FAFSA Advice

Kusuguttai

So here's the basic problem:
My dad is retiring this December, which means his income for next year will obviously not be even close to what he's making this year. From what I can tell from FAFSA, they don't give a shit about this, and don't even attempt to take this into account.

Is there any way to have my dad file his tax forms and whatever and then get them to adjust it? I would be getting a lot more money if this were the case, which I pretty much need. The FAFSA website is completely unhelpful in this regard.

Thanks dudes.

RUNN1NGMAN

No. FAFSA is based on the previous year's income and tax returns, period. Every person who leaves a full-time job to go back to school gets screwed the same way and there's no way around it.

I went from earning around $65,000 a year to paying $40,000 a year for law school, but because I was earning a full-time salary before I started school I didn't qualify for jack shit as far as need-based aid. It's just the way the system works.

You can mention your situation at the end in the comments section, and talk to your school. They may be able to adjust your financial aid award on their own, but FAFSA is what it is.

Jasconius

Nope. Nothing you can do about it.

LadyM

You have to use last year's taxes. HOWEVER . . . you can contact the financial aid officer of the school you're going to and inform them of the situation. Sometimes they will scare up more financial aid for you based on the new circumstances. I believe they also have the ability to amend your FAFSA. (Again, YOU do not, you must put down last year's income.) Some schools won't give you any more financial aid than you're already getting, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Shogun

You should most definitely talk to your Financial Aid office and inform them of the situation. This exact same thing happened to me two years ago. My mom went from earning like 55k to 36k and my FA office got me hooked up with some Perkins loan money. It cannot hurt to try.

Frog

Now hold on a minute. I know at my college you can submit a form that explains a change in income. I used it last year and I used it again this year. Both times my EFC (expected family contribution) dropped to zero, but that was based of a college that cost $22,000 a year.

If your school has a finaid office talk to them. If they have a website they will probably have the forms you would need to fill out on there. I would recommend going over every form and seeing if it applies to you and getting it done asap. For my finaid office it takes them about a month to go over the information, but in the end they will usually update your fafsa for you, change your EFC, and give you a bunch more money in the form of state and federal grants. If you qualify for subsidized student loans then see if there is a computer purchase form you can fill out. No need to buy a new computer, but it may be a good way to max out your subsidized loans ($5500 max per school year).

Most of the forms will ask for proof, so be prepared to provide it (or send it in with your letters/forms) to the fin aid office.

Aphostile

I work in a financial aid office and financial counselors can do something called a "professional judgement review" that involves reporting a changed income or a loss of employment (etc).

Under no circumstances should you report this on your own with the FAFSA. You should report your income as it was last year.

EDIT: Also, if your father was being laid off, rather than retiring, he'd be able to claim himself as a dislocated worker:

"In general, a person may be considered a dislocated worker if he or she is receiving unemployment benefits due to being laid off or losing a job and is unlikely to return to a previous occupation; has been laid off or received a lay-off notice from a job; was self-employed but is now unemployed due to economic conditions or natural disaster; or is a displaced homemaker. A displaced homemaker is generally a person who previously provided unpaid services to the family (e.g., a stay-at-home mom or dad), is no longer supported by the husband or wife, is unemployed or underemployed and is having trouble finding or upgrading employment."

Kusuguttai

Thanks guys, I'll definitely talk to college i'm transferring to's financial aid office.

AresProphet

You're hosed, unless the financial aid office at your school is really lenient. If they're feeling any kind of budget cuts, though, they're very likely to have no discretion when it comes to the FAFSA.

The Federal government isn't going to give you any kind of grant or subsidy because all they care about's the FAFSA, so the only things they can offer you are loans subsidized by the school or the state (the Perkins is one but it's limited in scope, and there's another that caps out at a grand or so). And that's if they're nice.