I filed a FAFSA a few weeks ago, now what?

Question

Heres my story, as brief as i can make it. Im in my second year of college that costs 2500/semester, but i have a scholarship from the university that covers about 1500 of that, so roughly 1000 a semester. I had a few 1 year scholarships that helped pay for it last year, but now im in my sophomore year and need money, i only have about 3000 left (sounds like alot, but thats really only enough to pay for this next year, car upkeep and all). Problem is, i cant find a job and summer is already almost half over (!) ive been looking and looking but no luck. So i turned to FAFSA. I filled out the form a few weeks ago, with an EFC of about 2500. I havent heard or recieved anything from them though. Should i be worried? Anyone have any idea how much i could expect to recieve?

Answer 1

You are going to be eligible for a Federal Stafford loan, most likely Subsidized meaning the government will pay all the interest on the the loan while you are enrolled as at least a half-time student.  Second year students (if you start the year with at least 30 credit hours alreayd completed) are eligible for $4500.  If you are a second year student but you have less then 30 hours already completed, you will receive $3500.  You will also receive some PELL grant with and EFC of 2500.  You will get right around 2000 ($1000 per semester) in PELL grant.  Because you are PELL eligible for also may qualify for other Federal Grants, if you school has funding left.  

First you need to contact the Financial Aid Office at the school you plan to attend.  Make sure they received your FAFSA and find out if they need any other documents from you in order for you to be awarded financial aid.  Once they have everything they need from you, they should notify you of your exact award totals. You may also want to ask them if you can have Federal Work Study, that would help with your job situation.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Wait for your Student Aid Report to know what you are eligible in scholarships, loans,etc.

Answer 3

im also a college student, so i can relate...

it takes about 4-6 weeks for your paperwork to be processed. you should be recieving a copy of the information you gave, along with the financial aid benifits your granted.

if you dont get an email or letter from FASA within the next 2 weeks, call them OR the financial aid dept. at your school.

fasa determains how much $$ you get based on your parents income (if you under a certain age), and your income.

i wasnt approved for financial aid last semester, they "considered" my hosehold income to be too high. i live on my own, i am NOT married and i have NO children... im not sure how they calculate it, but i had to take out a student loan.

good luck!

Answer 4

Did you sign your FAFSA electronically with a PIN number?  You have a fairly low EFC so you should be eligible for aid, whether in the form of grants or the Stafford Loan.

You need to make an appointment with your financial aid office.  As long as you put the school code on your FAFSA they should be able to access your information.

One thing you didn't mention is if you are independent or dependent.  If you are the latter it's important that your parents signed the FAFSA as well.  That could be holding up your processing.

Answer 5

It depends on the school. If the school usually offers 100% of student need, t hen regardless of how much EFC you have, they should offer you student loans (through the government, most likely).

If you're offered a student loan, since your a sophomore, you should be able to borrow enough money to cover you for this year, probably somewhere in between$1000 and $2000 per semester. If you're offered a subsidized loan, even better, because that means you won't have to pay interest for at least the time your in school. If you get a unsubsidized loan, you will have to pay interest (probably about $5-$12 per semester) while you're in school, but you won't have to pay the loan back until you're out of school.

Your next step: you should receive an Aid letter from your school's Office of Financial Aid within the next month or so. It wouldn't hurt to call them and ask them this question. Your school's office of financial aid should be able to help you answer this question.

Either way, since your EFC is equal to the amount of the tuition, you're probably not going to get many grants, just loans.

Answer 6

most people i know who filled out a fafsa, were only eligible for a loan with really high interest.