SAR form and EFC - I am confused! What comes next?

I will be attending a UK university as a graduate student this fall. I filled out a FAFSA and requested a paper copy of the SAR, which I got today. I checked the UK university's website for information on what to do next and among the info it says:

The federal loan amount we normally approve is calculated by subtracting the estimated family contribution (EFC) from the annual cost of attendance (CoA).

CoA - EFC = max. loan amount

This is completely baffling. The university is not in a position to decide how much (or IF) I get a loan. They are not a bank. I am confused about what to do next. First of all, my EFC is absurdly high. I have no idea how they think my EFC could possibly be this high. I double-checked all the info I submitted and it is correct. Secondly, it is completely unclear what I'm actually supposed to do with this SAR. 

Any info on what to do next would be appreciated.

I understand, it is VERY confusing.

I would recomend you call the university's financial department and get the name of someone to mail the SAR to. Then they should contact the loan company with the numbers they need to decide the loan amount. Then the Loan company should send you approval.

Also, as a graduate student, there shouldn't be a family contribution. Are you sure that they have you filed corectly. This happened to me when I was applying in the UK. They put me down as an undergraduate, and I had to call and straighten everything out.

But yes, my number one recomendation. Get on the phone. Call FAFSA and make them explain it. Call the University and make them tell you who to send it to, and call your loan company and make sure everything is going smoothly. The loan company wants to give yu the money, so they will help you make it work.

Good Luck!!!

I had a family contribution as a grad student because my father had started some bond fund thing for me.  It only had like 5,000.00 in it and it had serious penalties for removing any money, but it was still taken into account.

Actually it is the university that decides how much you get. They are the only ones who can officially certify the cost of attendance at the uni which determines how much you get (because after you take the efc into account you cannot be awarded more than the uni's cost of attendance.)

Just in case anyone else is at this stage and is as confused as I was...

After getting the paper SAR, choose a lender (I chose Sallie Mae, but there are others) and fill out an application with that lender online. This will yield a Master Promissory Note, which you print out & sign (declining the e-signature option) then send to your UK university along with the paper SAR and a cover letter explaining what course you're on, etc. My university had a template on their website I could use.

Within a week of doing this I received an e-mail from someone in the financial aid office of the UK university explaining that while they won't mail the paperwork back to Sallie Mae until August 1st (which seems late!  ) everything is all set and they're mailing me some documentation so I can get a student visa (which I don't need, but nevermind).

I have to say - I don't know what calculation they use to determine the EFC, but the sum they came up with is sheer madness. Let me put it this way - the EFC they calculated for me is about HALF of the total income my husband and I combined made last year (net, I mean - after tax).  Considering that I will be making very little income while I'm a student and he will have to support us both, especially with the high cost of living in London, it's completely insane that they could think that EFC was remotely accurate. Based on the cost of attendance minus the EFC, the resulting "maximum loan amount" I qualify for is approximately one-third of the cost of tuition alone for the year. If I wasn't getting some family assistance I would have to take out a private loan that would be larger than the Stafford loan just to cover the tuition - nevermind living expenses! Has anyone else experienced this?

Has anyone else experienced this?

A thousand times yes!!

Ugh, and don't get me started with Sallie Mae. I am, as we speak, on hold with them while they transfer me around to 12 people who all ask me to repeat my problem and then transfer me again. And then I've got my state uni claiming they've sent my certification and Sallie Mae says they didn't, and the state uni says Sallie Mae is lying. UGH! Shoot me! 

I think it's pretty common to get screwed by the EFC- that didn't happen to me for grad school (because I was poor and just out of undergrad) but when they took into account my parents' info for my bachelor's degree our EFC was something ridiculous- it just kept going up each year and I think my last year was something like almost half of my parents' combined income.  Yeah, *that* wasn't going to happen... 

Yeah mine was like $32,000 from my parents' combined incomes. What American couple has like $40,000 of disposable income just laying about to be used for college educations? I mean, unless they saved for you since you were born (ha!), there's nothing there for you! I hate the loan system. It makes absolutely no sense.

The methodology to calculate the EFC can make it seem very high, but unfortunately it's unlikely to be incorrect. Even as an independent (no need to disclose parents' incomes, assets, etc.) it can become quite high due to several reasons. If you have been working the previous year, that income (+ your spouse's) will count heavyly against you. The EFC also calculates that you will contribute 20% of all your assets towards your education.

If you want to know the details, here they are. Page 21 shows the math for an independent student - Yes, I'm probably the only one who reads stuff like this :-)

http://www.fafsa.com/downloads/EFC/0708EFCFormulaGuide.pdf

The EFC also calculates that you will contribute 20% of all your assets towards your education.

Really?  I cannot imagine how they justify this assumption.  Most people's assets are tied up in mortgages, loans or retirement funds- I can't see how a normal middle class person can liquidate 20% of that amount in order to pay for education (especially since they, you know, have bills to pay and food to buy?)  Sigh....

(I'll definitely have to read that link now, hehe.)

Really?  I cannot imagine how they justify this assumption.  Most people's assets are tied up in mortgages, loans or retirement funds- I can't see how a normal middle class person can liquidate 20% of that amount in order to pay for education (especially since they, you know, have bills to pay and food to buy?)  Sigh....

Andrea... didn't your apartment come with a money tree?

Really?  I cannot imagine how they justify this assumption.  Most people's assets are tied up in mortgages, loans or retirement funds- I can't see how a normal middle class person can liquidate 20% of that amount in order to pay for education (especially since they, you know, have bills to pay and food to buy?)  Sigh....

(I'll definitely have to read that link now, hehe.)

You just have to make sure you don't have any assets :-) I agree completely with you, it doesn't make a lot of sense since it makes it quite difficult for anybody with even a little bit of assets to pay. I believe some assets are excluded though, but the reasoning behind it was probably that rich people would be expected to pay themselves for college while others probably wouldn't have that much in assets at an early age.

Perhaps the EFC was designed to be fair and reasonable, and I am not pleading poverty - my husband and I make a good combined wage. It's just that using last year's wages to designate the EFC is unreasonable. First of all, there seems to be no acknowledgment whatsoever that virtually ALL of my income will vanish....go on and add in moving costs (not just airfare for us...add in 3 cats, deposits, etc), tuition/books/transportation, my husband's part-time MA course (they only care if he is at least a half-time student), plus uncertainty as to what salary my husband will bring in in the UK, plus everyday living expenses.....all things considered, the EFC they used was pure fantasy. I can understand why I would not qualify for any kind of grant, but I don't understand how they can justify this EFC calculation that is not based on the reality of people's lives. Even if you have no assets or savings the EFC assumes that you can give half your post-tax wages to univeristy fees! I would like for someone in the Stafford Loan Office to explain to me how this is possible!

You’re right, even though there are some allowances given to offset some of the loss in income, it seems like the first year you go back to school that it really hurts you. I know you can fill out another form where you can explain your change in circumstances, but I believe this is up to each individual school and a British school may not be as familiar with this process.

http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/before003.htm

There is a form you can fill out if your financial status has changed.  It's called a Professional Judgement of Income.  Two years ago I registered for college after I was laid off from my job.  I was on unemployment and a single parent with no other income or financial support.  My previous year's wages, which was over $50K, was used as the basis for my EFC.  I was frustrated because it looked like I wasn't going to be able to afford college.  After I explained my current financial situation to the director of the financial aid dept, she gave me that form and it was a huge help.  It's been almost two years now that I've been going and most of my education has been covered.