I’m an incoming freshman for this fall and have applied and received financial aid from the school already, but am a little confused on what I’ve been rewarded. Coming from a low-income family ( ~ $32,000 ), I meet all the requirements for the Aggie Assurance program( http://financialaid.tamu.edu/Aggie-Assurance ), but did not receive nearly as much in grants as I expected. I was offered ~$20k in loans, but only the Pell Grant for grants. I currently have a brother who is going to be a Junior at TAMU this fall and he has always received ~ $20k in grants, not loans. We are identical in academics, so I doubt that has to do with it. The only thing I can think of that can be the root of this problem is that when financial offers were handed out, I was still missing two forms that were “incomplete” in my financial aid portal. These forms were the Statement-of-Non-Filing and the Dependent Verification form. Since then, all forms have been turned in but my offers remain the same. My FAFSA was linked successfully a long time ago and nothing has changed with our financial situation. What can I do?
I know what you mean; when I tried to find my Statement of non-filing, A&M told me I had to complete it as soon as possible so I could get financial aid. But they said they ran out of financial grants that I qualified for before they could receive my verification. If its any consolation, I was told that after my freshman year I this problem wouldn’t happen again because they will have a copy on file when I apply for financial aid again. So if you can find the money for this year, you should be fine later on.
I suggest you call them and ask to know if their are any that you qualify for that are still left (b/c I know the Aggie Grant this year is “guaranteed” to all students with an income of 80k or less). If they refuse to help, and you have another financial offer from another school, ask your Local PSC if they have any Aggiebound Grants left or scholarships period to help you out.
Send an e-mail TODAY and call TOMORROW because May 1st is the last day they care if a student will or won’t attend Texas A&M.