<p>I was wondering if it is mandatory to fill out the FAFSA application to go to the University of Alabama. </p>
<p>Also, I’ve received the Presidential Scholarship. Do I have to fill out FAFSA to receive the money?</p>
<p>no, you don’t have to fill it out, it is optional</p>
<p>It is not mandatory to fill out the FAFSA, but I would fill it out anyway in case your family’s financial situation changes or you want to take out a student loan.</p>
<p>thanks guys</p>
<p>When is the FAFSA due again, not Jan 1 right, shortly thereafter?</p>
<p>Oh and the FAFSA is needed for the federal student loan, right? I thought every student was eligible for the $5500 one?</p>
<p>One needs yp complete FASFA to be awarded the $5500 unsubsidized Stafford loan. You can complete the FAFSA starting January 1st and UA’s priority deadline to submit the FAFSA will be March 1st IIRC.</p>
<p>My kids have the NMF and the Presidential scholarship and we’ve never done a FAFSA. Merit scholarships are not based on need.</p>
<p>However, if you want a loan, work-study, or other available aid, SUBMIT a COMPLETED FAFSA as soon as you can after January 1st. **At all colleges, some aid is first come, first serve…so if you wait, you lose. **</p>
<p>Every student is eligible for a federal student loan (as long as he’s a citizen or legal resident/green card). </p>
<p>the loan amounts are…</p>
<p>frosh $5500
soph $6500
jr $7500
sr 7500</p>
<p>You can still submit a FAFSA for the school current year (for current students) if you just want the loan.</p>
<p>Mastermania…congrats on the Presidential…what state are you from?</p>
<p>Mississippi</p>
<p>M2CK with the NMF scholarship did your son need any additional money, work study etc?</p>
<p>^^^My son has the NMF scholarship. It does not cover the cost of meals, entertainment, laundry, transportation, and supplies. He/we have to come up with the money to pay for these items.</p>
<p>The annual $1,000 grant associated with the scholarship pretty much covers the cost of books.</p>
<p>M2CK with the NMF scholarship did your son need any additional money, work study etc?</p>
<p>Work study is a federal program for those with demonstrated need. Not everyone with demonstrated need gets work-study (this goes for all/most schools).</p>
<p>If your EFC is higher than COA, then you can’t get work study.</p>
<p>If your EFC is a few thousand under COA, then you’re going to get a loan.</p>
<p>If your scholarships add up to an amount that meets your need, then again, you won’t qualify for any need-based FA.</p>
<p>example…
COA is $35k (OOS)
EFC is $20k
“need” is $15k</p>
<p>But if you’re given a scholarship that is worth $20k (or more), then you have no “need” …your need has been more covered by the $20k scholarship…and your EFC has been effectively reduced by $5k.</p>
<p>Obviously, if you have a highish EFC and you’ve been given a good scholarship, then you probably don’t have any “need.” This is the same at any school, not just at Bama.</p>
<p>At most colleges, work-study is given to those with lowish EFCs because they have the most need. (there are some schools that will ONLY give w/s to kids with 0 EFCs)</p>
<p>The good news is…since Bama is in a good-sized city, there are many opportunities for a student to get a part-time job.</p>
<p>Also, university tutoring jobs are not work-study. Any qualified student can apply.</p>
<p>If you don’t know what your FAFSA EFC might be…use an EFC calculator.</p>
<p>A rough estimate is about 20-25% of gross income. This estimate doesn’t take into acct big savings/assets…which would cause a higher EFC. If you have 2 undergrads, divide the number in half for each kid. Again…rough estimate.</p>
<p>Quick EFC … </p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Quick EFC Calculator Results](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid)</p>
<p>Again, this is just a quick estimate…</p>
<p>For example…</p>
<p>income: $150,000
savings: (I didn’t put any into the calculator)
family size: 4 people
EFC: 33,485</p>
<p>m2ck,
That was very helpful information. It doesn’t look like S is going to eligible for work study, I think he would prefer tutoring anyway. I am thinking that we would only have S take the federal student loan in an emergency. So in that case could we file the fafsa later? Why if every student is eligible for the loan do the parents have to fill out the FAFSA?</p>
<p>Yes, you can file FAFSA later if all you want is a student loan. A student has up until about June 1st (of the CURRENT school year) to get a student loan for the past year’s expenses. </p>
<p>I know that sounds odd, but if your student is about to finish his frosh year, and say he wants to do a summer study abroad… he can quickly file a FAFSA and if he has some uncovered COA, then he can borrow up to the $5500 for freshman.</p>
<p>Example…</p>
<p>COA $35k
EFC $35k
Need is 0</p>
<p>Student is awarded $20k in scholarship, parents are responsible for $15k. Student can file a FAFSA during spring of freshman year and get $5500 for the past year.</p>
<p>Another example…</p>
<p>COA $35k
EFC $35k
need is 0</p>
<p>If student is awarded huge scholarships that total up to $32k, then the student can only borrow $3k. </p>
<p>*Why if every student is eligible for the loan do the parents have to fill out the FAFSA? *</p>
<p>I would post this Q in the FA forum because I think Kelsmom could answer this better. I think the rules have changed a bit this year…parents may not have to submit all info if they refuse and student can still get a loan. I think I remember Kelsmom (who is a FA officer for a university) said that now parents can refuse to give info and the student can still get a loan.</p>
<p>I think the reason why FAFSA wanted this info was to determine if the student qualified for subsidized loans. </p>
<p>We’ve never done a FAFSA, so I’m not sure of all the reasons.</p>
<p>Just one correction to the examples m2ck posted above: if a student files for FAFSA, they will be eligible for $5500 in unsubsidized Stafford loans regardless of their family’s EFC. Thus in both examples, the student’s need will be more than met. Schools also reserve the right to offer other types of financial aid in addition to the unsubsidized Stafford loan. Also, you don’t have to take out a loan for the full $5500 and can ask the school to move the unused amount of an unsubsidized Stafford loan to the spring semester so the student can still take out the full $5500 that school year if they so desire.</p>
<p>I think Sea_Tide misunderstood my post. I didn’t say that a student can’t borrow if his EFC is too high. Any student can borrow up to $5500 as long as he doesn’t have funds from another source that total up to COA …FA, scholarships, grants, etc</p>
<p>He may have misunderstood my second example…</p>
<p>In my second example, the student can only borrow $3k because his scholarship is too high. I didn’t limit the loan because of EFC, I limited it because once you subtract the scholarship from the COA, the difference is $3k. Such a student can’t borrow more than $3k. Scholarships/grants plus fed Direct loans cannot exceed COA.</p>
<p>I did misunderstand your example, m2ck. Total scholarships/grants/loans cannot exceed the cost of attendance as calculated by the university’s financial aid department.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>the whole thing is very confusing. :/</p>