<p>Last year as an incoming freshman with an EFC of 0 my Ds college gave her a Perkins of 2000K per year as well as an academic scholarship, and everything she qualified for with govt loans etc. She had solid SATs, recs, extras , but we never disclosed her disability. Within a week the college knew of her mental disability (she was disoriented and got lost on/off campus and would only sleep a couple hours a night) They tried to get her out and off campus within a couple hours of finding out. Basically a call to me saying "yeah we talked it over and we dont think she can handle college...can you come get her". I knew about mental health rights on campus and challenged them. Needless to say they don't call me or answer my emails anymore. They didn't make her leave but the Dean put her on an at risk watch-list which is usually for academic issues but it seemed by the end of the semester everyone knew - the RA's, even students and their parents. I could write more on the subject and what she went through as a result of that treatment however I wanted to know how typical is it to get a lower financial aid package for the following academic year??? </p>
<p>Our financial situation went from bad to worse so its not a question of needy. When she asked FA why she didn't receive the Perkins funding they answered "we ran out but let us know if you want to be put on the waiting list."
What?!! I got the FAFSA in well before the deadline so they knew the situation, am I wrong in assuming that this was a way to make it difficult for her to return next semester. Because now with rising costs in tuition, fees etc. and less aid we have to come up with 3200K. She and I have appealed to financial aid and they said she is at the limit and they aren't willing to give any extra institutional aid to cover the 2K in Perkins that they most likely awarded to some incoming freshman. </p>
<p>They said pay 50.00 to the tuition management plan and make monthly payments which neither I or her can afford. I feel this is totally unfair, and no notice was given. By the time we found out about this she lost her chance to make other plans (ie. start working another job, transfer...). She went in person and told them she might not be able to come back and the lady in FA didn't bat an eyelash. </p>
<p>Any suggestions would be appreciated as I'm seriously getting together all my notes from this year and want an expert opinion on this issue. I read that the criteria for Perkins is vague after the needy is established. I have 2 older children and this has never happened - funding was the same or increased. And one school did away with all loans but then we are talking apples and oranges here. BTW she was a Questbridge winner junior year and a finalist Senior year. Also was a finalist for TASP and then ended up going on another scholarship summer program. This all done while being treated for her illness.</p>
<p>*Our financial situation went from bad to worse so its not a question of needy. When she asked FA why she didn’t receive the Perkins funding they answered “we ran out but let us know if you want to be put on the waiting list.”
What?!! I got the FAFSA in well before the deadline *</p>
<p>They could rationalize that they do FA packages for incoming freshmen first, and then used up their Perkins for that. </p>
<p>But, yes, they might be discouraging her from returning. </p>
<p>*I have 2 older children and this has never happened - funding was the same or increased. *</p>
<p>Was this at the same school? </p>
<p>I’m sorry that this has happened. How is your D doing? Did she only have that one episode early in the fall and then have a smooth year after that?</p>
<p>I’m so sorry to hear about your D’s rough time this year. I’d be upset too and I’m surprised she was willing to stay at that school for another year! But I really think that these may be two separate issues…last year when she received her FA award, did you happen to ask if she would receive the Perkins in subsequent years? </p>
<p>My D posed this question to her final choices and the answers varied according to the school’s FA policies. One school told her that Perkins loans are typically reserved for freshmen because upperclassmen have higher Stafford loan eligibility and receive higher work study awards. Another said they award Perkins only to returning students (and she was awarded none). The school she chose said they try to distribute evenly, but returning students are packaged later than freshmen and not all would receive it. </p>
<p>It sounds like your D’s school practices the “freshmen only” method, and they are allowed to do that. Each school has a limited pool of funding, basically it’s a revolving loan account at this point as I read somewhere that the government has not added additional Perkins money in the last five years. A recent proposal to make Perkins an unsubsidized loan and to increase funding for it seem to have died a quiet death. At this point, you’re still eligible for a Parent Plus loan and, if you aren’t approved for some reason, your D should be eligible for an additional $4K in Stafford loans. Good luck!</p>
<p>It may well have nothing to do with her disability. Certain federal aid is just very limited. I can never quite figure out the rhyme or reason for how the campus based aid (Perkins,SEOG, WS) is awarded at my daughter’s school. She also has a 0 EFC and has received different amounts of those each year. (freshman year $3400 WS, $900 Perkins, Sophomore year $3400 WS $2000 SEOG, Junior Year no WS, $2000 SEOG, $200 Perkins, upcoming senior year no WS, no SEOG, no Perkins but a larger sub Stafford - she was really hoping for WS as she was interested in a particular job that is a WS job)). I think it depends on the amount of funding they have and how many people they need to distribute it to. </p>
<p>My understanding is that the Perkins in particular can have very different funding from year to year. The way it was explained to me is that it is a revolving loan account and funds at a particular school only become available as previous loans are repaid to the school. She should be eligible for higher Stafford loans as a sophomore.</p>
