Answers:
The problem with the FAFSA is that it's really been designed for the "traditional" college student. If you are 19 and making $9 an hour in the school cafeteria, the government wants you to kick in a third of that toward your education. The government assumes that mom and dad are picking up a good share of your expenses. (Which is really unfair because the government doesn't require them to pick up the costs, but it doesn't give students credit when they don't.)
Adult students who are supporting themselves get treated the same way.
Go to your financial aid office and talk to the counselors there. They have some leeway on how they interpret the ESC. They may also know of outside help such as private grants or scholarships which can be used to offset the ESC.
It's a screwy situation.
there are several, but here are the main ones
household income
number of family members in the household
number of family members in the household in college
cost of the school
full vs part time
There are many factors that go into calculating what your EFC is: your income and your spouse's, any savings you may have, how many people are in your household and of those how many attend college, if you are getting food stamps or other federal assistance, if you own a business, etc. If both you and your husband were attending college, then your EFC would be lower than with just one person attending college.
If you really would like to see how it is calculated you can view the EFC Formula Guide (it's in PDF format) at http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attach... !
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