<p>I know no one can really estimate how much I can get for school but anyways I'll explain my circumstances. During my freshmen year I found out who my father was and he is still prison for another five years. The next following year my mother unexpectedly passed away from a drug overdose. No one claimed custody of me, I worked for a little bit but have not file taxes yet since I'm seventeen. I applied for FAFSA under special circumstances and plan to go out of state as well. Can anyone explain to me how these grants may work, and are there any other government based aid that can help me?</p>
<p>I am sorry for your loss and I admire your desire for education. You should ask your social services counselor. If you don’t have a social services counselor ask your school guidance counselor. There is a lot of help for you. Each state is different but your experience is exactly the type of situation that our social safety net should be taking care of. Please be persistent. A church pastor may also be a good source of info.</p>
<p>Josie,</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the loss of your mom.</p>
<p>You need to make sure that you apply to some instate safeties in case you don’t get enough aid.</p>
<p>Federal grants are LOW…not enough to pay for college.</p>
<p>OOS publics don’t give much aid.</p>
<p>Where are you applying?</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>With one parent deceased and one incarcerated it is likely you will be independent for FAFSA. If that is the case, your own income and assets will be what is used to calculate your EFC.</p>
<p>Being 17 does not mean you should not be filing taxes. (my kids filed taxes from the age of 16 when they had their first summer jobs). If you earn more than the cut off for an individual, you are required to file taxes. If you do not earn that much but have had taxes deducted you should file to get a tax refund.</p>
<p>The main Federal grant for students is the Pell grant. The maximum pell for a year is around $5600. To get the maximum requires a 0 EFC. There are also federal student loans. The maximum for a freshman independent student is $9500 a year. Their is other Federal aid but it is not guaranteed.</p>
<p>When applying for colleges, keep in mind that most schools do not meet full need. You need to make sure you include schools that will be affordable with federal aid. Out of State public schools are not likely to meet full need.</p>
<p>"Currently a Senior starting with a 3.3 unweighted GPA.
24 on the ACT, 09 on Writing. I do plan to retake.
Involved with a multi media community youth program.
Involved with a community radio station.
Involved with Planned Parenthood’s Teen Council.
2 years of debate.
AP Music Theory and 4 credits of honor courses so far.
Currently taking AP Bio, AP Psych and college in high school English and Math. Doing pretty well so far in those classes.
Have had three jobs since I been 14.
Latino student.</p>
<p>My list of schools are University of Washington, University of Colorado Boulder, Western Washington University, University of Puget Sound, University of Oregon, Washington State University, University of Portland, Seattle University, Lewis and Clark. </p>
<h1>So I’m asking basically what colleges I have an excellent chance of getting into and what colleges not so much. Obviously I’m very interested in the pacific Northwest and you can kind of get a sense of who I am: a laid back liberal Latino from Utah lol. So if you have any recommendations of schools I should also apply to, feel free to share."</h1>
<p>Sorry, but none of those OOS publics will work. The $5500 grant that you’d get wouldn’t even make a dent in the costs. There just aren’t gov’t grants for students to go to OOS publics. It would be a waste of money since a student could go instate for less.</p>
<p>As for those private schools, they will likely give you aid, but none “meet need” and you have full need. That’s a huge problem. They may give you $30k in aid, but where would the rest of the money come from?</p>
<p>You’re instate for Utah. You need to make sure that you apply to your instate publics. Does Utah have any state aid?</p>
<p>I know that you want the NE, but you may need to look for schools that want more hispanic kids. Try DePauw…excellent aid…also try Loyola Maryland. </p>
<p>what are you living on now? Where are you living? Do you have a job?</p>
<p>Oh yeah I forgot to mention that I did apply for in-state schools haha. I know there is scholarships out there and have applied to some, but unfortunately haven’t got anything back :(. I’m currently living with my grandparents, who only receive income through SSI. I’m not working now because I was applying to schools. Basically my grandparents are supporting me until I move out.</p>
<p>You need to get a job. You’re going to need the money. </p>
<p>Do not waste money on OOS public applications. They don’t give much need-based aid to OOS students.</p>
<p>Have you used the Net Price Calculators on various schools’ websites? You need to do so.</p>
<p>Just to give you an idea of why OOS publics won’t work out for you, I used the NPC on Western Wash’s website. I had to put that you were a veteran so that it would give “independent results”. </p>
<p>$33,809 Cost of Attendance</p>
<p>Grants:
$5645 Federal Pell Grant</p>
<h2>$900 grant (likely SEOG)</h2>
<p>$6545 <<<------- This is the ONLY free money given to you!!!</p>
<p>Loans
$9500</p>
<p>work study
$3300 (this is for personal expenses)</p>
<p>You’d have over $14,000 in uncovered costs. You have no means to pay for those costs.</p>
