What is a good/bad EFC?

[thescreed]

I thought the FAFSA asks about the value of property.  I could be wrong on this one, though.

It specifically tells you to exclude the value of the home that is your primary residence. I expect that only a small percentage of UG and grad students are homeowners, so it probably doesn't come up all that much.

[Typhoon Longwang]

If you have 100K sitting in your bank account, your EFC in the following year will be hosed.  I spent down some money and in lower levels the EFC moves up or down almost 1-1 for every dollar you have on hand (cash, bank, etc).

[snikrep]

So for people who are fortunate enough to have a fair amount from a housing market (e.g. $100k+) - is there any way to earmark that money as destined for the primary residence, or do they force you to spend that on law school (which I'm guessing would ruin any semblence of aid)?

I wonder if there'd be any financial sense to dumping all that money back into a local house to qualify for more aid?  Seems kind of sneaky, any accountants/financial gurus who could say whether this would be a dumb idea?

[thescreed]

I wonder if there'd be any financial sense to dumping all that money back into a local house to qualify for more aid?  Seems kind of sneaky, any accountants/financial gurus who could say whether this would be a dumb idea?

I don't think there is anything sneaky at all about having a place to live while in law school.  The FAFSA doesn't count it against you, though I think some schools make you report the equity you have in your home (and could borrow against) as an asset.

Under my best case scenario, it won't make a difference to me because there is no way we could afford to pay a half million bucks for a tiny condo without my income. (Best case being Palo Alto.)  However, if we end up in a lower cost area like Charlottesville or even Chicago we will probably buy again -- the tax break is awesome, and if the market keeps going up you can make some good money for doing nothing but living there.

[Fafsa]

]

Even so, I think most schools will assume you're getting some level of support from your parents. I don't know why they assume this, but that's what they seem to do.

I don't know what the cutoff may be, but when I saw my EFC, I knew I wasn't getting any need-based aid. And my family is pretty much middle-class.
[/quote]

This is totally wrong information.  There is a formula involving who claims you as a dependent/your birth date/current income that determines parental involvement.

STFU if you don't know about this stuff.  Can you imagine a financial aid office asking for mommy and daddy's info when you are married with kids?  If you don't know an answer to a post don't guess!

[Fafsa]

Even so, I think most schools will assume you're getting some level of support from your parents. I don't know why they assume this, but that's what they seem to do.

I don't know what the cutoff may be, but when I saw my EFC, I knew I wasn't getting any need-based aid. And my family is pretty much middle-class.

This is totally wrong information.  There is a formula involving who claims you as a dependent/your birth date/current income that determines parental involvement.

....And then law schools can throw that part away and still ask for your parents information -- and if you don't give it to them, you can't go.

STFU if you don't know about this stuff.  Can you imagine a financial aid office asking for mommy and daddy's info when you are married with kids?

Actually, yes I can.

I have filled out the Fafsa 8 years running... a married person w/kids, 10 years removed from school would never be asked for parental info for merit aid...

[Typhoon Longwang]

The issue isn't that the FAFSA requires you to provide parental information.  The issue is that there are some schools that require parental information even if you're independent, have kids, etc.  Some schools have age requirement...if you're above a certain age your parents don't matter and if you're in certain age ranges parents are responsible for a certain % of law school.  It's completely seperate from the FAFSA and has to do with the allocation of the school's funds for need-based financial aid.

[Fafsa]

Even so, I think most schools will assume you're getting some level of support from your parents. I don't know why they assume this, but that's what they seem to do.

I don't know what the cutoff may be, but when I saw my EFC, I knew I wasn't getting any need-based aid. And my family is pretty much middle-class.

This is totally wrong information.  There is a formula involving who claims you as a dependent/your birth date/current income that determines parental involvement.

....And then law schools can throw that part away and still ask for your parents information -- and if you don't give it to them, you can't go.

STFU if you don't know about this stuff.  Can you imagine a financial aid office asking for mommy and daddy's info when you are married with kids?

Actually, yes I can.

I have filled out the Fafsa 8 years running... a married person w/kids, 10 years removed from school would never be asked for parental info for merit aid...

You've been in LS for eight years 

If you really think that law schools don't care about parental information then answer me this: why do so many of them give you supplementary forms that are required for institutional aid?

You may not have to put it on the FAFSA per se, but you're going to have to turn it over at some point.

Read the title of the thread EFC... that is FAFSA

As for other LS financial forms, they don't HAVE to be filled out for financial consideration for Federal Aid.

HTH

[Slow Blues]

Even so, I think most schools will assume you're getting some level of support from your parents. I don't know why they assume this, but that's what they seem to do.

I don't know what the cutoff may be, but when I saw my EFC, I knew I wasn't getting any need-based aid. And my family is pretty much middle-class.

This is totally wrong information.  There is a formula involving who claims you as a dependent/your birth date/current income that determines parental involvement.

....And then law schools can throw that part away and still ask for your parents information -- and if you don't give it to them, you can't go.

STFU if you don't know about this stuff.  Can you imagine a financial aid office asking for mommy and daddy's info when you are married with kids?

Actually, yes I can.

I have filled out the Fafsa 8 years running... a married person w/kids, 10 years removed from school would never be asked for parental info for merit aid...

You've been in LS for eight years 

If you really think that law schools don't care about parental information then answer me this: why do so many of them give you supplementary forms that are required for institutional aid?

You may not have to put it on the FAFSA per se, but you're going to have to turn it over at some point.

Read the title of the thread EFC... that is FAFSA

As for other LS financial forms, they don't HAVE to be filled out for financial consideration for Federal Aid.

HTH

Are you going to Columbia Law School?

[maka nani]

you fill out the FAFSA for UG too...and any grad school you attend...that is probably why he said 8 years.