<p>Others have given you good info on the situation. FAFSA is a federal form that is used to apply for federal aid, that most states and many colleges also use. But it is just a calculator. What it does is give you an Expected Family Contribution (EFC). That number is what qualifies you for federal aid such as the PELL grant (max of $5550) and permits you, as the student, to take up to $5500 in loans freshman year, depending on what your school actually costs. So when you look at what the max is with PELL and full Stafford loand and that’s assuming a zero EFC, you are looking at about $11,000 maximum from the federal government. The rest has to come from the college, and it is entirely up to Master’s as to how much it gives each student. </p>
<p>Though the average aid met is 73% at the school acc to BobWallace, that doesn’t mean you can expect to get 73% of YOUR need met. That is just an average. What YOU get from the school is entirely up to them. It can come down to a full ride to nothing other than what you can get from the federal goverment with suggestions for your parents to borrow the rest from PLUS. That is the range that can be offered to you. So you have to fill out the apps, cross your fingers and wait.</p>
<p>I also suggest you look for some options that you know your family will be able to afford. Some schools where you know you’d be accepted and the payments are doable. You maywant to look for a job as a lot of schools do expect a student contributuion too. That you don’t have it doesn’t matter. Any aid is calculated with the assumption that you will get it and if you don’t, family has to make it up, not the school.</p>