<p>Okay, my mom is a stay at home mom and my dad makes in between 100,000-110,000 a year. There are 8 of us living here now- 6 kids, all fully-related- and last year my brother got absolutely nothing from fafsa. My older brother, who has since moved out, got nothing from fafsa when he went to college; then there were 9 of us and my dad made around $80,000 a year. Is this right, or are we doing something wrong? We know a family who makes around $50,000 a year, have only two kids, and they actually get cash returns from fafsa. I'm worried about this because I'm going to college in the fall, and that means two of us at once, and when I'm a junior there will be three of us in college.</p>
<p>@aleyna22 do some research. Some colleges meet your need. They look at the CSS profile and can give you grants from the college.</p>
<p>[Colleges</a> That Claim to Meet the Full Financial Needs of Students - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/02/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-the-full-financial-needs-of-students]Colleges”>http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/02/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-the-full-financial-needs-of-students)</p>
<p>Aleyna, FAFSA doesn’t give anyone money. it is only a formula that is used to calculate how much money each family can afford to pay (granted, it’s an overestimate usually). </p>
<p>You’re confused about the other family. They did not get anything back from FAFSA. Those students may have received scholarships and loans in their FA package from the school (or outside scholarships) that exceeded the tuition/fees/room and board cost. In that case there would have been a refund. </p>
<p>If your family didn’t get any money, it’s because the SCHOOLS your family members chose didn’t offer FA to students with your EFC. You need to do a better job selecting schools that match your financial situation. </p>
<p>Assets are a factor in determining a family’s ability to pay. Do your parents (or your college siblings) have a lot of assets? </p>
<p>It does seem like your siblings should have received Stafford loans though. You might want to do some more investigating about why that didn’t happen.</p>
<p>Aleyna, one does not GET money from FAFSA. It is simply an APPLICATION, a free one for what federal aid is available. The way it works is that you fill out this free application and it generates what is called an Expected Family Contribution or EFC. You can run some sample numbers on some EFC estimators and see what numbers come out of it That EFC makes those who are considered near or at poverty level, which your family is not, despite have 8 people living at home, eligble for the PELL grant. It also makes the student eligible to BORROW $5500 the first year fo college if the costs of the college support that amount. (can’t borrow more than it costs). It also makes your parents eligible to borrow through the parent direct loan program (:PLUS) if they apply and pass the credit check. That’s all you are guaranteed by the federal government. The rest is entirely up to the school you choose to attend and what they have in the way of funds. Some states have some guaranteed programs, some schools subscribe to work study, SEOG, Perkins, which are some other federal programs but the school has to chip in too so not all schools have them and they are usually very limited when they do.</p>
<p>The truth of the matter, is that most of the colleges in this country do not meet need. So other than the federal guaranteed funds, most students get nothing. A big fat nothing. Those with the least resources who are PELL eligible can get up to $5K in grants and borrow another $5500 freshman year which will pay for the costs of most commuter public schools but not enough to go away to school unless the student, family or college throws in more money. The student might get scholarship money if s/he is a high performing student and at the top of the applicant pool at a particular college, but none of this is guaranteed.</p>
<p>You can look for money, and many do, but it is an arduous process. You have to find those schools and programs that are likely to pay for YOU. Usually you look for some school where you are a top student among their student body. You look for merit money. If your grades and test scores are up there, you may find some schools that do guarantee to meet need, but then you usually have to fill out another form for their aid, usually CSS PROFILE which is not free without a fee waiver reserved for the most needy, and they will define you need by their own standards, not the government EFC and may give financial aid packages from there if you are accepted.</p>
<p>Yes, you have a large family, as I do. But that doesn’t mean you automatically get aid. Your family income is not poverty level. Your parents get an increased asset protection allowance, because of the number of dependents. </p>
<p>If you have some private schools in mind, check out their NPCs and see how much they may expect your family to pay. If you are looking for schools that may give full rides, also look in the archives at some old threads that Momfromtexas wrote about her search for full ride scholarships.</p>
<p>Counting other people’s money is not productive. Your friend 's family did not get cash returns from FAFSA, because as I said before that is just an application. The money from the federal government goes directly to the school and once tuition and other school expenses are met, if there is anything left it can go to the student. You can get/borrow up to what is called Cost of Attendence (COA) which is the official dollar cost of the school which includes transportation, books, supplies and in some cases living expenses usually if the student boards at the school. So any refunds from the school will come out of that. My guess is that there is a loan involved there, which will have to be repaid eventually. Your family, too , can take out loans up to COA of a school that a family member is attending. Also some schools do award financial aid out of their own funds, again, with the top students getting the most. </p>
