted students can do anything they want regarding the FASFA--they could ignore it completely.

I think most colleges do take the FASFA seriously though (also, as someone mentioned, many private colleges use the PROFILE too). So my guess about what the school will do is this.

They will say, "Okay the full tuition is $31,000. We're giving you a $11,000 merit scholarship, so before we even look at the FASFA we're going to just subtract that off the full tuition. So now you owe only $20,000. Now let's take a look at the FASFA which says you can afford--$13856. Okay, so you have to pay that much. And what's left over ($20,000 minus $13856 = $6144) will be taken care of in financial aid. Financial aid could be anything from a work study, subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans, and grants. (Usually it's a combination of all of these things).

At least, that is how my college did things. But again, it really depends on the particular college you're dealing with.

 

[kathy387]

smartsetnumber5...this is the breakdown that I was looking for! Thanks to everyone who responded, you guys all helped me to understand it a little better!

 

[TZMOM]

These are EXCELLENT answers. I'll be in the same boat this time next year and will be posting the same threads. Good luck w/your continued financial excursion.

How are you going to deal with the far-away school? We're in NJ and part of the pre-paid college program for Florida (used to live in Clearwater). DS is thinking of going to FSU - I'm trying NOT to cry already (he's my only one and I'm a single parent.) Time to get a cat????

 

[kathy387]

I don't know how I'm going to deal with her being that far away...Wisconsin to Nevada is a pretty drastic change! I don't need a cat yet as I still have a soon to be 16 yr old DD at home! When she leaves the nest too then I'll need something to mother!

 

[snowwite]

I am terrified of this form. It looks harder than taxes. Do I need to complete my taxes before I can fill out the FAFSA?

 

[smartestnumber5]

I am terrified of this form. It looks harder than taxes. Do I need to complete my taxes before I can fill out the FAFSA?

You don't have to have already filed your taxes, but you will need to have a general idea about where things stand regarding "adjusted gross income." I think there is a way to revise a FASFA if you send it in before taxes are due and realize you made a mistake after you do your taxes.

 

[snowwite]

You don't have to have already filed your taxes, but you will need to have a general idea about where things stand regarding "adjusted gross income." I think there is a way to revise a FASFA if you send it in before taxes are due and realize you made a mistake after you do your taxes.

Yeah, but I heard it is wicked hard to make any changes so dont start it until you are prepared. Hopefully I can get it done this weekend.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Just want to say good luck to all of you. DH and I are already "reading things" so we can just get with the terminology. I still have 2 yrs...

All I can say is call the school and they will help you.

 

[TZMOM]

Do any of you know if the custodial parent and other parent need to both have PINS (as well as the student?) I think both of us will need to have a Federal ID PIN so that we can fill in this dreaded form.

 

[kathy387]

We filled it out before taxes. Then we did the Turbo Tax thing and resubmitted the information. Our EFC dropped about $3500.00 because my husband added in something that didn't need to be. It was a nice suprise! You can fill it out ahead of time to get some idea of your EFC and to get into their system but it does need to be corrected with the final information from your taxes.

 

[OhMari]

I don't know how I'm going to deal with her being that far away...Wisconsin to Nevada is a pretty drastic change! I don't need a cat yet as I still have a soon to be 16 yr old DD at home! When she leaves the nest too then I'll need something to mother!

What is she studying that she is going out to Nevada? If it a private college, sometimes they come up with money in their package. Go to her schools website and look up the scholarships. Maybe there will be one that she can apply for. I would do it soon, since most are do in February.

The worst places any child can attend is another states university. Unless the states are recipocol. You get about zero financial aid-no matter how much you make. You may just get $1500 unsubs. loan and work study. My ds did get a Pella Grant this year, but President Bush decided to cut those and my son got about half of what was first stated in his award letter. My ds and dd went to Northern Michigan in Marquette MI. Michigan will not nor has it ever been a recipicol school. But then the price is almost the exact same as my other son who goes to UW-Milwaukee.

I have 1 son done with Taxes and FAFSA, 2 more to go, plus my own taxes.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I am terrified of this form. It looks harder than taxes. Do I need to complete my taxes before I can fill out the FAFSA?

We never get our completed taxes back from the accountant before the FAFSA is due so we use last years taxes with this years income. This is my 4th year doing them and my second year of 2 in college. What a royal pain in the rear.

 

[kathy387]

Hey OhMari! I'm very familiar with Marquette Mich. I was born there {KI Sawer AFB} and still have family there...we have a cottage there down in Gwinn{20 miles south of Marquette}! She did consider Marquette along with Sierra Nevada and a couple in Colorado. I guess she just wants a change of scenery! She'll be studying different sciences...geology, ecology, etc. and with the mountains , Lake Tahoe, and a very small class size, this seemed like the best choice. She will be getting an $11,000.00 trustee merit award to put towards her tuition from the school and she will be applying for work study. She's working pretty steady now when she can. She goes to high school 1/2 day and to the Tech 2 afternoons a week and works about 20 hours a week. It's just going to be different not seeing her everyday. Thank God for cell phones and computers!