<p>i got my financial aid stuff a few days ago 
they’re giving me 8k with bright futures/douglas turner grant/work study. nothing compared to the 30k that UM is giving me even though both are totally diff schools >.< but oh well, UF all the way!</p>
<p>josh, I am in the same boat as you. I received $15,000 in loans and $3000 Bright Futures, no work study which I would have accepted immediately. I know a girl in my school who received $2500 per semester from UF because of some “academic scholarship”. The catch is you have to demonstrate need. Her stats are lower than mine but she demonstrates need. I am at a loss for words really.</p>
<p>"I know a girl in my school who received $2500 per semester from UF because of some “academic scholarship”. The catch is you have to demonstrate need. Her stats are lower than mine but she demonstrates need. I am at a loss for words really. "</p>
<p>Really? At a loss of words? I’m so sorry to hear that…</p>
<p>SO WHAT if you are academically better than someone who has need? Get over yourself. Congratulations to the girl who received the money, she was obviously qualified enough to get in to UF. Apply to the Honors Program then!!! If you have financial need, you deserve the money. Most of the people on this site are at least well-off or middle-class financially (although most on this UF forum are a bit diverse than others).</p>
<p>Walk in the shoes. Those of us with great need don’t always have academic resources that are available to others better off. Not even academic resources, so much more. I am sorry that you didn’t get offered any work study, but maybe there’s a reason you weren’t offered it. Do you deserve work-study over someone with more financial need but had a less-impressing academic resume?</p>
<p>I absolutely agree that “if you have financial need, you deserve the money.” But in all fairness to analiatyped, there’s a reason colleges have separate categories for need-based aid and merit-based aid.</p>
<p>"Do you deserve work-study over someone with more financial need but had a less-impressing academic resume? "</p>
<p>I don’t think she’s at a loss for words because she didn’t get a work study, and I don’t think anyone would argue that those shouldn’t go to those with the greatest need.</p>
<p>The real question she’s asking is: Does she deserve an academic scholarship over someone with more financial need, but had a less-impressing academic resume? If you’re sticking to the true definition of an academic scholarship, then the answer is probably yes.</p>
<p>Actually, I’m a little confused. What merit based scholarship does UF offer that requires a demonstration of financial need? </p>
<p>Also, @analia, I think there’s a separate office that handles on-campus job placement who don’t have a federal work-study (I think it’s called OPG?). I’ve heard it isn’t too hard to find a decent job. Good luck.</p>
<p>“If you have financial need, you deserve the money.”</p>
<p>No. Deserving something means that you’ve earned something. You don’t deserve something just because you don’t have it. An academic scholarship is merit based. A need based scholarship is not. If they’re giving an academic scholarship on the basis of need, they’re misappropriating those funds.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, I agreed with that statement in the context that “the money” was need based aid, not merit.</p>
<p>TECHNICALLY, you’re breaking the law if you spend the governments money on Beer, since they make you agree to spend their money on expenses related to your spending. In reality, nobody checks anything (Unless you, ya know start a meth lab or something with their money).</p>
<p>I don’t see why people have such an issue with a merit scholarship that has a need-based eligibility requirement. They don’t want to give it to some smart rich kid so that he can buy new suits, they want to give it to some slightly less smart poor kid who will use the money to buy books, have a roof over their head. It isn’t a true merit scholarship like my National Merit, but it’s still a type of merit aid. It’s a separate category but is still important.</p>
<p>The financial aid office likes to direct deposit your left over funds, the check takes literally forever to get to you. Every semester a few weeks in I get a credit for a few thousands dollars from the university. Once I have, I can spend it on…</p>
<p>"they make you agree to spend their money on expenses related to your spending. "</p>
<p>Can you specify what you meant by this?</p>
<p>Sorry, it’s been a really long day. </p>
<p>They make you agree to spend their money on expenses related to your education.</p>
<p>I think I intended to type “Expenses related to your schooling” but, ya know, I’m dumb or something :D</p>
<p>At my CC, I never had to agree to anything to get my refund check or any scholarships. I don’t drink, so it’s a moot point I guess. But yeah, whether or not they make you agree to spend it on schooling, don’t buy beer with it. :P</p>
<p>LMU10, you shouldn’t make assumptions about my financial situation; you know absolutely nothing about my family’s income. My dad is now making 2/3 of what he did before because his employer lowered his salary. I agree people with need deserve scholarship money but I guess its the FAFSA that really confuses/bothers me.</p>
<p>I have a friend with 0 EFC so she got a $6000 scholarship immediately. Her parents just used their savings to buy her an $800 camera. Same situation with another guy friend: 0 EFC yet he just came back from a 4 day vacation from Orlando and next week he is going on a 5 day cruise for spring break. <— that is what has me at a loss for words. its the complete opposite of the situation that Zaersz said; the student with financial need, in my situation, is going out to buy the luxuries.</p>
