New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

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orthros
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New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by orthros »

Hi, I'm interested in anyone with expertise on the changes to Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with respect to the college FAFSA college going forward.

-------------------

What I've learned so far

1) The EFC name is eventually changing to Student Aid Index (SAI) which I believe is much more accurate than the implication that the EFC is all you need to pony up - my experiences prove this is definitely not the case. Supposedly the change from EFC --> SAI will take place between now and 2025 in phases.

2) One rule change that won't be relevant to most of us here but is big new to lower income families: An automatic $0 EFC for families whose parents' income is below 175% of the poverty line for their family size. Definitely will clear a lot of red tape for low income Bogleheads though. This means full Pell Grant support of about $6,500 for those families.

3) [Not confirmed]: the amount of income protection is increasing ~20% for parents' income and ~35% for students'. This could help by a few thousand dollars a year around the edges. Right now a household size of 5 with 1 student in college protects around $35K of parental income and $7K of student. That would increase to around $42K and $9,500 respectively.

4) [Not confirmed]: Cash support (untaxed income) is no longer on the FAFSA. This is huge - grandparent-led 529s and gifts would no longer be a major increase to EFC/SAI.

5) [Not confirmed]: All assets are eliminated from consideration for parents making less than $60,000 per year (previously $50,000)

Also not confirmed is whether these changes take place for the FAFSA next month (2022-23 student year) or 2023-24.

------------------

I created a calculator based on past years calculations and would like to recreate it for 2022-23 and beyond so any input is helpful.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by cshell2 »

It definitely does not take place for FAFSA opening next month. The EFC Formula has been out for a month for that already and it is very similar to last year. It was SUPPOSED to go into effect next year, but now they are saying it will be phased in over several years and as of right now we don't know which aspects will go into effect when.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by orthros »

cshell2 wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:19 am It definitely does not take place for FAFSA opening next month. The EFC Formula has been out for a month for that already and it is very similar to last year. It was SUPPOSED to go into effect next year, but now they are saying it will be phased in over several years and as of right now we don't know which aspects will go into effect when.
If true, then the income cut off for parents with dependent students, for asset-free consideration, is $50,000, and the student income protection allowance is just over $7,000 ($7,040 is what I'm seeing).

Annoying if they don't know when they're going to implement the changes to the formulations but I guess it is what it is. It'd be nice to tell my lower-income friends that if they make, say, < $60K they can count on having a $0 EFC/SAI and full Pell Grant when deciding if they can afford to send their kid to college.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by cshell2 »

Here is the EFC Formula for 2022-2023

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/defaul ... aGuide.pdf

Simplified needs cut off is $49,999 and Auto-Zero is $27,000
AnEngineer
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by AnEngineer »

SAI does not adjust based on the number of students in college. So if you're paying $X/year for one kid, expect to pay $2X/year for two kids at a time.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by secondcor521 »

AnEngineer wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:43 am SAI does not adjust based on the number of students in college. So if you're paying $X/year for one kid, expect to pay $2X/year for two kids at a time.
True, but this is one of the changes which I believe is not going to be implemented in the upcoming (10/2021) FAFSA cycle. The linked 2022/2023 FAFSA document up-thread supports this - there's still the "divide by number of kids in college" in the worksheets (see page 9 item 27 for example).
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by anders37 »

It's important to note that to get the "Auto 0 EFC," the family needs to have a 2020 AGI of $27K or lower (for college year '22/23) and someone in the household needs to have been on one of the Federal means-tested programs like SNAP, Medicaid, etc. So merely managing your AGI to whatever number in your evaluation year is not enough to get the Auto 0 EFC and (soon to be called "SAI") and the accompanying PELL.

ETA: For school year '23/24 (based on tax year 2021) and beyond, my understanding is that in addition to having family AGI below 175% of the Federal Poverty Level, someone in the family will STILL need to be receiving one of the means-tested federal benefits.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by teen persuasion »

anders37 wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:51 pm It's important to note that to get the "Auto 0 EFC," the family needs to have a 2020 AGI of $27K or lower (for college year '22/23) and someone in the household needs to have been on one of the Federal means-tested programs like SNAP, Medicaid, etc. So merely managing your AGI to whatever number in your evaluation year is not enough to get the Auto 0 EFC and (soon to be called "SAI") and the accompanying PELL.

