What factors play into your FAFSA funding?

Question

I'm 22, been an orphan since I was 13 and I'm a single mother. I make a bit more than minimum wage, but still under 30k a year. I live by myself and pay all my own bills (barely).

I'm currently attending school, but it's going SO slow. So I was thinking of going back to school full time and quitting school. Get my PhD now while i'm still young and my son can see the benefits of it before he turns 18. A friend of mine told me I should really look into getting a cost of living loan and apply for FAFSA grants and such. He thinks I could get a lot of money because of my situation.

Anyone have any experience with this? Do they really take those kinds of things into consideration when giving you a loan or grant? I thought that kind of stuff depended on your high school grades or activities and such?

Answer 1

The factors they use are:

-Whether you're a dependent

-Number of people in your family (and how many would be going to college)

-income

Answer 2

FAFSA does not depend at all on high school grades or any activities.  What matters most is your income (or lack of it), how expensive the school is, your enrollment status, how many folks are in your household and your assets.

The max Pell grant anyone can get next year is around 4,700 per year.  You  may qualify for state grants or other federal grants depending on how soon you get your application in and your financial situation.  Work study is an option I would also consider for you as well.  Federal loans are also a good choice if you absolutely have to.

http://fafsa.ed.gov

Answer 3

If you are going to college you should fill out a FAFSA form, regardless of your financial standing. You may not always get anything, but you never know. The funding that you receive will be based upon a number of factors other than income and the number of dependents, which  include the cost of the program, your student status, how much money is available from the school to hand out, how many students are also applying and how much they need. It is a good idea to fill out these forms by March because that is when some states start making decisions and handing out money. So you may not get as much as you would if you had done it prior to March.