If my EFC is 0 and need a lot of financial aid, will Penn State help out? Is it possible to get my tuition reduced to 20k?
If your EFC is $0, you’ll qualify for a $5900 Pell Grant and you can take the $5500/year federal student loan. Where would you get the rest?
Penn State isn’t known for offering great aid. Did you get accepted to any schools you can afford?
I got into University Park for the summer session. Wait, so you are saying my tuition would come to 5,500 a year plus 10-11k for room and board?
No, out-of-state tuition may be around or over $32k, depending on the budget they set for the upcoming year (https://admissions.psu.edu/costs-aid/tuition/ for last year’s numbers). Plus whatever summer session costs on top of that.
The numbers in post #1 are scholarships/grants and loans. They would theoretically only bring your cost down by about $11k (for example, from $46k to $35k).
No. Tuition and fees are whatever the college charges. The cost of attendance for state residents is ~$33k/year. (Tuition and fees at University Park is $18k. Room and board is another ~$15k). If you’re OOS, the cost of attendance is ~$52k.
Your aid is whatever Penn State offers. Did you get a financial aid package yet?
My point is that even if they reduced your cost of attendance to $20k, as a family with a $0 EFC, where would you get $20,000?
My uncle is willing to help pay for a lot he said. I am in state, I live near Philly. My parents are separated and I live with my mom. According to FAFSA, her EFC is 0. Would they not qualify my family as a family with a 0 efc if another family member helps pay?
An EFC of 0 does not qualify you for free tuition at Penn State. Penn State doesn’t offer full rides or anything of the sort. They offer minimal assistance and the rest comes from grants, scholarships and loans. Therefore, even with your EFC of 0, you would be expected to come up with approximately $22,000 if you got the Pell Grant and student loan. But keep in mind that $5500 is a LOAN. Not a grant.
So if the total amount I’d have to pay yearly is 30k, a $5,500 is a student loan I’d receive and I’d get a pell grant to reduce it down to 22k? Would they care if another family member helped pay for it?
I am not sure how the Pell Grant works, but they certainly don’t care with the loan who’s paying the outstanding balance. Given that it would be your uncle paying the tuition and not your legal guardian, I also am not sure that the Pell Grant folks would know or care. But I’d research that…or someone here much better versed in Pell Grants than I can answer that for you.
I haven’t received any financial aid information yet, but with an EFC of 0 it’s at least possible to get the yearly cost reduced to 20-25k?
Is your uncle willing and able to pay $100,000 for you to go to college? That’s very generous. Is he gifting that to you or is it a loan?
The cost of attendance is ~$33k. If you get a full Pell Grant, that’s ~$5900. The federal student loan is $5500. That brings the direct costs down to ~$22k/year. You’d still need money for books, travel, and personal expenses, and you’ll probably have to work during the semester for spending money. And you’ll owe the government $27,000 when you graduate.
Tylerhex, for 2018-19: the maximum award amount for each category-
Pell Grant: $5920.00
PA State Grant (PHEAA, only for in-state students): $4123
Federal Stafford Loan: $5500.00 ($6500 in 2nd year, $7500 in 3rd and 4th years)
FSEOG Grant: $4000.00 (not all students who are eligible will receive this grant)
My daughter (in-state) financial aid award was close to $16K (Pell, PA State Grant, Fed. Stafford Loan, and a Penn St academic scholarship), which left her with an unmet need of $13K. She was just awarded a private scholarship which will cover the unmet need.