ETA: For school year '23/24 (based on tax year 2021) and beyond, my understanding is that in addition to having family AGI below 175% of the Federal Poverty Level, someone in the family will STILL need to be receiving one of the means-tested federal benefits.
OR

Parents file 1040 but not schedule 1 (with a laundry list of exceptions)

OR

Parent is a dislocated worker
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by Cali4en »

teen persuasion wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:04 pm
anders37 wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:51 pm It's important to note that to get the "Auto 0 EFC," the family needs to have a 2020 AGI of $27K or lower (for college year '22/23) and someone in the household needs to have been on one of the Federal means-tested programs like SNAP, Medicaid, etc. So merely managing your AGI to whatever number in your evaluation year is not enough to get the Auto 0 EFC and (soon to be called "SAI") and the accompanying PELL.

ETA: For school year '23/24 (based on tax year 2021) and beyond, my understanding is that in addition to having family AGI below 175% of the Federal Poverty Level, someone in the family will STILL need to be receiving one of the means-tested federal benefits.
OR

Parents file 1040 but not schedule 1 (with a laundry list of exceptions)

OR

Parent is a dislocated worker
The actual bill text makes it seem as if the AGI/FPL test is independent from the additional criteria of the old AGI auto zero and SNT system, which still exists in adjusted form separate from the new AGI/FPL rule.

Here is the full-text of the bill- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BIL ... 133enr.pdf

Max pell calculation by AGI/FPL is mid-page on page 2011.

Auto-zero SAI for auto-max Pell recipients is bottom of page 1959.

No asset testing for auto-max Pell recipients is near the top of page 1972.

It's a cascade. AGI/FPL --> Max Pell --> auto-zero SAI --> no asset testing.

If you meet the auto-max test using your AGI and the relevant FPL, then how you file should make no difference. The new auto-max rule bypasses/overrides a lot of the normal calculations and rules. It's like being able to skip tax schedules that others have to fill out by default.

I believe the goal with the new FPL path is to create Lamar Alexander's dream of a postcard FAFSA, but only for anyone who is under the FPL cliffs. The online FAFSA will pull the AGI and family size directly from the IRS and anyone under the FPL cliffs will not even be presented with most of the FAFSA form.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by Vulcan »

Colleges giving out significant amounts of their own money as institutional gift aid rely on CSS Profile for data collection and use their own proprietary formulas for to arrive at the grant amount.

So I would argue that FAFSA numbers are mostly consequential for those to whom (very limited) federal aid is a major consideration.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by mnnice »

orthros wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:32 am
cshell2 wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:19 am It definitely does not take place for FAFSA opening next month. The EFC Formula has been out for a month for that already and it is very similar to last year. It was SUPPOSED to go into effect next year, but now they are saying it will be phased in over several years and as of right now we don't know which aspects will go into effect when.
If true, then the income cut off for parents with dependent students, for asset-free consideration, is $50,000, and the student income protection allowance is just over $7,000 ($7,040 is what I'm seeing).

Annoying if they don't know when they're going to implement the changes to the formulations but I guess it is what it is. It'd be nice to tell my lower-income friends that if they make, say, < $60K they can count on having a $0 EFC/SAI and full Pell Grant when deciding if they can afford to send their kid to college.
I am not sure that the EFC/SAI will be zero just because you made under the 60k. It means that you are not required to document assets which is handy for the currently retired set.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by Cali4en »

Vulcan wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 10:58 am Colleges giving out significant amounts of their own money as institutional gift aid rely on CSS Profile for data collection and use their own proprietary formulas for to arrive at the grant amount.

So I would argue that FAFSA numbers are mostly consequential for those to whom (very limited) federal aid is a major consideration.
That is true, but only about 250 schools with four year programs in America use CSS and FAFSA together, whereas about five times use FAFSA exclusively. So CSS is vitally important for a subset of schools, but not for most, including the overwhelming majority of all public schools.

