<p>I'm wondering if anyone here has ever waited until they could be considered financially 'independent' under FAFSA, in order to go to school and get their degree, with it being fully paid for by the government. I'm 21, I went to community college and got my AA. But with all of the crazy budget cuts and tuition increases in California, my parents can barely afford to send me to a CSU to transfer and get my bachelors. They make too much money for me to get any aid, but not enough to comfortably pay for my education. They suggested I wait until I'm 24 to go back to school, so I can be considered independent and thus get everything paid for under FAFSA, because I know I won't be making very much money independently. </p>
<p>Has anyone ever done this? Does it work that way? Am I crazy for considering it? </p>
<p>(Also, I know there are other ways to be considered independent, but I don't want to get married or join the military. I'm willing to wait for the independent status, unless there is some other logical option I don't know about.)</p>
What makes you think it would be fully paid by the government? Even for a student with a 0 EFC, the maximum pell grant (the federal student grant) is $5550 a year. It’s a help, but certainly does not fully pay for anything other than perhaps a community college. Other than that you would be looking at loans. </p>
<p>Of course Ca does have a good state grant (though with their budget problems who knows if it will stay that generous). Are you talking about state aid rather than federal aid?</p>
<p>I’m not entirely sure, I haven’t looked into it to fully understand all the different kinds of aid. Maybe I didn’t word what you quoted in the best way. Even if all I could get was $5550, that’d still be tremendously helpful (and 100% more helpful than my situation right now). And if I was going to a CSU I could probably afford to pay for the difference. If I was independent (and poor, which I would be), could I get more state aid as well?</p>
<p>One of mine did. Didn’t get all that much more aid the first year, since he was working full time. If you are an independent and have an income, that counts heavily. So you have to be making very, very little to get the full PELL. You are eligible for $4K in loans. The school to which you are applying, if it doesn’t meet full need, may well ignore your need and just offer loans. That’s what happened to my son.</p>
<p>The second year, he did qualify for PELL, got an additional grant which helped somewhat. Had he stayed in state, lived at home, gone to a state school, it would have worked well, mainly because of the low cost of our in state publics, but to go OOS, live on his own, even $5500 in grant doesn’t go that far towards the cost of school.</p>
<p>Run the numbers as you expect them to be through the FAFSA calculator and see if you can get PELL if you are working the year before you go back to school. You’ll see what I mean.</p>
<p>Say, you are thinking of applying for school for the 2212-13 school year. Unless you are making no money for 2011, that income is going to be assessed 1/2 for FAFSA purposes. Never mind you needed every cent to live on it. And if you saved it, you’ll get hit again as to the amount sitting there the day you file FAFSA. Son avoided that by living at home and paying us living expenses,But there is no way to get around the 50% income hit.</p>
<p>I’m 28 and just got into a private university. I haven’t been dependent since age 21 so I thought I would also be considered “independent.” For the FAFSA I’m independent; however, I was denied independent status from the school. The reasons why are: I haven’t made over $10k each year from 2007-2011 and haven’t paid rent for the past 4 years. According to the school, my parent’s financial information is needed to get a finaid package even if they aren’t involved. It seems like a standard process.</p>
<p>That said, be sure to ask the school(s) what their “independent student” policies and requirements are before you apply. Also, make sure you’re truly “independent” in their eyes to avoid the parental information requirement.</p>
<p>Trypster, I think you’re wise to think about this. Definitely, this is a viable path. Of course, the feds won’t cover the whole thing, and your income will matter. But you’ll be in a very advantageous position if you’re willing to wait.</p>
<p>Fox21’s points don’t apply, as he’s not really independent by any reasonable definition - unless he’s really been homeless for the past decade.</p>
<p>It is possible that it could work out. Just letting you know that it is not the sure shining thing it may appear to be.</p>
<p>Colleges that use FAFSA only do not tend to meet full need anyways, so all you are guaranteed to get is the PELL. You are also eligible for $4K a year more in staffords. In those states who use FAFSA for some need grants, you could get those with a low EFC. </p>
<p>But when it comes to the PROFILE schools, they dig for the silver in your teeth. They can do what they want with their money. </p>
