<p>I've called so many different places...offices of financial aid..fafsa itself and i always get contradicting answers....well first of all waht I assumed was that fafsa looks at your entire college expense including housing and extra and gives u an amount based on ur family's situation...For some of the schools I specified that I wanted to live off campus, because I do want to, and the lady i spoke with from fafsa told me that all that does is really tell fafsa that ur asking for more money since off campus is mor expensive. Then when I asked her how the moneys allotted or whether they give money for housing she gave me vague answers. Next I called several schools I applied to wh also gave me contradicting answers. One person even told me that when u specify that ur living off campus fafsa just regards it as not their problem how you will pay for ur living. Another told me that if thers any money "left over" I'd be give na check to pay for off campus housing, but when i asked him waht "left over" meant he didn't know. I really need to go ahead and sign an apartment lease but I can't really do so if I don't know I'll be getting anything from fafsa. My efc was 2000 btw.</p>
<p>Now im just so confused because I don't know i anything i've been told is true. This especially bothers me because I also had a commento n my Student Aid Report taht said thatSS wasnt able to confirm I'm a citizen (my parents became naturalized citizens2 yrs ago) and that I had to provide the individual schools proof such as my US passport. When I called one of the schools the person told me that I didn't even need to worry becuase my fafsa would still be calculated and i could just show the passport in the fall to obtain the aid. Now I don't even know if that is even true since i've gotten so many different answers regarding the housing. </p>
<p>I would really appreciate if somebody who already went through fafsa or a parent or anyone could reply. Thanks very much!</p>
<p>Whoa there - I think you are confused as to what FAFSA is. FAFSA is a report that takes the financial data you enter and determines your eligibility for federal assistance (such as Pell grants, Perkins loans, etc.). Each college, according to its own policies, will use the FAFSA report and determine how much total aid it will give you, including whatever federal aid you qualify for. Whether you will live on or off campus has no bearing on your EFC (determined by the FAFSA input). That will be considered when each individual college determines what it will cost for you to attend that particular college. You are getting different answers because you are dealing with different colleges, each with its own unique financial aid criteria. And you will probably get a different amount of financial aid offered by each of your colleges.</p>
<p>Suggest you focus on getting the FAFSA completed before the deadline (looming for most schools, already past for some). If you haven't already.</p>
<p>Then schools that accept you will also offer you an aid package based on the EFC ($2,000, you indicate) determined by the FAFSA. Each will figure the total cost of going to their college (tuition, room&Board, books, fees, and miscellaneous expenses). That total will be different if you're on campus, off campus, or living at home. Sometimes off-campus housing is cheaper, sometimes it's more expensive than dorms. Then they subtract the EFC from the total cost of college, and try to fashion an aid offer that fills most (usually not all) of the difference.</p>
<p>They make up most of the difference with:</p>
<p>Grants & Scholarships (the best aid -- no need to pay back)
Loans (often low interest with deferred payment until after college)
Work Study (you get a job on or near campus through the financial aid office to pay for part of your education).</p>
<p>Then, after you've got your acceptances and your aid offers, you decide which matches your interests and needs.</p>