Also, many states and FAFSA schools offer matching funds for low EFC/SAI students. For example, UTA here in Austin offers pretty much a full ride to highly qualified FAFSA kids due to matching funds from the State of Texas, UT, and Dell. So a good FAFSA score means close to free college at UT-Austin, which is a fine school. Just one example.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by orthros »

Reviving this thread in case anyone has new info. I'm guessing things have changed.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by teen persuasion »

DH got an email that FAFSA filing is delayed to hopefully Dec 1 this year. They implied everything would *finally* be implemented.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by cshell2 »

orthros wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:04 am Reviving this thread in case anyone has new info. I'm guessing things have changed.
The formula has been published for about a year now, so it's all pretty set, but I imagine implementing the software changes is what's holding things up. Last I heard 12/23 is the targeted release date.

Here's the formula:

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/defaul ... yGuide.pdf

Pell chart (much higher eligibility incomes as it's now based on family size and FPL

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/defaul ... source.pdf

Calculator using new formula:

https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/es ... nformation
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by AllMostThere »

I ran the calculator, but was surprised it did not ask for number of children in college. SAI output was high with some loans + work study, so I assume it's due to our large 529's for two children and our emergency fund. Am I correct in assuming there is no consideration for number of children in college? Come next fall, I will have two children in college, so will the SAI be same for each???
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by dmon »

AllMostThere wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 4:29 pm I ran the calculator, but was surprised it did not ask for number of children in college. SAI output was high with some loans + work study, so I assume it's due to our large 529's for two children and our emergency fund. Am I correct in assuming there is no consideration for number of children in college? Come next fall, I will have two children in college, so will the SAI be same for each???
I don't know if this helps, but yesterday, I received a statement from the financial aid department of my daughter's college that addressed the changes to FAFSA. Regarding siblings, this is what the department stated: "The FAFSA® will continue to ask if the applicant will have a sibling enrolled in college in 2024-25, but it will no longer factor that information into federal aid eligibility."

The college then stated that "[it] will still consider siblings in college, as we always have, when calculating your family’s contribution."
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by secondcor521 »

AllMostThere wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 4:29 pm I ran the calculator, but was surprised it did not ask for number of children in college. SAI output was high with some loans + work study, so I assume it's due to our large 529's for two children and our emergency fund. Am I correct in assuming there is no consideration for number of children in college? Come next fall, I will have two children in college, so will the SAI be same for each???
The old FAFSA formula essentially divided the EFC by the number of kids in college. The new FAFSA no longer does, so families like yours (and mine, but my kids are past FAFSA now) no longer get any break for multiple kids in college. It's one of the more notable changes in the FAFSA aid formula IMHO.

Your SAI for each kid is still a combination of your parental finances (assets and income) and your kids' finances (assets and income). So although your parental finances will be the same for your two kids, the kids' finances could be different. How much of a difference this would make to your SAI for each kid would depend on the specifics.

The post above mine seems to distinguish between federal aid (such as Pell Grants), and institutional aid (what aid the school provides in terms of scholarships, discounts, grants, etc.). Pell Grant amounts are a function of the school cost and the SAI; institutional aid is whatever the school decides to do. That makes sense to me.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by cshell2 »

AllMostThere wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 4:29 pm I ran the calculator, but was surprised it did not ask for number of children in college. SAI output was high with some loans + work study, so I assume it's due to our large 529's for two children and our emergency fund. Am I correct in assuming there is no consideration for number of children in college? Come next fall, I will have two children in college, so will the SAI be same for each???
No. The new formula does not consider number of dependents in college, but it does consider family size in general for determining Pell eligibility, which it didn't before. Now max Pell grant eligibility is a multiple of the federal poverty level for your family size. Before it didn't matter if you had one kid or 10.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by AllMostThere »

secondcor521 wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:11 pm Your SAI for each kid is still a combination of your parental finances (assets and income) and your kids' finances (assets and income). So although your parental finances will be the same for your two kids, the kids' finances could be different. How much of a difference this would make to your SAI for each kid would depend on the specifics.
In looking at the SAI calculation it appears to use 12% for "Asset Conversion Rate" when calculating SAI. As there is no adjustment for multiple kids it would appear that in my case for 2 kids in college the Asset Conversion Rate will be 2X12% = 24%. Am I missing something or is this telling me that 24% of my assets can be used for one year of college costs? Someone who saves like a typical BH'r appears to get the squeeze :shock: :oops:
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by secondcor521 »

