One area of university education that I am totally clueless about is Financial Aid and Government Grants. I’m a sophomore who recently found out his father will no longer be able to pay for his college. My question is: How can I get federal aid? My father has stopped claiming me as a dependent and my yearly income is only $8,000. Needless to say, without taking out a lot of loans I’m not going to be able to pay for college. If anyone has some recommendations on sites I can checkout or where I can get started to obtain some federal money, please point me in the right direction. The FAFSA, as I understand it, is what determines how much federal money you are eligible for. Of course 2 years ago when my parents filled this out I was ineligible for anything because I was their dependent and their income was too high. Now, however, since its all up to me to pay for this, what should i do?
The vast majority of universities have a Financial Aid Office (or even a whole Department). You can find a lot of financial information there, both in general and things specific to your school.
You should definately fill out the FAFSA. It not only determines how much money you are eligible for, but it’s how you can actually get federal money like subsidized loans and Pell grants. I think you’re too late to get financial aid for the '03-'04 school year, but you can start working on some money for '04-'05.
If you’ve declared your major, check if your Department offers scholarships. You may be able to get one or two smaller scholarships. Also, look into employment through your University, as some jobs carry a partial or full tuition waver (although that may only apply to graduate students, it’s still worth a shot).
Finally, don’t be afraid to take out student loans. You might have to spend a few years paying them back, but you normally don’t start payments until after you’ve graduated.
Thanks for the recommendations jmizzou. I also go to MU.
I think that varies from state to state, but, assuming “MU” refers to a college I guess you are both in the same state.
Let me echo filling out a FAFSA and seeing your school’s financial aid office. Even if it’s too late I believe it only affects grants, not loans.
Also, just because your parents have decided to not pay for your college, DOES NOT make you officially “financially independent” of them. It’s been a few years since I’ve had to deal with this but that’s one thing you should find out from the Fin Aid office (i.e. Are you independent? how does being one or the other affect what aid you are qualified to receive?)
The people in the office deal with students all the time who don’t know much about this. So go in there prepared with questions, and take your time to get every little detail answered and explained; that’s what they are there for. Take it from someone who has spent a very, very great* deal of time talking with them over the passed 3 years for a wide range of issues.
*grammar? it doesn’t look right.
Thanks Moe
There are certain requirements for being considered independent. They can be found on the FAFSA website. But they include things like being married, being in the military, or being 25 years old. More than likely you will still be considered a dependent even if your parents don’t claim you on their taxes. So you may very well still be ineligible for aid. However, once you get your financial package I believe you can appeal it with help from your financial aid counseler.
Technically independent students can get better deals from banks and schools, but it’s rather difficult to get independent status. My school’s form to request independent status had a angrily worded warning on it: “It is the duty of parents to pay for their son or daughters education. If your parents are unwilling or unable to pay, that is still no reason to fill out this form.” I know students who had to get married (which would have made them independent) to get around that, because their parents refused to provide funding.
Incidentally, I am from a relatively low-income family, but received only $1500 a year in federal funding. That took care of about 10% of my tuition. The whole “Anyone can go to college nowadays, regardless of social class” line is sort of bullshit, as federal grants amount to nothing. I think everyone expects students to get loans, even though it drives them into poverty.
UnuMondo
Also, keep in mind that schools, especially private schools, have a fair amount of discretion in how they use money from their own endowments (as opposed to Federal grant/loan money). They can do whatever they want, and frequently do, to help out people whose situations don’t fit the norm. This is how I got a full-tuition grant for college, in spite of my father’s rather high salary: ah, the joys of financial aid and acrimoniously divorced parents. The school decided that because my father refused to contribute much of anything, they would just consider my mother’s income (which was roughly the same an annual tuition) for financial aid purposes. In a case like this, an expensive private school can potentially end up being cheaper for you than your local community college.
Also, have you considered working for the univeristy? Two of my childhood friends put themselves through college that way. Many schools will allow you to take a class ortwo at a time for free if you’re working full-time for the school, even in a low-level admin position.
I’m with Eva Luna- I strongly suggest you check the “i want to be work/study eligible” box on the FAFSA.
The most important thing to remember is that before you start taking out loans you want to exhaust every possible source of money you won’t have to return.
FastWeb (www.fastweb.com) will find almost every national scholarship you may be eligible for, and you’d be surprised how many you can get, even if you’re white, from a well-to-do family, and don’t have any extracurricular interests.
Also, to apply for a Stafford loan (the subsidized kind), you MUST have already filed the FAFSA and recieved less than a certain percentage of ‘need’ (what the feds think your expenses ought to be minus income). So in any case that ought to be step #1.
And most importantly of all… keep records of EVERYTHING you recieve/give to your financial aid office, because they can and will lose every possible item of documentation, and that screws you, not them.
I disagree. Some public schools are extremely stingy. Saint Louis University is a good example. It offers very little to students (and only to freshman, once they’ve got you suckered in they cut your aid in the following years in half), yet it’s just opened its out art museum and the president, Fr. Bondi, is constantly buying (embarassingly nude) statues to adorn the campus with.
Maybe it was different when you filled out a FAFSA, but nowadays if your parents are divorced you can choose to report only the details of one parent, so you can pick the one with the lower income.
UnuMondo
Oops, this should have read "Some private schools are extremely stingy.
UnuMondo