<p>There really is not a lot of free money out there. I assure you.</p>
<p>As Sue said, the free money government aid your eligible for as determined by fafsa is a small amount and for the very low income. You do get some credit in the formula for siblings and your family EFC will be divided by the number in college at the same time.</p>
<p>Have you submitted a fafsa already? What was your EFC? </p>
<p>The only way someone would get extra money returned from fafsa determined aid alone is if they were attending a very inexpensive school such as commuting to a community college.</p>
<p>“cash returns from FAFSA”</p>
<p>FAFSA doesn’t give anyone ONE CENT. </p>
<p>Sounds like your family’s EFC was too high to qualify for a federal Pell Grant. But maybe now that there will be two in college, your EFC will be low enough. </p>
<p>Anyway…much will depend on your EFC and the type of school you attend. </p>
<p>Your brother should have at least gotten a $5500 student loan last year.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned awhile back that FAFSA doesn’t make much difference once a family has more than 3-4 kids. Don’t know if that’s true or not. </p>
<p>*What Do Colleges Think of Low Math and High Everything Else?</p>
<p>W: 760
CR: 720
M: 580
I feel slightly dead inside. I just want to go to Emory, you know? I just want to be a happy little English major with no triangles or square roots to fuss over, you know?..*</p>
<p>You’re a GA resident, right? So you qualify for HOPE? Do you qualify for Zell Miller?</p>
<p>Did you submit CSS? </p>
<p>Did you use the NPCs on various schools’ websites?</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, guys, but I did already know that the money doesn’t come from FAFSA, but that it’s just an application. FAFSA is the means by which you get the money, and that’s what I meant. I was just curious as to why our family’s fafsas arent very profitable. Anyways, I’m pretty sure I have zell miller; it’s just my brother(s) that worries me.</p>
<p>Your family’s EFCs EFCs are likely too high. Pell Grants are awarded for EFCs of around $5k or less. It sounds like your family’s EFCs have been much, much higher.</p>
<p>However, if you go to Emory, and they use CSS and have their own funds, you should get a good bit of aid, especially if you can count 2 kids in college. </p>
<p>I’m guessing that with your family size, income, and 2 kids in college, your own EFC will be around $12k or so. </p>
<p>Of course, CSS schools don’t use FAFSA to determine their own aid.</p>
<p>Your family probably did not qualify for PELL as your father does make 6 figures. With three in college, even, your family may still not qualify. Work with the EFC estimator and see. Your brothers and you are all eligible to borrow, $5500 freshman year from DIrect loans without a credit check Being from Georgia, if any of you are good students, here are Hope and Zell Miller programs, but they do have a merit element to them. Congrats in getting an award. More than you would get from my state that would have a big fat zero unless your family earned less than $80K even if you were a top student. </p>
<p>It is true, that those who do not have the stats to get into schools like Emory that meet fianncial aid, the pickings are slim other than loans. For your brothers, it is highly likely that loans are the only way to go. Community or local public universities that have low tuition, and I believe GA state schools are reasonably priced with Stafford loans are what are available to them. Probably working part time as well. The average college student is in his/her mid 20s, working part/full time and going to school part time. That;s the way we roll in this country. Those who have good grades, take rigorous courses and get high college test scores do have a shot at scholarhships and at schools that are more likely to meet financial need. If you get into a school like Emory, you will very likely get a financial aid package, as you well know. You likely can get into a number of Georgia state college and universities and get a nice chunk off of your tuition and can borrow for room and board. </p>
<p>There was a post on this forum that saddened me greatly. A family with a zero EFC, ZERO, from PA, whose kid got into Penn State. The student will get the full PELL, about $5K and will able to borrow the full Stafford and get $3500 of it subsidized with no interest till graduation, but he did not get one DIME from the state or from the university, but would be required to go to summer session for an extra $10K or so as a condition of his acceptance. PSU right now is the most expensive state school for in staters in the country, and though it is giving out some merit money here and there to attract some students, did not offer someone with a zero EFC any money and in fact, wants extra from him if he wants to go there. Outrageous, but that is the way it works. There is not much out there for even low income families whose kids do not qualify for admissions to schools that do not meet need and who are not competitive for merit awards. Pell grant and Stafford loans, baby is all you are guaranteed to get unless your state has some funds, and no sleep away college for you. You stay home with parents who can provide the same three squares and a cot that they could if you weren’t in school, and you figure a way to commute to a local school that hopefully is doable with the Stafford loan money if your family makes too much for you to qualify for PELL. And then you owe close to $30K or so when you graduate from college, and you better get out in 4 years because that is all you are allowed to borrow as a student alone.</p>