Need Access Financial Aid Question

[KB.]

Does anyone know if the estimated family contribution (EFC) of Need Access works out to be about the same as calculated on FAFSA?

Thanks

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[Snoopy]

From my experience they are vastly different. FAFSA calcualtes your EFC based on you as an independent adult. Although you may complete parental informtion on the FAFSA, it is not used to determine your eligibility for federal financial aid. Most schools use Need Access to gather comprehensive financial information about your parents so that they can make decisions about financial need for school-administered funds (loans and grants). Schools are generally very stingy about this kind of aid.

For example, when I completed FAFSA for 1999-2000, I was told my EFC was about $1,400. When I completed Need Access and applied for school aid I was told that my EFC was $14,000. That didn't mean my parents had to contribute that money or that I couldn't borrow that money on my own, just that the school wasn't going to contribute any of its funds to that portion of my budget.

All this financial aid gets complicated, but if you have further questions I'll do my best to answer them. I'm starting 3rd year in July so I'm on my third cycle of completing all of the paperwork.

Good luck!

 

[KB.]

Thanks Snoopy,

Did you also include your family income on FAFSA, or just your personal income?

Mt. Sinai, the school I'm interested in attending, subtracts 17K (sub. loans) and EFC from the cost of attendance - the rest is scholarship or grant. I was recently accepted so I probably won't have my financial aid package by May 15th, which is why I'm trying to do some calculations.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Snoopy]

I put family information on my FAFSA the first two years and then completed Need Access. Check with your school to see if you need to do this, though it won't hurt you to just put it down. As I said, parental information does not affect the EFC calculated by FAFSA. This year I put only my information on FAFSA and did not complete Need Access because my family situation had changed and I knew I wouldn't get any school aid.

Your school sounds similar to mine. My school requires us to take $24,000 in loans. Then they will consider you for school aid, up to the budget of about $46,000, minus your Need Access EFC. Anything you don't get in school aid (which is essentially the Need Access EFC) you can take out in additional unsubsudized Staffords and private loans.