<p>The way it can work is that if you can some how take the hit for the first year due to your income, then you might do fine for subsequent years. My son was not PELL eligibie the first year because he had a full time job/unemployment the year before. That second year was when his independent status made the difference.</p>
<p>cpt, or swimcatsmom, could you explain what the Staffords for an independent student? Is it the same as what would be for a dependant student, if parents are rejected for a PLUS Loan (ie:3500 sub + 2000 unsub+ 4000 unsub for a freshman)? Wow, that is a lot of debt!</p>
<p>Yes, Northeastmom, it is. But if the student is 24, has a couple of years of college under his belt, it’s not a bad option. I don’t see how someone without the credit and without a job or something to secure the loan can get a better deal on interest rates, and you can’t beat the unsub parts. </p>
<p>With the low cost tuition in NY, the PELL and TAP can pay most of the expenses, leaving the Stafford for living costs. It’s makes it doable. </p>
<p>Another thing about going independent, most PROFILE schools will not accept independent status for returning students. For instance if you take a leave of absence for a few years after 2 years at Private U and go back at age 24, they are not likely to roll out the red carpet for financial aid for you even if they are a 100% need met school. You don’t qualify as such for most schools. You still have to apply as a dependent student. Schools can give out their own money any way they please and they have all kinds of little known rules to take care of things like this.</p>
Yes and No. An independent student already has the $4000 a year higher loan eligibility. (the additional loan available to a dependent student whose parents are turned down for the PLUS effectively brings the student up to the same loan eligibility level as an independent student).</p>
<p>Yes, that’s correct. A total of $9500 for an independent freshman of which up to $3500 may be subsidized (depending on need). (Ind. Sophomore is $10,400/$4500, ind. senior and up $12,500/$5,500, aggregate $57500/34,500).</p>
No. The limit for junior year and above is $12,500 per year of which up to $5500 can be subsidized (depending on need). Where are you getting a combined junior/senior $23k limit from?</p>
<p>The aggregate limit is not based on 4 years of school. It is an aggregate limit. There are all sorts of different ways the student could get to the aggregate limit. The individual years limits are based on a student’s standing at their school. So a student going in as a sophomore (because of AP credits or Clep) would be eligible for the sophomore limit. Alternatively a student who did not do enough hours their first year to attain sophomore status by their 2nd year would only eligible for the freshman limit in their 2nd year - so a student could get the freshman limit twice - it would still go toward the aggregate limit though. A student who never had loans until their junior/senior year would be eligible for Junior and above limits for that year and any subsequent years (until the reach the aggregate limit). </p>
<p>However the student gets their loans over the years, the independent undergrad aggregate limit is $57,500 of which up to $23,000 can be subsidized.</p>
<p>Thank you for explaining this. I was getting the 23,000 limit for junior and senior years combined by adding 5500 (sub or unsub)+2000 (unsub) + 4000 (unsub)=11,500 for junior year, + another 11,500 for senior year (same amounts of loans as junior year).</p>
<p>I think you are focusing on the additional $4000 a dependent freshman or sophomore can get if their parent is denied a PLUS. A dependent junior/senior can get an additional $5000 a year if their parent is denied a PLUS, which brings them up to the same level as an independent junior/senior.</p>
<p>@Dan45678 - I was planning to go to San Francisco State University. I probably wouldn’t live in SF due to high living costs, but would commute from the Bay Area - Oakland, Berkeley, something like that. Right now the tuition is $5600/year, but could easily increase 30% by the Spring semester due to more budget cuts. It’s tough to think about, because I don’t know if I should just go to school now and take on a bunch of loans (which me and my parents really didn’t want to do, and were under the impression that we could afford school before the budget cuts started hiking up the tuition so drastically) - or, wait until I’m 24 and can get financial aid, but also risk the fact that by then the tuition could be far more expensive, and we’d still have to pay a large chunk of the tuition ourselves after financial aid. </p>
<p>I really appreciate everyones responses, thank you. Because I don’t have financial aid right now, some of the terms you guys are using are completely foreign to me, so I’ll definitely have to look into everything that has been said further so I can understand it better.</p>