<p>Op, I am sorry for your loss.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not necessarily true; minimally what most likely will happen is the the school may do a dependency override (as what would happen in Op’s case because of the involuntary dissolution of her family). Student will have to document, document, document.</p>
<p>(I have had students and a family member in this same exact situation- one parent deceased the other incarcerated). </p>
<p>Unless the student is in court ordered legal guardian ship or foster care, there will most likely be a determination for for eligibility to obtain a dependency override (in the case of the students that I personally know, while yes their parent was incarcerated, the parent was still their child’s legal next of kin and had not been stripped of their parent rights. </p>
<p>What happened with 2 of my students (siblings) is that incarcerated dad gave court ordered legal guardianship to his sister and the siblings were independent when they applied for college. Another student went to covenant house presented him self as an unaccompanied youth and was able to be given independent status. Even though the siblings were independent for the FAFSA, they had to present their court documents in order to be cleared for TAP (NYS aid). </p>
<p>I see that you live with your grandparents. Were they given legal guardianship of you through the courts?</p>
<p>Op, what you need to do if you are still in high school is speak with your GC/Social worker who can assist you in getting the services that you need now. Start gathering all of your paperwork; death certificate, award letters (if you are receiving SS death benefits), court documents (so that you can show how long dad has been incarcerated and how much longer he expects to be a guest of the state.</p>
<p>M2k, has given you some great advice; you must have a financial safety. None of the schools on your list meet 100% demonstrated need. There will be a gap and no money to fill the gap.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice, and by the way it’s “he” lol. Yeah I mean I’m not totally set on out of state because the most logical thing is the money.</p>
<p>I know Western Washington - one of your out-of-state schools - participates in the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), which Utah is a part of. If you qualify, often by specific major or by first come/first serve, you would pay in-state tuition plus 50%, which can result in significant savings.</p>
<p>[WICHE</a> - Student Exchange Programs](<a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu/search1.jsp]WICHE”>http://wue.wiche.edu/search1.jsp)</p>
<p>For a student with a 0 EFC and no parents to contribute anything, WUE does no good. WUE is great for affluent kids, but it’s not a great deal for a 0 EFC kid. </p>
<p>The WUE rate and COA for WWU would still be well beyond any aid.</p>
<p>But you can use aid with WUE. For example if he went to Western Washington and received the pell grant and some institutional aid, it might be enough to pay instate tuition plus 50%, but not enough to pay full OOS tuition.</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t someone rather pay 1.5 x instate tuition rather than OOS?</p>
<p>The student isn’t going to get institutional aid from WWU. They don’t give it for need. And, I put his stats into the WWU scholarship calculator and his stats aren’t high enough for any merit money.</p>
<p>I agree that 1.5 is better than OOS, but a Pell grant and a student loan won’t pay for WUE COA at WWU.</p>
<p>If you look at post #8, I ran the NPC on WWU’s website. The only aid given would be Pell and likely SEOG. That’s only $6545 in free money. </p>
<p>Plus, this student will essentially be on his own once he’s in college. Likely have to pay his own cell phone, health insurance, and so forth…expenses that many parents often pay for their college kids. Hopefully, he can return to his grandparents each summer and on breaks to save on summer costs. </p>
<p>The COA for a WUE student at WWU is $26,000…too high for this student with a Pell grant and a federal loan. </p>
<p>Also, WUE isn’t automatic. For instance, at WWU, to get considered for WUE, a student must:</p>
<p>*Have an exceptionally strong academic record. High school grades and test scores are highly valued in the scholarship review process. Advanced Placement, Honors, International Baccalaureate, college courses and other forms of academic rigor are highly valued as well. Leadership experience, special talent, school and community activities, *</p>
<p>the student can try “just to see”, but if he’s having to fund any of this app process himself, then he should cut back on schools that likely won’t work.</p>
<p>JosieChakan: Is there a community college close by that you can commute to?</p>
<p>I totally understand what you are saying. I have mentioned that I applied for scholarships. Once I see the numbers, then I will decide what’s obviously the best and most logical. I have really no money to start with, I’m pretty positive I’m staying here, but it never hurts to apply to some scholarships. I understand that some OOS don’t really supply much aid. It’s lame because I think it would be cool to live somewhere and study, but it’s so expensive. I also wish my scores and GPA were higher. Also I’m probably not going to live in this house much longer due to my grandmas health. Also my SSI gets cut off when I’m 18. So I’ll have to start working.</p>
<p>re: Western Washington and WUE – WUE rates are given to relatively few students at WWU, typically those with stats around 28/29 ACT or higher.</p>