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FAFSA Woes -- Letters of professional judgement -- Updated new ???


LisaKinVA
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So, because of our "housing allowance" (we're civilian, no military) and LQA, my family's estimated contribution is set at approximately half our taxable income (please note, we do not get to keep any extra money, we don't have say in the money we receive, and it just passes through -- we can't "save" money by moving into a smaller, less expensive house -- and living in Europe is expensive).  

 

All this is to say, I now need to write letters to the various school's financial aid department and explain all of this (along with the now $25,000 in medical expenses and extra loans we are repaying).  

 

Do I simply write a letter explaining the situation, and then attach the various payment documents (credit card statements, loan statements, medical statements) showing that we *really* don't have the ability to pay that amount or really contribute much, if anything?  There is also the possibility we may be moving back next year, so all of that magical "untaxable income" will be gone as well.  

 

Thank you.

 

Additional Question:  Would it hurt us (from the standpoint of possibly getting assistance), if we showed that we cashed in a substantial portion of our already meager retirement savings to pay off said medical bills?  These bills are strangling us, and the $6,000/year in interest is also keeping us from paying off other things.  We may do it anyway (these bills are a huge source of stress).  Just wondering.

Edited by LisaK in VA is in IT
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When you described your situation last yr, I was afraid it might come back to haunt you. Yes, definitely write to each FA office. Hopefully, they will be willing to work with you. I suspect some will, but I would also be concerned that some won't.

 

Send all the pertinent documentation and follow up asking if they require anything else.

 

ETA: They won't care about loans or credit card debt, so I wouldn't send that info. The only thing that might make an impact are the medical bills(they will probably make some adjustment based on that amg) and verifying actual take home pay when reducing out international benefits that are not actually real income but cost of living adjustments. I don't know how many are going to reduce out the COL benefits bc you are receiving the benefit of having them.

Edited by 8FillTheHeart
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There is also the possibility we may be moving back next year, so all of that magical "untaxable income" will be gone as well.

Just as a heads up, this will also likely generate a huge headache scenario. All of the moving costs paid by another entity are also considered income. Unless you are paying for your move at your own expense, expect inflated income for your move.

 

I hope he is applying to a couple of affordable options not dependent on grant aid.

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I just wanted to say that our EFC is about half our taxable income and we have no special circumstances.

Applying hoping for reduction based on circumstances is tricky business. I agree with you. Our EFC is ridiculously high for our real world scenario. We know we can't pay, so our kids have to apply accordingly to schools they know upfront we can afford.

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I just wanted to say that our EFC is about half our taxable income and we have no special circumstances.

 

We will have three kids in college next year and our EFC is almost half (when all kids are added together). And this is only FAFSA. Not sure what the Profile will reveal!

 

Lisa - just a tip. If your kid has already been accepted - and they are smaller schools - reach out to the admissions rep who read the application. They have a vested interest in knowing what is preventing you from attending. In some cases, you may get them on your side. It's worth a shot.

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Same situation here. Its too long to type out here but if our housing weren't provided (and it's a nice house but we have no choice in where we live and no access to the money) my dh's salary could be doubled and our efc would be one third of what it is.

 

Dh wrote letters but who knows what will happen.

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Step one is to understand the timing - Some schools prefer that you wait until they write up the initial financial aid offer, then file an appeal if it doesn't work for you. Other schools will want all your extra information up front. Some specifically state they will not do a financial aid appeal unless it's based on information you did not have when the financial aid forms were due.

 

Step two is to understand the procedure - Do they want a specific format? Do you address it to a specific person?

 

Step three is to document the circumstances -

1. Put a dollar sign on everything. "We have X amount of medical debt from <event> and we pay Y amount per month." Not "we have a lot of medical expenses."

 

2. Make an ask -- don't leave them guessing as to what would make the school work for you. If it's an appeal after the first offer was made, say that you need X amount ot make it work. If it's before the first offer, say that you want X amount of income excluded from their calculations.

 

If there isn't a financial aid appeal form, make a cover sheet with the summary data easy to find.

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Thanks everyone.  We're starting by just reaching out to the schools DS has been accepted.  All but two are smaller schools, three of them he's being recruited to swim for.  

 

The vast majority of what is killing us is the housing. Pulling that out would drop our "untaxed income" by 80%.  We should know the remainder (if we're actually moving back to the states, or moving on base -- so all of the housing/LQA would go away, but dh's income would go up by about $30,000 -- in that case, our EFC would drop by roughly 75%), in plenty of time to make any appeal.  But wanted to get some additional advice.  

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We will have three kids in college next year and our EFC is almost half (when all kids are added together). And this is only FAFSA. Not sure what the Profile will reveal!

 

Lisa - just a tip. If your kid has already been accepted - and they are smaller schools - reach out to the admissions rep who read the application. They have a vested interest in knowing what is preventing you from attending. In some cases, you may get them on your side. It's worth a shot.

 

I'll have my son reach out to the admins -- we're really only doing this for the schools he has been accepted to (although, I expect he'll be accepted at all of them -- we didn't apply to any reaches, and had to hold off on Service Academies due to his heart procedure). 

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Just as a heads up, this will also likely generate a huge headache scenario. All of the moving costs paid by another entity are also considered income. Unless you are paying for your move at your own expense, expect inflated income for your move.

 

I hope he is applying to a couple of affordable options not dependent on grant aid.

 

He's applied to three based upon merit aid.  He's applied to three based upon swimming recruitment (two more others are walk-on scenarios).  

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When you described your situation last yr, I was afraid it might come back to haunt you. Yes, definitely write to each FA office. Hopefully, they will be willing to work with you. I suspect some will, but I would also be concerned that some won't.

 

Send all the pertinent documentation and follow up asking if they require anything else.

 

ETA: They won't care about loans or credit card debt, so I wouldn't send that info. The only thing that might make an impact are the medical bills(they will probably make some adjustment based on that amg) and verifying actual take home pay when reducing out international benefits that are not actually real income but cost of living adjustments. I don't know how many are going to reduce out the COL benefits bc you are receiving the benefit of having them.

 

The cost of living adjustment is a pittance compared to the housing "benefit" (which, if we were active duty we wouldn't have to count at all).  We can break out those amounts (based upon payments to the landlord) from the Leave & Earnings statement easily enough (which we can also provide).  That and the hospital bills here in Italy, plus the hospital bills in DC add up to a pretty hefty sum.

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