lost my job, no income now... fafsa?

[almbfa2004]

hello fellow grads-to-be,

so i filled out and submitted the fafsa which of course included my 2008 taxes back when i had income. they seem to think that my contribution should be something like $15k which is already ridiculous but now to add insult to injury, i have just been laid off at work and as such have absolutely no income and will not be able to afford school unless the government helps pay for all of it. is there a way to indicate on the fafsa (i haven't seen one) that your financial situation has changed or inform the school directly?

any help you guys could give would be fantastico.

thanks!

[Dreams]

they seem to think that my contribution should be something like $15k

I can understand where this might cause confusion. The EFC is not necessarily the amount you will be asked to contribute towards your education. it is the result of some complex formula that is used to predict and rank students for aid. You can have an EFC of 34 and be asked to contribute 10K, and you can have an EFC of 20K and be awarded a full fellowship.

If you also notice, many schools in the financial section of the application will ask for your estimated earnings in the year you are planning to enroll. This way they can gauge how much of these earnings could potentially go towards your education.

I would not worry about contacting them about your change of job situation. Afterall you would be leaving your job anyway to attend school, and they know what you would make in the the few months this year would not significantly cover your schooling.