<p>Here is the financial aid package I received from Duke:
49,000 Grants
1500 per semester work study
1000 per semester loan</p>
<p>Total tuition is 55,000</p>
<p>I then received 5000 in pell grants through FAFSA. Am I allowed to use this pell grant to cover the work study and loans so that I don't have to do either? If so, and I therefore have full tuition paid for by grants, what happens if I receive outside scholarships? Where does this money go? (I know the outside scholarship part may differ by school, so if you're familiar with Duke's policies please let me know.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks. And do you know what happens if I receive outside scholarships? Is my grant just reduced and therefore doing outside scholarships is pointless, or do I get pocket money</p>
<p>Usually getting outside scholarships reduces your need and therefore your school based need based aid. This is something to discuss with the Duke financial aid department.</p>
<p>Some schools also reduce their institutional grants if a student is eligible for the Pell grant but one would HOPE that they only do this AFTER they eliminate the self help portions of aid (loans and work study). Again…ask this question to Duke.</p>
<p>Congratulations!! You’ve gotten accepted to a great school with a financial aid package that looks like it’s going to make it very possible for you to attend!!!</p>
<p>Schools will not award aid in excess of their COA. You can ask for an increase in your budget due to certain unusual expenses though. Most schools will do this once every 3-4 years for a computer purchase. If your travel expenses will exceed the normal allocation for transportation, that may be another adjustment to explore. In the end, you already have a full package, so you might want to consider whether you actually need to pursue outside scholarships or if they might benefit another qualified student who has not received such generous aid. Sometimes it’s not a matter of whether you can get more money for college, but rather whether you should let others have a turn…just like kindergarten, huh?:)</p>
<p>Outside scholarships will eliminate the loan and work study, making them worthwhile to apply for. They are also good for your resume. And of course they help out your soon to be beloved school.</p>
<p>You need to call Duke to ask THEM what they will do. Your aid totals $51500…and the COA (it’s not only tuition…it’s tuition and the other costs also…including room board and expenses) is $55,000. That leaves you with a $3500 balance.</p>
<p>Ask DUKE what they will do regarding the Pell Grant. Duke will tell you how they are going to deal with your eligibility for this.</p>
<p>You do not receive the Pell grant from FAFSA. The Pell, and any other federal aid, is awarded to you by the school based on the FAFSA submitted to your school. I would expect the estimated grants you have been awarded already include the Pell grant and any other federal grant the school has awarded to you.</p>
<p>I missed the semester part too. That’s a lot of work study, I’d definitely try for outside scholarships. I’m surprised they do such a low loan and high work study. Not great for a freshmen.</p>
<p>If Pell is already figured in (or will reduce grants) then the student can reduce work study by taking out a larger loan. However, I wouldn’t replace the entire $3k of work study with loans. It’s no fun paying back loans that were just for pocket money…which is largely what work study is for.</p>
<p>thanks guys, and sorry if that came out weird. the 49k is PER semester as is the work study and loan.</p>
<p>i received that package the day i got my decision in december and received what i will most likely get from FAFSA about a week ago so no, the FAFSA isn’t part of the duke aid.</p>
<p>um…I don’t think so. If you got a $49,000 grant PER SEMESTER…your total aid would be $98,000 a year in grants alone which FAR exceeds the cost of attending Duke for the year. Please go back and check your award. I’m wondering if everything is for the full year.</p>
<p>Current COA is $55690. OP’s package without Pell is $54000. That’s pretty darn close to 10-11 COA. Call Duke to find out what is what. I think you may be very happily surprised.</p>
<p>Federal aid is awarded and paid to you through the school, it does come separately from FAFSA. As FAFSA is not submitted until later than CSS schools will estimate your total financial aid based on the financial information you provided. They include federal aid in those estimates based on your CSS information. The work study and the loans are probably both federal aid, and the grants probably already include an estimated amount for the Pell grant.</p>
<p>This OP needs to call Duke. They are the only ones who will be able to tell her/him how a Pell award is being used or will be used with the financial aid that Duke packages for this student.</p>