I am a single mom with 3 defendants and make less than 70k but my fafsa for my son came back saying he is not eligible for federal aid. Wondering why this could be? They calculated my EFC as over 5000. It just doesn’t seem right. Any advice or tips?
By not eligible, do you mean not eligible for a Pell Grant? Or can he not take out a subsidized or unsubsidized loan?
Is he a citizen? Does he have an SSN? Has he registered with the Selective Service? No drug convictions?
An income of $70K would be too high for Pell. But unless he answers “no” to one of the questions above, he should be eligible for loans.
The only federal grant money available is the Pell Grant and that is based on your EFC. With a $70,000 income and only one student in college, I don’t think you would be eligible for a Pell Grant.
Anyone who is a U.S. citizen who files a FAFSA is eligible to take a federally funded Direct Loan which is $5500 for freshman year.
What FAFSA were you completing? 2019-2020? If so, what was your EFC?
Is your son starting college this fall?