Often the income data on the FAFSA form does not adequately reflect a family's financial strength. When this is the case, the staff in the financial aid office can make adjustments to the FAFSA data which will result in a revised EFC. The revised EFC is then used to determine federal aid eligibility for that year.
The financial aid staff at Buffalo State regularly make adjustments for the following situations:
- a parent or independent student loses income due to a change in employment
- a lump sum distribution was received in the previous year
- child support or Social Security Survivor's Benefits (SSI) are no longer received
- the family had high out of pocket medical expenses
- the family will have private elementary or secondary school tuition expenses
- a dependent student's parent is also pursuing a college degree
Adjustments are not made for the following situations:
- to account for geographical differences in cost of living
- based on an accounting of expenses versus income
- to reflect the purchase of a new or used vehicle
