Vocaboly.com

[MD]

My oldest of three children started college this fall. Our taxable
income for a family of five in 2004 was below $100,000, yet our son
didn't qualify for any assistance to speak of. We had to take out a
loan for his use in our name.

Is there a chart somewhere that shows the parent income level needed
for him to obtain certain benefits?

[Steve Blank]

It's not that simple. It's the relationship of your Expected Family
Contribution (EFC) as determined by the FAFSA answers, vs. the cost of
the particular college. If the EFC is say $10,000 and the cost is
$19,000 then the student is eligible for up to $9,000. But if the EFC
was $17,000 the eligibility would be just $2,000 at that school.

Further, it's not just the parent income but their assets and the income
and assets of the student that goes into the EFC formula. Two families
with identical income but different size family or assets will have
differing EFC's.

And then the college may not choose to provide all of that $9,000 based
on funds available and the quality of the student.

With just the info you provided, your EFC would probably be in the mid
to upper teens. It's on the Student Aid Report you got back after
submitting the FAFSA.

Steven B. Blank
College Financial Aid Consultants
29 Ives Hill Court
Cheshire, CT 06410
(203)250-7761