<p>but people have always told me to stay away from loans and paying back 5.5k per year doesnt appeal to me</p>
<p>You’re going to get offered loans as part of your financial aid package. Hell, I had an EFC my sophomore year of 1400 and was still offered something like $3500 in loans, and even that was only because of a federal grant that paid a good amount instead of me taking out more in loans. The university will try to not offer you loans if they can avoid it, but if they can’t that’s considered part of your financial aid package. Many grants have been seriously cut back in recent years, and now that leaves the university having to use student loans as filler for student financial aid. </p>
<p>A financial aid package of $18k all said and done is rather good right now, especially if your EFC is above 2000.</p>
<p>they’re offering me $5550 pell, $1800 differential grant, and $3500 subsidized loan and $2000 unsubsidized.
It’s not showing my bright futures at all and I applied a while back. I’m getting worried.
When I log in to check my bright futures status this is what shows up:
<a href=“http://oi43.■■■■■■■.com/w5yxl.jpg[/url]”>http://oi43.■■■■■■■.com/w5yxl.jpg</a> Is this what it’s supposed to look like?</p>
![http://oi43.■■■■■■■.com/w5yxl.jpg[/url]](http://oi43.tinypic.com/w5yxl.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>Total: $8300 for the year.
Sucks, since its $2300 less than 2011-2012.
I guess i have to graduate eventually 
With an EFC of zeeeero</p>
<p>Any word on when summer aid is coming out?
Stupid politicians constantly taking away from education.
And they wonder why Americans are so dumb</p>
<p>I wonder if the FSU Financial Aid office might be holding back some right now, being conservative with awards, anticipating that tuition and fees for next year might take a big upward spike with the Preeminent Universities Act becoming law? If tuition is increased dramatically for fall, Financial Aid office would then have any held back reserve money to award most needy students who would be most adversely impacted with a big tuition increase?</p>
<p>xSidx1337x - No idea. Last week I was told that summer financial aid would be up this week and Fall/Spring the first week of April. Now this…weird. I notice that the financial aid toolkit is down again this morning which also happened last year. When it happened last year, they backed out all of my daughter’s financial aid and changed her entire package but I thought that was because she was coming in through CARE and they had to remove her loans and package her from non-loan sources for the summer.</p>
<p>Awesome!! Janna, I can’t wait. I am calling in 30 minutes anyway/</p>
<p>I am currently on the phone with the FSU Financial Aid office (haven’t gotten the name of who I am talking to yet) and she said they just had a meeting yesterday about this very thing - lack of funds. According to this person, what you were able to see last night is not going to change if your EFC does not change. Her words, “There are no more funds to be given out. We don’t have any more money.” She did not even entertain my question about additional grants, why did we not get the “renewable” First Gen" grant, etc. She just said, “Your daughter does have room in her package to take on more aid but there is no more money.”</p>
<p>Well, so much for my theory that the Financial Aid office is holding back some money. It sounds like FA’s purse is full with nothing but moths and no cash left. I’m going back home in 5 weeks after spring term at FSU and taking classes at my local community college and looking to score some money working too–I’ll be back at FSU for fall semester. There won’t be any financial aid available other than loans and private scholarships summer term at FSU for most current students.</p>
<p>Tallalassie - I was kind of hoping that they might have more funds for the summer (even though Pell and BF isn’t available then) that we could save(in the bank) and pull over into the fall. My daughter paid up her rent at her current apartment through August so summer would have been a less cost intensive time for her. You’re pretty sure there won’t be any grants this summer? I hate having her take out a ton of loans when she’s just trying to be a special education teacher and not a Dr. or Lawyer, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t get that janna.</p>
<p>How is it possible for that to be the final financial aid, if for example they don’t even list student loans as part of my package? That’s something Federal, not FSU-specific. I’m still eligible for them next year unless there’s some rule I’m not catching.</p>
<p>It makes no sense that this would be finalized with so many people here reporting very low aid amounts. There’s no way that it can go from year after year of solid financial aid offerings to just poof. The budget cuts FSU is facing for next year amounts to around $1700 a student (rough estimate, it’s likely lower). Yet I’m seeing cuts of $12k+ in financial aid.</p>
<p>I agree, Pasbal. And, what financial aid says does not remain consistent at all. For example, just last week they told me on the phone that summer financial aid would be up this week and fall/spring would be first week of April. That same day I think you went to FA and overheard them telling another student that it would still be two more weeks before they released financial aid. So, I don’t think any of us can count on this being written in stone. I shared the conversation this morning just because it’s nice to know what’s going on when you’re trying to deal with this garbage. One thing that they did say this morning is that if you’ve been admitted to your major college there is money there you can go after. I know you are already in your major and my daughter will be in her major college in the fall so she may be able to add aid that way once she finishes her last two prereqs over the summer. It’s a thought at least…</p>
<p>It honestly sounds to me like no one in financial aid knows what’s going on, so they make up whatever they think we want (or don’t want) to hear. I’ve seen the same inconsistencies in the Housing department, where you can talk to two different people and get two very different stories. </p>
<p>Hopefully they figure out what the hell’s going on, because I’m going to need a gameplan in the next few weeks. I’m not staying in Tally over the summer and will be using my excess money from there to help pay for next year, like I have the last couple years. But even that will not cover what it costs for next fall, so I’d like to know whether I’m going to need to look at private student loans or what sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Agreed that they need to get it together.</p>
<p>I was offered Federal Pell Grant $5500 and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant $950.
