The full Cost of Attendance is different for different colleges and universities. That means it is hard to say whether or not your costs could be covered by money you qualify for from the federal government by filing the FAFSA.
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You can take out Federal Student Loans of $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year.
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If your family income and assets are low enough to qualify for a full Pell Grant each year, that is about another $5,500. Most families don’t qualify for Pell Grants, let alone the full one.
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If your parents apply for a PLUS loan, and aren’t approved, you can borrow another $4,000 each year.
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If your family income and assets are low enough, and your college awards Federal Work Study money, then you could receive a maximum of about $4,000 in Work Study, but only if you do get that job at college and work the hours to earn it.
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If your family income and assets are low enough, and your college also awards some Perkins Loans, that could be worth a maximum of about $5,500. But not all colleges award those at all.
So the short answer is that YES in some cases, a freshman student could receive in the range of $24,500 from the federal government which would cover the full Cost of Attendance at some colleges and universities. But the real answer is that NO, in most students do not receive anything near that amount of money because what they can receive depends on the their family situations and what their colleges and universities actually offer. The only thing that all students who file the FAFSA are guaranteed is that Federal Student Loan. There are a lot of community colleges where a freshman loan of $5,500 will cover tuition and fees, but you would still need to find other money somewhere to pay for your books and materials and your commuting costs from home.
Some states and some colleges and universities have their own money to give out for financial aid, and also use the results from the FAFSA to determine that. You need to speak with your high school guidance counselor and find out whether your state offers any financial aid. To get an idea of what each college or university on your list might offer, run the Net Price Calculator at its website.
(Pretty soon another parent who knows the exact limits for Pell, Federal Work Study, and Perkins will come along and give a more accurate maximum total.)