A friend said her kid has not filled out the FAFSA for the upcoming school year, and they thought June 1st was the deadline. They are scrambling to get the new user id and password and get it filled out. I’m not sure if there is a deadline? but I’m pretty sure he has maxed out all federal loans his first four years. From what I’ve been reading it looks like the most he could get is 4k for this upcoming year, is that correct? I just want to know for my own information, I"m not going to be bursting any bubbles or giving unwanted advice. The school he goes to highly suggests the FAFSA be filled out before March 1st, so I’m not sure what happens if you don’t do it till after that.
He has not missed the deadline for the 2016-17 school year. The school may have a priority deadline, but fafsa’s deadline is before the end of the school year. If he hasn’t maxed out his Stafford loan amounts, he will still get the $7500 allowed.
But if he’s taken the full amount he was entitled to each of the previous 4 years he’d only get 4k is that correct?
How much has he taken? If he took ONLY the allowed Direct loan amounts, he would,have $27,000 in loans…and would still have additional Direct Loans available.
ETA…looks like the undergrad Direct Loan limit for a dependent undergrad is $31,000…so…if he already borrowed $27,000 then he has $4000 left as an undergrad.
Aggregate Maximum Loan Limits Amount:
Dependent Student $31,000 (no more than $23,000 subsidized)
Independent Student $57,500 (no more than $23,000 subsidized)
Graduate $138,500 (no more than $65,500 subsidized)
He may be eligible for Perkins or institution loans that some schools award.
Thanks @twoinanddone. The only difference is that I don’t believe that grad loans of any kind are subsidized any longer.
But I wonder…if this student is going to be 24 during this school year, he would be independent for this school year. I wonder how that would impact his loan amount eligibility? @kelsmom
If the student is 24 before 1/1/93, his loan eligibility is increased to $57,500 (with a max of $23,000 sub - the rest is unsub). So he would be eligible for $12,500 for the year, if he is independent. Also, if he is dependent & his parents apply for a Parent PLUS and are turned down … he can borrow up to $12,500 for the year, although the sub portion is limited to the $4,000 remaining dependent eligibility … the rest would be unsub (unless, of course, he doesn’t qualify for sub at all, in which case all $12,500 would be unsub). If he qualifies for Pell, he would get that, as long as his 5th year is completing a first bachelor’s (rather than adding another major after completing a bachelor’s).
What sparked my interest in all this was filling out the FAFSA so late. I guess I just thought you had to do it as soon as possible but it seems that only applies to the start of Freshman year?
He is only 22. I’d think if he was eligible for a Pell grant at this late time if there are no funds left he wouldn’t get that. Is it true that those funds are first come first served and that is why the FAFSA should be filled out asap?
I’ve always busted hump to do my FAFSA beg of Jan before my taxes are done and then go back and do the IRS retrieval tool. Anyway, I guess it doesn’t matter as we will now do the fafsa in October. I just never realized after freshman year I could’ve just done the fafsa after our taxes were done.
Some schools still have priority deadlines for funds distributed by the school for upperclassmen, either the school’s own grants or federal funds such as SEOG and Perkins loans. Pell grants and loans, the ‘entitlements’, are not dependent on the date of filing.
Yes, for low EFC students it is still better to file FAFSA earlier.
But now with prior prior year and filing in October the taxes should hopefully be done by then.
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think if he was eligible for a Pell grant at this late time if there are no funds left he wouldn’t get that. Is it true that
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NO…Pell grants do NOT run out. @seekingknowledge
Pell Grants do run out. You get six years of funding.
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/pell/calculate-eligibility
They do not run out in the sense that if you apply “late” you will lose your Pell grant. It’s true that late filers can lose out on SEOG, FWS and institutional aid they might otherwise have received - but they will be eligible for Pell and loans, if they meet the requirements to receive them. These awards are not contingent upon an annual school budget that gets used up.