Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Really, Really High EFC...What Do I Do?
I just finished filling out my FAFSA4Caster form, which is a form that uses the previous year's tax info to create an estimate of your EFC and give you an idea of aid you can receive. My parents make 6 figures, so I knew I wouldn't get a grant, but I nearly had a heart attack when I got back an EFC of just over $39,000!!!!!!!!! That's a lot more than the FAFSA's estimate of the yearly cost of the type of college I want to attend. There is NO WAY we can pay almost 40k a year! We have 2 (maybe 3, I'm not sure) huge mortgages on our house, but no college savings, and I have 2 younger sisters who will be entering college right after I graduate. I'm applying for merit scholarships like crazy, but I was expecting a much smaller EFC, and I'm really worried that anything else I receive won't be enough, or that I'll be disqualified from institutional aid because of a supposed lack of need. Is this a normal EFC for my family's income or do I need to see the actual FAFSA before I panic?
4 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Sadly, it's probably right. The government expects your family to borrow money to send you to college.
There are several things you can do. One is to remember that 'merit' money comes for a lot of reasons, and that colleges with private endowments are often in a better position to give you money than state or smaller schools. Really, if you get into Harvard, they'll figure it out. So don't let your FAFSA cause you to skew your applications towards "safety" schools.
My son got "merit" scholarships that were supposed to honor his school accomplishments in high school but were really thinly disguised hopes he'd do a sport for them. Div 2 or 3 can't 'recruit', but they can flirt. Schools can be the same about playing an instrument, or being from a target group. So keep your grades up and showcase ALL your accomplishments. There's some minor meddling you can do so the EFC doesn't come straight out of your home equity (find a site that will let you run "what ifs",( I think there's a link to one from Arcadia College) and that will do a little, so you can move equity from house to computer or car for the real Fafsa date. But that's minor.
Seriously. I'm impressed that you're taking some responsibility for this. But the important thing is to keep your grades up and find a school that's a good fit. No amount of money will make a bad fit school a good idea. If you can't swing the college you want, financially, you might be able to negotiate a deferred acceptance. Even taking a year of costs off by transferring from a state school or community college could make the debt less, but you're not at that point yet.
Good luck. Chosing a college isn't the end of the world thing we parents always make it feel like. ;o) You'll find a way.
Source(s): Mother of 5, 17 college visits with first child, and counting.;o) - Anonymous1 decade ago
Don't panic. The EFC is just a number the school uses to determine how much and what kinds of financial aid you might qualify for. It is NOT the amount of money you or your folks will have to pay for the school.
If you decide to go to a college that costs less than that they aren't going to make you pay 39,000! That is not was an efc is. An EFC of this amount simply means you will not qualify for federal Pell grants, state grants, federal work study or the Perkins loan program. Your parents will qualify for PLUS loans, and you will qualify for Unsubsidized Stafford loans in your name.
Good luck. There is always a way!
- Anonymous1 decade ago
Yes that's about right. You don't have to pay 39,000, though. Just go to a school that costs less than that.