AllMostThere wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 9:29 am
secondcor521 wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:11 pm Your SAI for each kid is still a combination of your parental finances (assets and income) and your kids' finances (assets and income). So although your parental finances will be the same for your two kids, the kids' finances could be different. How much of a difference this would make to your SAI for each kid would depend on the specifics.
In looking at the SAI calculation it appears to use 12% for "Asset Conversion Rate" when calculating SAI. As there is no adjustment for multiple kids it would appear that in my case for 2 kids in college the Asset Conversion Rate will be 2X12% = 24%. Am I missing something or is this telling me that 24% of my assets can be used for one year of college costs? Someone who saves like a typical BH'r appears to get the squeeze :shock: :oops:
I am cautious about trying to present conclusions about the SAI formula - it's complicated and there are lots of moving parts. Not to mention that my kids are now post-FAFSA so I'm no longer invested in understanding the formula.

That being said, I think you're right in that it's 24% of some of your assets. There are, I'm pretty sure, steps before that asset conversion rate step where some of your assets get excluded from consideration. Also, there are several ways to not have to report assets at all - the FAFSA simplification term to search for is "exempt from asset reporting".

And yeah, there is a certain amount of moral hazard that FAFSA induces.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by LeftCoastIV »

Going through the calculator right now. We will get zero aid (ignoring loans and work study, which is not aid in my view), as expected, and I do wonder what the purpose is of completing the FAFSA form and sending it to a school if that is the output. My understanding is that some colleges require you to submit the FAFSA before they will consider you for merit-based scholarships.

Perhaps I'm cynical, but wouldn't submitting a high SAI/EFC send a message to the colleges that you don't really "need" a merit scholarship? I expect the schools will still offer merit aid to students that they think will enhance their school community or rankings, but it feels like a liability for me to submit the FAFSA.

Or perhaps submitting a high FAFSA tells the college that my kid will be a "full pay" student, and increase their chances of admission, albeit with no aid (setting aside "need blind" schools that theoretically don't look at ability to pay during admission).
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by secondcor521 »

LeftCoastIV wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 11:12 am Perhaps I'm cynical, but wouldn't submitting a high SAI/EFC send a message to the colleges that you don't really "need" a merit scholarship? I expect the schools will still offer merit aid to students that they think will enhance their school community or rankings, but it feels like a liability for me to submit the FAFSA.

Or perhaps submitting a high FAFSA tells the college that my kid will be a "full pay" student, and increase their chances of admission, albeit with no aid (setting aside "need blind" schools that theoretically don't look at ability to pay during admission).
Pure merit scholarships should not be affected. My impression is that schools do a good job of data filtering - if it's a pure merit scholarship, the committee will just get the transcript and other application materials and not even see or be aware of the FAFSA results. There are (many?) scholarships that are both merit- and need-based, and if you don't have demonstrated need, your kid is (a lot?) less likely to get those.

Apparently most schools are no longer needs-blind, so if you don't submit a FAFSA or submit one that shows a high SAI, then yes, your chances of getting admitted improve. A similar phenomenon occurs for state schools accepting out of state students at a higher tuition. Most schools outside the very top ones must balance their desires for composing a great student body with their need to remain financially viable.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by LeftCoastIV »

secondcor521 wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 11:21 am
LeftCoastIV wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 11:12 am Perhaps I'm cynical, but wouldn't submitting a high SAI/EFC send a message to the colleges that you don't really "need" a merit scholarship? I expect the schools will still offer merit aid to students that they think will enhance their school community or rankings, but it feels like a liability for me to submit the FAFSA.

Or perhaps submitting a high FAFSA tells the college that my kid will be a "full pay" student, and increase their chances of admission, albeit with no aid (setting aside "need blind" schools that theoretically don't look at ability to pay during admission).
Pure merit scholarships should not be affected. My impression is that schools do a good job of data filtering - if it's a pure merit scholarship, the committee will just get the transcript and other application materials and not even see or be aware of the FAFSA results. There are (many?) scholarships that are both merit- and need-based, and if you don't have demonstrated need, your kid is (a lot?) less likely to get those.

