<p>hi i will be going to aschool with a yearly tuition of just under $8000. i have a 3.2 gpa and i got a 24 on the act. my parents make around $25k a year. can anyone give me an estimate of how much i might pay?</p>
<p>Fill out the FAFSA4caster for an estimate:</p>
<p>[FAFSA4caster</a> - Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/F4CApp/index/index.jsf]FAFSA4caster”>http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/F4CApp/index/index.jsf)</p>
<p>not very much.</p>
<p>With an income that low, you will almost certainly qualify for an EFC of less than $4700. This means that you will qualify for the Pell Grant. If you get the full Pell Grant, which is $5000 give or take a few hundred, you’ll be left with about $3000 per year. You can either cover that cost with loans, outside scholarship sources, or merit aid from the school if the school offers it (although you don’t look incredibly competitive, it’s definitely a possibility depending on the school). If room and board is a factor, you will also have to cover that.</p>
<p>no room and board, and im kinda proud of my 3.2 lol.</p>
<p>oh btw, i work and i make around $125 per week, sometimes less. will this affect me?</p>
<p>If you qualify for the Automatic 0 EFC, your earnings will not be counted. To qualify for the Automatic 0 EFC, your family needs to earn less then $30,000 per year AND file a 1040A or 1040EZ or qualify for federal means-tested benefits (free or reduced lunch, food stamps, WIC, cash assistance, etc.). If not, I doubt your income will push your EFC over $4700, meaning that you will still qualify for food stamps.</p>
<p>ok thanks, i know i get reduced lunch at school but we def do not get food stamps.</p>
<p>Reduced lunch will qualify you for auto 0 EFC … so if your parent(s) AGI is less than $30,000 per year you will get the highest Pell Grant (0 EFC=$5350/year for 2009-10). With auto 0, your earnings aren’t considered at all. You report them on the FAFSA, but if your parent info qualifies for auto 0, your income becomes irrelevant.</p>
<p>Well Im not sure exactly, but if you are looking for some info try this [Practical</a> Tips for Post-Secondary Students](<a href=“http://nomoredebts.org/tips-for-ps-students.html]Practical”>http://nomoredebts.org/tips-for-ps-students.html) . It helped me a lot when I first started college.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>so i should not worry about the money i make?</p>
<p>I think most people have danced around your original question (applicannot came closest to answering it). While your Expected Financial Contribution will be low (perhaps even $0), you MAY pay the full amount. The EFC tells how much you can POSSIBLY receive in aid. You can get Stafford loans and potentially Pell Grants. However, many schools GAP the need. Even for schools that meet full need that need may be filled by loans.</p>
<p>
If you qualify for the automatic zero efc then your income and assets are not considered at all. Once the EFC formula deduces that you qualify for the automatic 0 (mainly dependent student or independent student with a dependent other than a spouse, income <$30k (parent income for dependent student) and eligible for 1040ez/a or one of the other qualifiers) then the formula stops there and does not look at any other income/asset information.</p>
<p>Thank you for this post. This gives us a little bit of peace of mind. My husband is self-employed and I’m a stay-at-home mom. His adjusted gross income is below the poverty line after all the deductions. The other thing I thought was going to cause the conflict is our savings account that he saved up for before we got married and just continued to grow just by living within our means. I’m afraid that we’re not eligible for the pell grant because we saved up in case something happens. Both of our EFC’s are 0 even after providing our bank account information probably because we’re married, have two dependents (children), and I’m a dislocated worker (a stay-at-home mom fell in that category). Those, I believe, would automatically qualify for 0 EFC.</p>
<p>A stay at home Mom does not qualify as a dislocated worker. A dislocated worker</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A stay-at-home mom has made a choice & is therefore not considered a dislocated worker. However, there are other ways to qualify besides dislocated worker, so you may still qualify.</p>
<p>swimcatsmom, What is the qualification for the Automatic 0 EFC? Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>so what i understand is that i should get the full pell grant? which is around 5300?</p>
<p>For the 2009-2010 school year the qualifications for the automatic 0 EFC for a dependent student were:</p>
<p>AGI below $30,000 and
eligible to file a 1040a/1040ez tax return or anyone included in the parents household size received benefits during 2007 or 2008 from any of the designated means-tested Federal benefit programs or the parents are not required to file any income tax return; or the students parent is a dislocated worker.</p>
<p>An independent student is not eligible unless they have a dependent other than a spouse.</p>
<p>These are 2009-2010 rules. They may or may not change for 2010-2011. The income limit (currently AGI under $30k) is supposed to be adjusted every year according to some sort of benchmark but I have not seen anything about if it will be adjusted - As SS pensions are not being increased I am wondering if this will not be adjusted either. Usually the new info comes out around this time of year.</p>
<p>ok i got a scholarship for $3k today from the school, and you are saying that i should get the full pell grant? so i shouldnt expect to pay anything?</p>
<p>If your EFC is 0 and you enroll full time then you should get the full Pell (currently $5350 for a year, $2675 for a semester). It your tuition is $8,000 for a year it sounds like your tuition s/b covered with the scholarship and the Pell. But how about fees/books/room&board(if you are planning to live on campus)? Both my kids have quite a lot of expenses on top of tuition.</p>