Student income on Fafsa?

[Trisphorin]

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Would my income (student) on fafsa makes a difference in my financial aid package? I made less than 10k during the gap year from working part-time. my parent accountant filed 1040 form for my income. Do i have to report it on fafsa? and if i do, would that lower my financial package? i spent most of it on traveling to interviews and virtually none left. 🙁

 

[sinombre]

I think most "need-based" aid has more to do with your parental income (which is ridiculous). The fact that you made less than the poverty line won't adversely affect your financial aid package.

 

[BABSstudent]

Would my income (student) on fafsa makes a difference in my financial aid package? I made less than 10k during the gap year from working part-time. my parent accountant filed 1040 form for my income. Do i have to report it on fafsa? and if i do, would that lower my financial package? i spent most of it on traveling to interviews and virtually none left. 🙁

Of course you have to report your income. You enter the same exact information you put on your taxes.

Will it make a difference? Probably not. You still made under the poverty line.

 

[anguisette]

Disclosure: not a tax person or financial aid expert by any means, but I did a ton of research while filling out my FAFSA.

Would my income (student) on fafsa makes a difference in my financial aid package? I made less than 10k during the gap year from working part-time. my parent accountant filed 1040 form for my income. Do i have to report it on fafsa? and if i do, would that lower my financial package? i spent most of it on traveling to interviews and virtually none left. 🙁

Yes, it would make a difference in your EFC. Yes, you have to report it. It might lower your financial package depending on how your school looks at the EFC, but if it does, probably not by much. Was it a 1040 or a 1040a/1040ez? I think that distinction makes a pretty big difference in your EFC calculation on the FAFSA.

I think most "need-based" aid has more to do with your parental income (which is ridiculous). The fact that you made less than the poverty line won't adversely affect your financial aid package.

Hrm, I guess I don't know how schools consider "need-based" aid exactly. If they somehow base it off the EFC from FAFSA though, the EFC calculation considers the student's income more than the parents. The parents have a protection amount and then a certain percentage above that gets calculated into the EFC. The student has a higher percentage that gets taken into account. It's just that usually students have less income overall so it might seem like the parents income hurts the EFC value more. So in other words, bonds, stocks, savings, investments etc.. in your parents name generally doesn't increase the EFC as much as it would if it was under your name.

 

[sinombre]

Hrm, I guess I don't know how schools consider "need-based" aid exactly. If they somehow base it off the EFC from FAFSA though, the EFC calculation considers the student's income more than the parents. The parents have a protection amount and then a certain percentage above that gets calculated into the EFC. The student has a higher percentage that gets taken into account. It's just that usually students have less income overall so it might seem like the parents income hurts the EFC value more. So in other words, bonds, stocks, savings, investments etc.. in your parents name generally doesn't increase the EFC as much as it would if it was under your name.

Hmm... Interesting. So if one applicant has parents that make about 100k but the student is independent with a 35k salary, and another applicant has parents that make 100k but financially support that applicant, the second applicant would have an EFC advantage? This is why this system is so frustrating--they don't take into account financial independence (their "dependent" vs "independent" classification is meaningless).

Sigh. I have pretty severe FAFSA baggage from undergrad (if it isn't painfully obvious)

 

[anguisette]

Hmm... Interesting. So if one applicant has parents that make about 100k but the student is independent with a 35k salary, and another applicant has parents that make 100k but financially support that applicant, the second applicant would have an EFC advantage? This is why this system is so frustrating--they don't take into account financial independence (their "dependent" vs "independent" classification is meaningless).

Sigh. I have pretty severe FAFSA baggage from undergrad (if it isn't painfully obvious)

If I understand the EFC calculations correctly, then yes. It's not like you can police who financially supports you anyways, and need-based aid needs to be calculated using something. Otherwise beyond the first year, everybody would have 0 income and there's no way to distinguish who likely needs the aid more and who doesn't. An applicant with parents that have no income but grandparents that financially support the applicant would have an even greater EFC advantage .

 

[sinombre]

If I understand the EFC calculations correctly, then yes. It's not like you can police who financially supports you anyways, and need-based aid needs to be calculated using something. Otherwise beyond the first year, everybody would have 0 income and there's no way to distinguish who likely needs the aid more and who doesn't. An applicant with parents that have no income but grandparents that financially support the applicant would have an even greater EFC advantage .

Yeah, I understand the rationale. It's just a shame how many people slip through the cracks because of it.

Also, interesting point with the grandparent thing... lol