Apparently most schools are no longer needs-blind, so if you don't submit a FAFSA or submit one that shows a high SAI, then yes, your chances of getting admitted improve. A similar phenomenon occurs for state schools accepting out of state students at a higher tuition. Most schools outside the very top ones must balance their desires for composing a great student body with their need to remain financially viable.
Thanks. In the Common App, schools can ask if you plan to apply for financial aid (yes or no). I thought that was interesting, and suggests that somewhere in the admissions process, there is a "This kid won't deplete our need-based aid budget" flag for schools that ask this question.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by cchrissyy »

LeftCoastIV wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 11:12 am Going through the calculator right now. We will get zero aid (ignoring loans and work study, which is not aid in my view), as expected, and I do wonder what the purpose is of completing the FAFSA form and sending it to a school if that is the output. My understanding is that some colleges require you to submit the FAFSA before they will consider you for merit-based scholarships.

Perhaps I'm cynical, but wouldn't submitting a high SAI/EFC send a message to the colleges that you don't really "need" a merit scholarship? I expect the schools will still offer merit aid to students that they think will enhance their school community or rankings, but it feels like a liability for me to submit the FAFSA.

Or perhaps submitting a high FAFSA tells the college that my kid will be a "full pay" student, and increase their chances of admission, albeit with no aid (setting aside "need blind" schools that theoretically don't look at ability to pay during admission).
i'm no expert on these questions but can report that i did not fill out the fafsa and my student received merit aid from many schools. the numbers came at the same time as the initial offer of admission. some of them included letters encouraging to submit a fafsa so that more aid might be found. but nobody required it. this example is from only about 6 months ago.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by Alfonsia »

LeftCoastIV wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 11:12 am Going through the calculator right now. We will get zero aid (ignoring loans and work study, which is not aid in my view), as expected, and I do wonder what the purpose is of completing the FAFSA form and sending it to a school if that is the output. My understanding is that some colleges require you to submit the FAFSA before they will consider you for merit-based scholarships.

Perhaps I'm cynical, but wouldn't submitting a high SAI/EFC send a message to the colleges that you don't really "need" a merit scholarship? I expect the schools will still offer merit aid to students that they think will enhance their school community or rankings, but it feels like a liability for me to submit the FAFSA.

Or perhaps submitting a high FAFSA tells the college that my kid will be a "full pay" student, and increase their chances of admission, albeit with no aid (setting aside "need blind" schools that theoretically don't look at ability to pay during admission).
We didn't do fafsa for 2/3 (state) schools, you don't have to. Some schools will tie it to merit aid and I see that merely as a data grab, but if they are giving us $Ks then I was OK with that. One school didn't need fafsa for even auto merit $$, but that has changed now, that school wants FAFSA data for anything. The merit options when my kids were applying were clearly defined based on stats and possible time sensitive , not decided post application.
Of course being full pay is an edge at most schools. The worst part of the fafsa situation for us was how the HS pushed it and told the kids there was money, and had FAFSA filling out sessions in school LOL. My kids had a study period. I think the message is make sure your kid knows about $$ by junior year.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by LeftCoastIV »

Alfonsia wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 1:21 pm
LeftCoastIV wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 11:12 am Going through the calculator right now. We will get zero aid (ignoring loans and work study, which is not aid in my view), as expected, and I do wonder what the purpose is of completing the FAFSA form and sending it to a school if that is the output. My understanding is that some colleges require you to submit the FAFSA before they will consider you for merit-based scholarships.

Perhaps I'm cynical, but wouldn't submitting a high SAI/EFC send a message to the colleges that you don't really "need" a merit scholarship? I expect the schools will still offer merit aid to students that they think will enhance their school community or rankings, but it feels like a liability for me to submit the FAFSA.

