EFC and Loans

[TxNessie84]

My wife and I made about 42,000 last year and when I entered that into EFC calculators it said that our EFC will be around 11,000.

How will this affect my eligibility for student loans? Can I still take out Stafford Loans(subsidized or unsubsidized) up to the COA or will they reduce my loan amount by my EFC?

I am at UT-Houston if that helps and anyone has personal experience with it there or other Texas schools. Thanks.

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[TMP-SMX]

You can take out the full amount of your COA as long as it is below the maximum stafford limit per year. EFC only determines the maximum amount of subsidized loans you can receive. COA-EFC=Max sub. However, for your case as long as your COA is more than about 20000 (which it will be) you will still be able to get the maximum of 8500 subsidized staffords.

In other words, don't worry about it.

 

[TxNessie84]

You can take out the full amount of your COA as long as it is below the maximum stafford limit per year. EFC only determines the maximum amount of subsidized loans you can receive. COA-EFC=Max sub. However, for your case as long as your COA is more than about 20000 (which it will be) you will still be able to get the maximum of 8500 subsidized staffords.

In other words, don't worry about it.

Thanks, that's good to know.

 

[CorpusERdoc]

My wife and I made about 42,000 last year and when I entered that into EFC calculators it said that our EFC will be around 11,000.

How will this affect my eligibility for student loans? Can I still take out Stafford Loans(subsidized or unsubsidized) up to the COA or will they reduce my loan amount by my EFC?

I am at UT-Houston if that helps and anyone has personal experience with it there or other Texas schools. Thanks.

They will not consider your salary when awarding aid (even though FAFSA does.) Your EFC will be lower than stated.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

They will not consider your salary when awarding aid (even though FAFSA does.) Your EFC will be lower than stated.

This is really not always true. Your EFC is based on data for the past year, and is generally not corrected for new data. It sounds like you have had somewhat unique FA experiences that aren't applicable to most users here.

The good news as mentioned above is that your EFC has very little impact on your aid package.

 

[CorpusERdoc]

This is really not always true. Your EFC is based on data for the past year, and is generally not corrected for new data. It sounds like you have had somewhat unique FA experiences that aren't applicable to most users here.

The good news as mentioned above is that your EFC has very little impact on your aid package.

You're misreading my statement. FAFSA will consider your salary, but the school will not.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

You're misreading my statement. FAFSA will consider your salary, but the school will not.

Not really. My school has always based on my award on what FAFSA tells them. I have fellow students who have gotten less subsidized loans just because their EFC was high enough even though they quit their jobs before going back to school.

Some schools might adjust, but they don't have to, and they aren't guaranteed to. Fortunately, the only people who are likely to be negatively affected by their EFC who people who made very high salaries before going back to school (I'm talking six figures here) and who go to a relatively low cost school.

 

[CorpusERdoc]

Not really. My school has always based on my award on what FAFSA tells them. I have fellow students who have gotten less subsidized loans just because their EFC was high enough even though they quit their jobs before going back to school.

Some schools might adjust, but they don't have to, and they aren't guaranteed to. Fortunately, the only people who are likely to be negatively affected by their EFC who people who made very high salaries before going back to school (I'm talking six figures here) and who go to a relatively low cost school.

That's really unfortunate for students who go to your school. A vast majority of financial aid offices at medical schools realize that medical students will be unemployed when they start. Obviously the salary will no longer be incoming while enrolled.

I'm not sure why your financial aid office is so behind the norm, but this isn't typical.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Are you sure? For staffords all that matter is your FAFSA and therefore last years taxes. A vast majority of individuals can get the full amount of stafford sub/unsub loans. This doesn't really have much relevance unless they are applying for need-based aid.

For example, an individual will still be eligible for the full sub/unsub loan amounts as long as their COA-EFC>8500. For the OP, this would be true as long as the COA is more than 19500.

 

[mikeyforncrook]

So looks like I'm not eliglble for a Pell Grant. I am considering taking out a Stafford Loan or a Perkins loan. My EFC 8175.
Does anyone know how much a messy credit history will impact my ability to get student loans?

 

[CopToEM]

I have fellow students who have gotten less subsidized loans just because their EFC was high enough even though they quit their jobs before going back to school.

They need to go through the professional judgment process. The feds intentionally give out as little as they can, in my opinion, and almost anyone can get additional funding options by asking for a professional judgment to alter their aid status.

 

[CopToEM]

So looks like I'm not eliglble for a Pell Grant. I am considering taking out a Stafford Loan or a Perkins loan. My EFC 8175.
Does anyone know how much a messy credit history will impact my ability to get student loans?

Yea, no Pell grant there, it's a very needs based grant. If you have an exceptional financial situation, such as a very high cost of living on top of a high income, you can ask for a professional judgment as I stated above. For example... even though you make 45,000 a year, if you have significant loan payments, car payments, child care costs, medical bills, etc. these are all things the FAFSA doesn't ask about. By doing a P.J. the school can look at your circumstances and give you additional aid.

In terms of qualifying for federal loans: If you're an independent student (that is, currently 24/yo) then the qualifications include having no current loans/debts 90 days past due and having no bankruptcies or defaults on any federally granted Title IV loan. That basically boils down to... no defaults on student loans.

If neither of those are going against you then you'll be fine.