So I come from a blessed family, have no siblings in college, and no extenuating circumstances. Negating differences in cost of living and tuition, will my financial packages still have the possibility of varying (not counting merit scholarships)?
My family is ranked 99999 by Fasfa, will my packages still vary?
- Thread starter Gannador
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Are you sure that that isn't YOUR EFC? That's the one that you get when you fill out Fafsa. My personal EFC is 0. There is a separate EFC for your family's.
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EFC = expected family contribution. Why would you have a "personal" expected family contribution? and a separate "family" expected family contribution? I've never seen multiple EFC's.
What type of varying are you looking for exactly, outside of merit scholarships? if your EFC is 99999, you're not getting need based grants thats for sure.
I was under the impression that EFC was estimated financial contribution.
Regardless, according to WashU and other threads, there is a separate EFC for those who chose to list your families finances as well as your own. I'm just asking to see if I should even "hold out" for financial packages, and simply assume that any differences are going to just be from the overall cost of living/tuition.
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Hold out on the off chance you land some merit money. Many schools haven't given out merit awards yet.
It's definitely expected family contribution. I have no idea what you are talking about with two EFC's. You are part of your family. They can't expect you to contribute two different amounts... because that wouldn't make sense. COA - EFC - scholarships/grants = the max amount of money you can loan.
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Your parents won't pay for med school?
I don't want them to. I'll either take additional loans to cover their contribution, or I'll make sure to put them in a really nice retirement home 😉
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This.Y ou will receive no need-based aid (which is where most aid goes since they dont want to bar poor people from attending). You might get some form of merit aid but otherwise its time to get with the rest of us and be poor. Welcome to our club!
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Just take out a loan through them then. Paying your parents back is way better than paying interest up the butt for the next 30 years.
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To quote the great movie "Soul Man" (which you should rent):
"They say the have money for kids who are poor, not money for kids whose parents are *******s."
Yeah, that's probably what will happen. I was joking about the whole retirement home thing
. Thanks for the answers everyone!
The question is not if they will hook me up or not, the question is if I want them to. Its been very important to me to not be a financial burden on my family during undergrad. It was a big reason why I took the big money instead of going the prestige route, and its why I've worked through my college years.
Anyways, I've gotten what I wanted. Mods, feel free to close this thread.
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I agree with all of this except that last part. I just filled out my FAFSA this morning, and I was under the impression that scholarships and grants could offset EFC - in fact, it pretty much states that EFC is not what you necessarily will have to pay out of your own pocket. So, maybe the calculation should be COA - (EFC - scholarships/grants) = the max amount of money you can loan.
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I think you're right. 🙂
Probably something like (COA after subtracting scholarships/grants) - EFC.
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Yes, this is better. By the way, my husband thinks it's sad that we're even discussing this on a Friday night at 11:30 pm our time, in real time. I remind him that I'm almost 6 months pregnant and can't drink, which is what I'd be doing if I weren't pregnant. He's wondering what everyone else's excuse is.
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I'm holding out on the "guy who only has a 3.4 and a 32 on the MCAT, but hey, I kinda like this kid"-merit based scholarship.
Tell me about it. I want some of that money too!!
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Haha. it's pretty sad. I traveled back home to Portland to see the Blazers play tonight and am worn out from a combination of that, the lack of sleep all week and a busy day. Not really an excuse but there you have it. 😀
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Haha yeah that's my family's.
No way are my parents contributing to my med school tuition (no way I'd want them to either)!
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when is the fafsa due?
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Another note for anyone following this thread:
EFC varies considerably when you are applying to graduate school. My EFC this year is 75% lower than last years, when I applied as an undergrad. Looking back at all the numbers, nothing really had changed, so I assume its because FAFSA now considers you to be independent.
and to love doc- I think it varies from school to school, but I would submit your application now, even for schools that have yet to accept you, that way they have it one file and you dont miss any deadlines.
EFC varies considerably when you are applying to graduate school. My EFC this year is 75% lower than last years, when I applied as an undergrad. Looking back at all the numbers, nothing really had changed, so I assume its because FAFSA now considers you to be independent.
and to love doc- I think it varies from school to school, but I would submit your application now, even for schools that have yet to accept you, that way they have it one file and you dont miss any deadlines.
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When you fill out your FAFSA as a graduate student your parents info will not matter. They only consider your income for the EFC... however many schools will look at what you put in for parents when deciding need-based aid. I have been told leaving it out is optional depending on school (I didn't include any info about my parents)... some look at it and some don't - you should talk to the schools you are applying/accepted to and see if they require it.
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I recommend looking at the fin aid info that schools give out at the interview. It will probably say whether parental info is required for the fafsa. Most med schools only require your personal info on the fafsa since parental info doesn't matter for federal loans. There is usually a separate application to get need-based aid through the individual med school, where parental info is required.
I'm in the same boat as you Gannador. I haven't even bothered to see what my expected family contribution would be because I know it would be well over the cost of medical school and I would get no need-based aid.
What I suggest to you, which is what my parents have suggested to me, is be happy you are blessed and just know that when you are an adult with a family that you may be in the same position as your parents, and you can do the same for your kids.
My grandfather paid my father's way through schooling, and to honor that he is doing that for me (Though I may "loan" from him and pay him back interest free or something). I know when I'm an adult I will provide my children with a similar education (as well as support my parents if they ever need it).
I really don't like to try to get need-based (or really even merit-based) because I feel there are many people out there far less lucky who need it a lot more. As much as I would like to not use my parent's money, many people don't have that option and I would rather the money go to them.
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So if my EFC says "00000" that's a good thing right?
Ya it means you are expected to contribute 0 dollars to your education 🙂
However, if that is on the FAFSA that doesn't mean your family's contributions are zero. We are all independents on the FAFSA since we are pursuing graduate education. Each school will ask for your family's income, and will decide based on that.
So like my EFC is zero, even though no school will give me money because of my parents.
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But do many schools ask for additional information? Only one of my schools has an application separate from the FAFSA. Or is it just that the schools take into account the parental stuff you report on the FAFSA?
By the way, WHEW, I have 00000 dollars to contribute to my education so it's a good thing they aren't expecting more than that!
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so that EFC score is only mine. Damn, student researcher is a pretty lucrative business. Are they going to realize I am not going to be making any money next year since I will be at their school? Sure hope so😳
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Merit no effect, need-based, effect.
I thought most schools had a form outside the FAFSA...
For those that don't...I don't know if they take into account your parents income...if they do I don't know how they would. On the FAFSA you aren't required to input their income because you aren't listed as a dependent...so they would need to get your parent's info from something else if they wanted it.
To be honest this year is the first time I've ever filled out the FAFSA...I never bothered in undergrad because I knew I was a dependent of my parents and I knew I would get nothing because of that. Though, I never wanted anything because I would rather it go to people who really need it.
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Lots of schools require you to fill out parental info on FAFSA do be considered for certain kinds of need-based school aid. Others have a separate form.
You aren't required to put the parental info on FAFSA for the federal loans, but a school can have different requirements. And if the answer to "what if i don't?" is "then we won't consider you for these additional money pots" lots of people will do it even if it's not officially required on FAFSA's instructions.