Or perhaps submitting a high FAFSA tells the college that my kid will be a "full pay" student, and increase their chances of admission, albeit with no aid (setting aside "need blind" schools that theoretically don't look at ability to pay during admission).
We didn't do fafsa for 2/3 (state) schools, you don't have to. Some schools will tie it to merit aid and I see that merely as a data grab, but if they are giving us $Ks then I was OK with that. One school didn't need fafsa for even auto merit $$, but that has changed now, that school wants FAFSA data for anything. The merit options when my kids were applying were clearly defined based on stats and possible time sensitive , not decided post application.
Of course being full pay is an edge at most schools. The worst part of the fafsa situation for us was how the HS pushed it and told the kids there was money, and had FAFSA filling out sessions in school LOL. My kids had a study period. I think the message is make sure your kid knows about $$ by junior year.
Thanks. I agree on the data grab aspect. If merit is truly merit, then FAFSA is irrelevant. I realize that's a bit naive, however, as the college is trying to fine-tune their enrollment yield with the highest quality class they can yield within their budget, and presumably need to "guess" if a certain kid's decision is going to be swayed by merit aid (i.e. a discount on tuition) or not.
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by cshell2 »

AllMostThere wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 9:29 am
secondcor521 wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:11 pm Your SAI for each kid is still a combination of your parental finances (assets and income) and your kids' finances (assets and income). So although your parental finances will be the same for your two kids, the kids' finances could be different. How much of a difference this would make to your SAI for each kid would depend on the specifics.
In looking at the SAI calculation it appears to use 12% for "Asset Conversion Rate" when calculating SAI. As there is no adjustment for multiple kids it would appear that in my case for 2 kids in college the Asset Conversion Rate will be 2X12% = 24%. Am I missing something or is this telling me that 24% of my assets can be used for one year of college costs? Someone who saves like a typical BH'r appears to get the squeeze :shock: :oops:
The 12% is the initial amount. It is adjusted again using table A5. The max is 47% of that 12%...so 5.6%.
Nebraska_Drought
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Location: Lincoln, NE

Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by Nebraska_Drought »

I see that they are delaying FAFSA applications until later this year/early next year. In all honesty, how many people on this board actually qualify for anything "need" based? Heck, even my last year of undergrad in which I was married and my wife was in college, we didn't get but $500 Pell money and we were making well under the poverty line. I lost all faith in what Pell grants were intended to be doing at that time. For my son, all of his aid was merit based, never filled out the FAFSA. My daughter is on a full NCAA athletic scholarship at a D-1 school and it is required, even though they know it will not be used to direct any aid her way. IMO, it is a big data grab.
maddogio
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by maddogio »

It's easy to forget that this forum is not representative of the country as a whole.

At the university where I work nearly 40% of students receive Pell grants.
cshell2
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by cshell2 »

Nebraska_Drought wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 3:22 pm My daughter is on a full NCAA athletic scholarship at a D-1 school and it is required, even though they know it will not be used to direct any aid her way. IMO, it is a big data grab.
They just want to make sure you're not leaving any money on the table that could be coming from the feds before handing over their own money.
Alfonsia
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by Alfonsia »

On thing to know though, is that these places are holding your data long term, I had a recent notification of a data breach in 2023 at a university my kid applied to in 2015. They state all that data is breached, including anyone that did FA applications has had their data breached. It affects anyone and everyone from 1989. Students, staff, etc.
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teen persuasion
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Re: New Expected Family Contribution (EFC) laws & collegiate impact

Post by teen persuasion »

Nebraska_Drought wrote: Fri Oct 13, 2023 3:22 pm I see that they are delaying FAFSA applications until later this year/early next year. In all honesty, how many people on this board actually qualify for anything "need" based? Heck, even my last year of undergrad in which I was married and my wife was in college, we didn't get but $500 Pell money and we were making well under the poverty line. I lost all faith in what Pell grants were intended to be doing at that time. For my son, all of his aid was merit based, never filled out the FAFSA. My daughter is on a full NCAA athletic scholarship at a D-1 school and it is required, even though they know it will not be used to direct any aid her way. IMO, it is a big data grab.
<raises hand>
DS5 has full Pell and TAP, plus merit scholarships.

Regarding a previous question about filing FAFSA if you were awarded merit scholarships -- I had a full tuition merit scholarship, but my school required I file FAFSA to see how much of that could be offset by Pell and TAP. Every semester I had to fight with FA/bursars to correct their estimate of my Pell &TAP to get the remainder merit scholarship amount corrected. They always conveniently estimated high for federal/state aid, leaving a gap in my merit scholarship...
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