<p>Well I'll be registering for college soon (my first time) and I know there's certain Grants and such you can get, but my friend said if you don't name some specifically especially uncommon ones that you want the financial aid office won't do them for you.</p>
<p>I know Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant.</p>
<p>Any way here's my information:</p>
<p>New York City
19 years old
White/Caucasian
Single Mother who is on social security disability/has no other source of income
And I'm unemployed</p>
<p>Basically I'm looking to get every thing i can out of the government so that i won't have to struggle.</p>
<p>Also the tuition for the college I'm looking at is only 4,000-5,000 per semester as it's just a CUNY college, does this limit how much money i can get in grants per semester?</p>
<p>Your friend is talking nonsense. If you are eligible for the Pell grant, you get it. It is based on your parent and your income and assets. The SEOG very much depends on your school. It is what is called campus based aid. This means it has very limited funding. Each school is given a limited amount of SEOG funds and they must decide how best to award the. The criteria for awarding SEOG and the maximum awarded will vary hugely from school to school.</p>
<p>There are no mysterious unknown mystery federal grants. The pell is the main one. The important thing is to file FAFSA early (ASAP after jan 1st) to enhance your ability to be considered for awards with limited funds.</p>
<p>Are you applying to CUNY and are you a NY resident? I’m not from NY but perhaps you are also eligible for the TAP award. If you get that and the Pell grant, you will be able to pay for a CUNY program especially as a commuting student, I would think.</p>
<p>Your friend may be confusing that some merit scholarships may need applications to them. </p>
<p>Some schools will have you “check some boxes” and maybe include some essays or other info if you want to be considered for these special scholarships. At my kids’ school, if you want to be considered for First Generation …or Descendent of WWII vets, you need to state so…and for the WWII scholarship, you need to supply documentation.</p>
<p>That would be per year, not per semester. You need to do a little reading on your own…start with the admissions and financial aid pages of the CUNY you’re applying to. They will be a wealth of information and answer most of the basic questions you have.</p>
<p>*Also the tuition for the college I’m looking at is only 4,000-5,000 per semester as it’s just a CUNY college, does this limit how much money i can get in grants per semester? *</p>
<p>As mentioned above, the CUNY tuition isn’t that high…Are you calling all costs (tuition, fees, room, board, books) “tuition”???</p>
<p>Will you be commuting to school or will you be living at school?.</p>
<p>Anyway…your question about whether the amount your school costs will limit your grants. Yes and no. </p>
<p>On one hand, you won’t get more than the school costs. But, on the other, you’re not likely going to get all the aid in grants. Your aid will likely be a combo of grants, loans, and work-study. Pell grants max out at 5550 per year. TAP grants are for less.</p>
<p>So, don’t mistakenly think that if you went to a more expensive school that you’d automatically get more in grants. Often the student would just have a gap in funding.</p>
<p>CUNY tuition at the 4 year schools is $5,130 per year
CUNY tuition at the community college is $3,600 per year</p>
<p>Based on the information provided by the OP, he would most likely be Pell and TAP eligible. When he files the CUNY application, he needs to make sure that he checks the box for SEEK/College Discovery and provide the information requested.</p>
<p>James757, I hope by now you have done more research? First, define your geographical area. Then find several good matches academically which take into account your GPA and your SATs. Then find out if they offer need based or merit based aid. If they are need based you can place youself in there at the 25 - 75% percentile. If they are merit based you had better be sure that you are at the upper end of the 75% percentile or better, beyond. Then you have a working list of schools to visit, to compare, and finally to apply to.</p>
<p>Souds like a seminar would be helpful. Are any offered at a local library?</p>
<p>Don’t worry guys, he’ll learn soon enough about the real world. Back to his situation, sounds like he doesn’t have the gift of parents who have the time and motivation to direct him in his college search…goes to show how much of an impact concerned adults can make on young people’s lives. James 757, more research, and quickly! You need to establish some parameters and a list to start with. Again, find a library seminar on college if your HS doesn’t offer one. Good luck!</p>
Sybbie’s been around since 2004 and me since 2005, so I think we know how he’ll learn about the real world. Doesn’t hurt to point out to the students how their posts come across (particularly since they are posting in an area that counts on replies from adults).</p>
<p>What I said has nothing to do with my situation and everything to do with people jumping on the OP for daring to mention they want to use the programs available to them to make college less of a burden.</p>
<p>No, if you read this forum for long you’ll see that people go out of their way to help low-income students and families. The negative reaction was caused by the words the OP chose…basically, by saying that he wanted to get everything he could so HE wouldn’t have to struggle, he implied that he was entitled to this help. Taxpayers, most of whom work very hard and struggle to make ends meet, prefer to support those who are struggling (ie. working hard in whatever capacity they can) and genuinely need some extra help. It was probably just a poor choice of wording by the OP as I can imagine that it’s very stressful to be unemployed and have a disabled parent.</p>
<p>Fullofpop, stop it. I’ve been on here for years and the posters on CC have helped me through a LOT of financial struggles. I too had one unemployed parent and one permanently disabled parent. I know it’s not something you want to hear, but it was YOUR responsibility to make sure that you kept up with SAP and you didn’t. Yes, the school was late but they deal with many cases. The people on here did the best that they could to help you and you’re bitter because things didn’t work out exactly the way that you wanted them to. Well, that’s life. But stop undermining all the other help that they are giving out to people. The regulars on here do their best to help everyone- especially kids who are going at it alone. They deserve better than what you’ve been saying to/about them.</p>
<p>Gotta love this attitude. The kid needs money to go to college, so he limits his efforts to looking for meritless, taxpayer-funded grants instead of, say, getting a job or earning scholarships.</p>