<p>I am a potential transfer student for Spring 2012. I have already filled the FAFSA for the 2011-2012 year, but I am taking the Fall 2011 semester off due to financial difficulties.
My question is, will the schools I am applying to take into account my full EFC for the year or just half of it because it will only be for one semester? Example, say my EFC is 5,000 for the year. Would they expect me to pay that for one semester since I am taking the first semester off?
Also, are the financial aid packages less when you are applying for the Spring semester? Due they send you a package that only covers that semester? (I am assuming that is the case because I know that the new FAFSA begins on January 1st).
Sorry if this post is confusing!</p>
<p>I would love to know this too! I am a high school graduate as of this last May, and am planning on attending Kansas State spring 2012. I’ve filled out FAFSA as well and was curious as to if I would be receiving a full years “package” of grants/loans, or just half for the semester. Please let me know if you have found out!
-Nick</p>
<p>You will not get a full years aid for attending for one semester. You will just get a semester’s worth. Financial aid is usually calculated on an annual basis and disbursed on a semester basis (or quarter for schools on quarter systems). For instance if your Pell eligiibility for a year is $4000, you would get only $2000 for the spring semester (though you might be eligible for the balance in the summer if you took summer classes). Not having gone to school in the fall would not mean you get the whole year’s Pell in the Spring semester. Loans may be handled differently. When I started school in a Spring semester I did get more than half my annual loan eligibility in the one semester.</p>
<p>Spring aid *might *be lower than aid offered in the fall. Some programs, such as SEOG and WS, have very limited funding and there is unlikely to be any money left in those programs to offer in the Spring (those funds at our school for the 2011-2012 school year were fully awarded by feb 2011). Some scholarships may also not be available to students starting in the spring (that would depend on the school and the scholarships) </p>
<p><a href=“I%20am%20assuming%20that%20is%20the%20case%20because%20I%20know%20that%20the%20new%20FAFSA%20begins%20on%20January%201st”>quote</a>.
[/quote]
The new FAFSA that begins on January 1st is for the 2012-2013 school year that starts in the fall (or summer for some schools) of 2012. Spring 2012 is part of the 2011-2012 school year and will use the current FAFSA. You will be offered aid that covers just the Spring semester.</p>
<p>If you attend for a single term, your EFC is adjusted from a 9-month EFC to either a 4 or 5 month EFC. The EFC is not split in half, but it is adjusted down. You will be packaged based on the adjusted EFC, the cost of attendance for a single term, and any loans you received at another school in the same award year must be considered when determining remaining annual eligibility. Often, mid year transfers will not receive any SEOG, work study, or institutional grants since these funds are usually gone by the time fall/spring students have been packaged.</p>