I need a second opinion.

Question

I need a second pair of eyes on this please. I have an EFC of 3142, but the financial aid dept. says i only get 500 in a grant. Does this amount sound correct? With the federal loans, grant, and scholarship I was awarded, I am still 5500 short. I looked into the payment plan option which wants a large amount up front. We live paycheck to paycheck as it is and after the needs of my three kids there is very little if anything in the bank. I worked last year and it made my EFC so high we couldn't get anything until we did a change of circumstance since i am not working due to daycare being 10k last year... all my money goes there! Any advice or input on this subject is welcomed! Thank you for reading this in advance.

Answer 1

This EFC is low enough to get you a Pell (yay!!).  Think of it this way, It's 500 dollars of free money you didn't have access to before.  If you are unable to attend this college with scholarships, federal loans, and your grant, perhaps you should consider this school too expensive for you.  You can attend MANY schools for under the federal max amounts for student Stafford loans as an independent with NO cash from you up front.

Find a better school.

Answer 2

Yes, that looks right to me. In terms of Pell that's a high EFC score. You can't expect the government to pay everything; your EFC is just an estimation and means nothing is set in stone. I have an EFC of 0 but still have to pay $3738 out of pocket to my college. It sucks, but that's just how things go sometimes.

Have you spoken to your school's financial office and asked them if they would be able to alter the payment plans for you and put you on a different one? Have you tried getting loans from other places (such as your local bank)? Have you considered attending a cheaper school?

Answer 3

Give scholarships a thought...there are tons of online databases for students of all ages. Try fastweb.com Good luck!