<p>Aha, you two are exactly right. I wasn't sure I could file 1040a or ez by the time I completed the FAFSA, because of the itemized deductions issue. I'm pretty sure I can. Since I sold our house by March '06, the standard deduction amount will be pretty similar to the three months of interest write off I would get from the mortgage I had. When I actually file my taxes in a few weeks, I'll update the FAFSA and that should change the EFC.</p>
<p>so what is the efc supposed to be in order to qualify for a pell grant?</p>
<p>Maximum Pell grant is $4050. I had thought EFC of $4050 or below was required but on another thread (sorry I can't remember which one) someone said it was @ $3850 - I have not found that info anywhere. Of course Pell is less the higher your EFC (so with $3850 EFC Pell would only be a couple of hundred $$s). But being eligible for Pell also makes you eligible for certain other grants.</p>
<p>So with a EFC of 819 how much Pell Grant would i get?</p>
<p>The key is that only a handful of schools will actually meet 100% of your need over & above your EFC. In other words, the total cost of attendance (tuition+room+board+expenses) - EFC = your need. If they DO pledge to meet 100% of need, it will come in a package that will include grants (do not have to be repaid), loans (must be repaid with interest), and CWS (part-time work --- you do NOT get paid up-front for this!!). You can do some research (or ask the school!) to find out the typical percentage of each in a financial aid package.</p>
<p>HERE IS THE "CAUTION" --- the vast majority of schools do NOT meet 100% of your need!!!! If you have a really low EFC, the difference between your EFC and the cost of attendance may be a very big gap. Most public schools do not have the funds to give you to bridge this gap. In this case, you would probably have to take out supplemental loans. Note that government-backed, low-interest-rate, deferred-interest loans are limited to a certain amount per year (amount depends on year in school & whether or not you are Pell-eligible) --- but less than $6000, I believe. So anything more will be a less appealing kind of loan than what you might typically consider a student loan to be.</p>
<p>Do your homework BEFORE you decide where to go to school! I worked at a school with a high cost & low endowment. We simply could not meet the need for many students, and some realized this really late in the game.</p>
<p>You are right about it. Say, what school do you work for?</p>
<p>Although it seems like just yesterday, I stopped working when my high school senior was born! I worked at a small engineering school that had just split off from a major corporation a few years before. Cost of attendance went up & the need for endowments kicked in. While I was there, scholarships were pretty minimal. Fortunately, advancement efforts have changed that!</p>