I’m an extremely low-income student with an EFC of $0, but my financial aid award states that I will have to loan around $15k per year. After graduating, my debt will exceed my expected salary. Can I appeal my financial aid amount, and, if so, how do I go about it?
You’ll need to contact the financial aid office and see what options you have. It might just be a mistake on the FAFSA. The cap for student loans is 27k for a 4 year degree. Tell them you don’t have any parental contribution and ask about need based financial aid options might be available.
You can appeal, but don’t hold your breath for a positive outcome. Cal Poly simply doesn’t have a lot of money to give in aid. We had a recent job change that dropped our EFC to just above zero. Our son was awarded a Pell and that’s it.