<p>I know this does not help you with the financial aspect but I don’t think you can assume the change is because of her disability. Though I can see why their handling of her situation may have caused you to think this.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>No we didn’t ask about Perkins, the FA packet information last year said it wasn’t guaranteed but I assumed which I guess is a lesson learned. I’m guessing it’s the “freshman” thing however I’m having her ask around to see if others got less FA. My older kids went to other schools and yes I did encourage her to transfer this year but this school has a specialize program and is less competitive academically (less stress or so we thought) than the “higher ranked” colleges she was accepted to (with better FA). </p>
<p>I was turned down last and this year for a parent plus and last year she rec’d an extra amount in staf loans and will this year however the college raised everything (tuition, fees, room/board) so she’s still thousands short for the year. The work study was used to pay for all the other costs - books, living expenses and that is delayed (her first check was October) and not enough to cover the hard costs anyway. </p>
<p>So basically she has a few choices, find cheaper off campus housing and eat mac and cheese (this might be difficult due to this colleges restrictions), find a second job to supplement the work study and do the tuition management program, try and find a great summer job although shes been applying since last November. There are no family members that will help, although her older sister said she would thrown in 500.00 but she is paying for graduate school and is already eating mac and cheese. Are outside scholarships even a possibility this late? And how likely is it to get one from one of those sites listed in the resources section? And will they decrease her aid if she were to get an outside scholarship? </p>
<p>As for her health this year its been up and down. Most of the issues seem to be socialization and the fact that all this has stigmatized her from the start at this very small conservative school. I was told she even had a campus name which wasn’t flattering. She’s definitely an outsider but her academics are above average although there have been issues with grading this semester. Of course the paranoid in me thinks its to mess up her qualification for her academic scholarship. </p>
<p>A week ago she got word that the Provost has required her to go to on campus counseling (this with only 3 weeks left in the semester) when she asked if she was required she was told it was strongly suggested. When she asked if she could go off campus it was denied. There were petty issues in the beginning of the year with her roommates, then she’s always being checked on and questioned about where shes been and why she wasn’t in her room. She has off campus friends and family and sometimes stay overnight which any other student could do without notice. She decided to do this more about a month ago and a group of freshman friends got jealous and reported her to the Resident director and that is what spark this latest counseling requirement. The excuse is they were worried about her because they didn’t know these older students and thought they were a bad influence on her. However during that report these friends found out what her issues were somehow from the resident director or surmised and now they won’t even speak with her anymore. She got the idea that whatever they were told shocked and scared them enough to make her no longer welcome to hang out with them. And she had a hard time making friends and was beginning to trust people so this has been a set back. She’s isolating herself again and going back to all academics all the time without any social life. There are many things that this college has done that probably could be looked at by the DOE as discriminatory. I’m debating on whether to put in a complaint knowing it could bring on retaliatory actions.</p>
<p>I wish she would transfer but she took off a year between high school and most likely many of the courses wouldn’t transfer which would put her further behind. Plus her college GPA wouldn’t get her into a school with 100% need blind aid like the ones her sibs went to. She could go to the state university but that might trigger new stress and all in all her drs have said she has improved a ton this year. 2 years ago I was told she would live in a group home for the rest of her life so where she is and what she has to deal with is remarkable.</p>
<p>Also thank you all for the information, it helps to know this might be unrelated to her disability. I’m guessing when they said “waiting list” for the Perkins it meant they are waiting to see how many freshman take the FA bait. I guess most parents don’t know enough to ask or read the fine print especially with these schools that aren’t 100% need based. And I had assumed since my other kids had great aid that often increased yearly with the hikes in tuition etc that the package would be at least maintained. It just seems dumb to me to do business this way however this school has a very high transfer rate. There’s even a facebook group that recently sprung up where I guess about a 1/4 of the student population is complaining that the university is more interested in prospective students than the ones they have now.</p>
<p>My daughter got a Perkins Loan for her first two years and did not get it after that. I guess we rose to a higher relative financial level in the school population. </p>
<p>If your daughter’s school does not guarantee to meet full need…then there are no guarantees that your aid will stay the same from year to year. It might…and it might not.</p>
<p>I’m sorry for what your daughter is experiencing at this school. There must be some true positives or why else would she be continuing as a student there?</p>
<p>I don’t know if she will be continuing. I know if I had of been more educated to the possibility of this aid situation I would have been able to motivate her to transfer. I know she was in the process of getting transcripts, etc. together in February but that was when she was going to change her major. There have been many times she has stated if it wasn’t for this department and her major she would leave. Unless she can earn the money this summer or find cheaper room/board she won’t be returning.</p>