GIANT EFC Forum

[az21833]

just filled out fafsa. a couple questions. i included parent info because some schools require it on fafsa (boalt) so i figured just do it for all. my efc was over 40K (!!!), but i also make over 115k myself. I will not be working past June though and my income will be 0 in law school obviously.

-- did including my parents info drive my EFC up or was this not considered because I am a independent? if i go back and remove it, will my efc decrease?

-- what exactly are the ramifications of this? I understand im not getting any need based aid and expected this to be the case. That being said, i do NOT have 120K to put towards law school (or anywhere near that amount). Am I really only going to be able to borrow 10K a year? if so, i guess law schools not my destination after all...

thank you TLS.

[Renzo]

EFC doesn't mean much of anything. It will mean that you likely won't qualify for the minimal amount of subsidized loans available, and will have to take 100% unsubsidized loans.

[Ludo!]

Yeah it's not a big deal. Didn't they stop offering subsidized loans for law school anyway?

[rinkrat19]

It probably is based on your own current income. FAFSA makes no allowance for the fact that most students with working income will be losing that income as soon as they start school. (Retarded, but true.) Next year you'll look as poor as anyone else (barring savings, of course).

You'll get the same loans that everyone else gets: the max Stafford Unsubsidized and Grad+ to cover the rest. There aren't any subsidized loans for grad school anyway.

[rinkrat19]

Yeah it's not a big deal. Didn't they stop offering subsidized loans for law school anyway?

Yup.

[az21833]

It probably is based on your own current income. FAFSA makes no allowance for the fact that most students with working income will be losing that income as soon as they start school. (Retarded, but true.) Next year you'll look as poor as anyone else (barring savings, of course).

You'll get the same loans that everyone else gets: the max Stafford Unsubsidized and Grad+ to cover the rest. There aren't any subsidized loans for grad school anyway.

I thought i read somewhere that your max loans = COA-Merit $$$-EFC? What you wrote suggests the EFC is meaningless and everybody gets 20.5k of unsubsidized Stafford loans and up to COA in GradPLUS. Which is correct?

[ManOfTheMinute]

Jeeeez, what do you do for a living that you make that bank only 2 years out of college? I definitely picked the wrong career. YOU are the big deal.

But yeah, they re-do it each year, although you will still not get as good of a financial aid package as someone who only ever made $40K a year, as they expected you to have saved something.

[az21833]

Jeeeez, what do you do for a living that you make that bank only 2 years out of college? I definitely picked the wrong career. YOU are the big deal.

But yeah, they re-do it each year, although you will still not get as good of a financial aid package as someone who only ever made $40K a year, as they expected you to have saved something.

im not expecting ANY need-based aid to be honest.... I primarily meant to ask if this is going to impact my ability to borrow full COA? ie will they have a line that says EFC and then net that out from the available loans?

[Ludo!]

Jeeeez, what do you do for a living that you make that bank only 2 years out of college? I definitely picked the wrong career. YOU are the big deal.

But yeah, they re-do it each year, although you will still not get as good of a financial aid package as someone who only ever made $40K a year, as they expected you to have saved something.

im not expecting ANY need-based aid to be honest.... I primarily meant to ask if this is going to impact my ability to borrow full COA? ie will they have a line that says EFC and then net that out from the available loans?

No it won't have any effect at all. What rinkrat said was correct. Whoever told you something different was wrong

[rinkrat19]

It probably is based on your own current income. FAFSA makes no allowance for the fact that most students with working income will be losing that income as soon as they start school. (Retarded, but true.) Next year you'll look as poor as anyone else (barring savings, of course).

You'll get the same loans that everyone else gets: the max Stafford Unsubsidized and Grad+ to cover the rest. There aren't any subsidized loans for grad school anyway.

I thought i read somewhere that your max loans = COA-Merit $$$-EFC? What you wrote suggests the EFC is meaningless and everybody gets 20.5k of unsubsidized Stafford loans and up to COA in GradPLUS. Which is correct?

Where income would make a difference is in getting aid for undergrad, where the Feds DO give grants and subsidized loans. For grad school, everyone is in pretty much the same boat.

[az21833]

It probably is based on your own current income. FAFSA makes no allowance for the fact that most students with working income will be losing that income as soon as they start school. (Retarded, but true.) Next year you'll look as poor as anyone else (barring savings, of course).

You'll get the same loans that everyone else gets: the max Stafford Unsubsidized and Grad+ to cover the rest. There aren't any subsidized loans for grad school anyway.

I thought i read somewhere that your max loans = COA-Merit $$$-EFC? What you wrote suggests the EFC is meaningless and everybody gets 20.5k of unsubsidized Stafford loans and up to COA in GradPLUS. Which is correct?

Where income would make a difference is in getting aid for undergrad, where the Feds DO give grants and subsidized loans. For grad school, everyone is in pretty much the same boat.

got it that makes sense. and anybody can obtain unsubsidized gradPLUS loans up to COA regardless of EFC/income considerations? so it really ONLY matters for considerations of need-based grants, which only largely exist at HYS.