That is going to help SO MUCH, especially since I told my parents I’ll only need their help for Summer Term and the rest of my education is my financial responsibilty.
I was offered a lot in loans but no way in hell do I want to deal with a loan. I have a job thankfully and am saving as much as possible just so I can avoid paying back a loan as an undergrad.</p>
<p>I finally got into my sons financial aid info and I have to say, I’m happy. He is getting a total of $6500 in grants, plus BF, plus student loans of $5500. The $6500 in grants is way more than my older son got from UF last year as he got ZERO in grants. That is $6500 that does not need to be paid back and I am soooo thankful for that.</p>
<p>This has made my day. Now to see what UF comes up with for my older son for next year. I have very low expectations. lol</p>
<p>So, while waiting in the SLC for the pre-screening of American Reunion tonight, I checked my email on my Kindle Fire, and lo and behold I had an email from FAFSA, saying that someone at FSU had administratively changed my FAFSA. Now, I’ve had this happen before, so I wasn’t all that concerned. </p>
<p>Until I checked FAFSA. Apparently they MORE THAN DOUBLED my EFC for next year- from 3200 to over 6800. That would make me ineligible for a Pell Grant for next year, which was $2400 a semester of my $3250/semester in financial aid for next year.</p>
<p>Ahh, the saga with FSU continues. Someone at Financial Aid is going to have to explain that one to me, because I filled out everything correctly (what I think throws everything off is that I put two people in my house would be in college- which is 100% accurate, although my brother being 30 throws a wrench into everything. However he’s unemployed and attends a community college full-time). So he’s a dependent of my parents as far as the government is concerned, but apparently FSU doesn’t care.</p>
<p>Right now it’s looking more and more like FSU is trying to screw me over for having passed 120 credit hours (I’ll have something like 140 at the end of this semester, although I started with 42).</p>
<p>Actually he’s independent according to the government. Once you’re over the age of 24 your parents cannot claim you.
I live at home at the moment and even though my parents help me out I’m still considered independent. Any money they give me for education for example is considered like a “gift” since I’m classified as an independent now. </p>
<p>Sent from my iPhone using CC</p>
<p>Yeah, I know he’s an independent, but the paperwork from FSU stated to only list people if they were going to be attending school next year- which he is- and if my parents would be giving him 50% or more of his support through June 2013- which they will be. I did what the paperwork they gave me said to do. It made no mention of ages. I also turned it in 2 weeks ago and they just now made that change this afternoon, the day after they supposedly finalized aid…</p>
<p>It still makes no sense though how they can go in and completely change my FAFSA like that. They’ve done it before, during my sophomore year, and they raised my EFC then from 1500 to 2500, which really made no difference. This year though the raising from 3200 to 6800 is a pretty big deal, especially since it cuts my aid by $2400 next year- and the amount they offered was only $6500 anyway (I made a typo above, about my Pell grant). </p>
<p>It’s all just so really stupid. I do what they say to do. I follow their instructions, and they still screw me. I still am confused as to how they didn’t offer me student loans or the Differential Grant. That part is probably the most confusing. I can survive with my EFC that high- I originally was expecting an EFC around 6000. What I can’t survive is having to fork over $12k out of pocket to attend next year. Hell, I’ll take a year off before I do that.</p>
<p>What I think I’m going to do is let everything settle this weekend, and then either call them or go to the office on Monday between my classes. I really just want to know what happened to the $7500 in student loans as a dependent senior are in my profile, or the $12500 as a dependent senior whose parents were denied a PLUS loan are. I have no qualms about taking out student loans, as I know that’s the only way I’m going to be able to afford to attend or graduate.</p>