<p>Yet here is my family, working over time hours trying to save money so we could at least have a meal for the next day and yet the “academic” scholarship goes to the girl with the camera, an unnecessary luxury. </p>
<p>Thanks Biply for telling me about the other job placement office. I knew about it; hopefully when I go, I’ll find myself a job.</p>
<p>Is it too late to make a correction to my FAFSA now that UF has sent out the Award letters? Based on my parents’ income I would’ve had a EFC of 0, but because I mentioned that I had some money in my student checking account my EFC turned out to be 76. Could I empty out my account by spending what’s in it or giving it to someone and then update my FAFSA, or is it too late to do that now that I’ve already submitted it? UF Preview says you have to have an EFC of 0 to be eligible for a waiver of the Preview fees. Is there any other way to get a waiver?</p>
<p>SeanCris, it’s a term of recieving FEDERAL aid, you agree to it when you accept the government’s money. Scholarships don’t necesarily have these terms (Many scholarships specifically allow us to spend our money on whatever we want, including beer).</p>
<p>MuslimGator, the rule is that you’re suppose to report what you have at the time of filing your FAFSA, and it doesn’t matter what happens after that point (whether it goes up or down). Unless you made an error, technically you have to live with paying for the torture that is Preview.</p>
<p>"No. Deserving something means that you’ve earned something. You don’t deserve something just because you don’t have it. An academic scholarship is merit based. A need based scholarship is not. If they’re giving an academic scholarship on the basis of need, they’re misappropriating those funds. "</p>
<p>What I was referring to is that SOME scholarships are based on need AND academics. That’s so not true. So many private schools give scholarships for kids with need, however they are also based on academics. If you have strong need and decent academics, you may have a shot. However, if you have great academics but no need, you obviously wouldn’t be in the consideration. They are not misappropriating the funds, some schools offer NO Merit-based scholarships. But the scholarships that are based on need, aren’t just ONLY about need. My point was that if someone with less academic talent receives a scholarship, it probably means the scholarship was need-based and the more talented student didn’t have enough need.</p>
<p>Analia - If I misinterpreted your post, I am sorry. I don’t know of your financial situation, but it doesn’t add up. “My dad is now making 2/3 of what he did before because his employer lowered his salary.” When did that change? Sometimes significant changes in income are grounds for appeal (I have heard successful stories, not at UF but other schools).</p>
<p>“Yet here is my family, working over time hours trying to save money so we could at least have a meal for the next day and yet the “academic” scholarship goes to the girl with the camera, an unnecessary luxury.”</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear that, I truly am. If you are struggling to have a meal for the next day, I am EXTREMELY surprised at the money that UF offered you. What did your EFC come out???</p>
<p>As for the academic scholarship with the girl, you said that you HAD to demonstrate need. That means it is a need-based scholarship. (but also maybe merit based, i don’t know which scholarship, but YES a scholarship CAN be based on both) </p>
<p>If your dad has a severe loss in income it should show on your FAFSA unless it was recent. If it was recent, you should definitely try to work with the FA office. They met nearly 100% of my need. Good luck to you, I hope things work out. I don’t mean to come off as confrontational or mean, but I just hate when people whine on here about need-based scholarships and why they deserve it over someone else (not talking about you specifically, but you get the point). I got a merit-based scholarship at a school that I wasn’t even sure I’d get in to. Did I deserve it? My test scores/stats said no, but maybe it was my demonstrated need. But hey, if you demonstrate the need what else can be done. It is NEED. Of course there are people who get around the system and catch breaks (cruises, luxuries), but there are the really needy people who worked their butts off in hs with limited incomes. Finally, an advantage is nice.</p>
<p>I think part of the issue with excess spending from needy students comes from the inflated estimates in the official cost of attendance, which is what need is based off of. In my opinion, tuition/fees, books, and housing are the most significant factors into calculating the cost of attendance, but the official figure ([Cost</a> of Attendance](<a href=“http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/apply/coa]Cost”>http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/apply/coa)) also factors in thousands of dollars worth of other things like computers, personal items, transportation, insurance, and $650 worth of CLOTHING a year, which MOST students may already have taken care of. For those that have nothing, it’s more than enough to live comfortably. For those with a little parent support, it’s luxurious. My EFC was low the first year and I was shocked with how much I had left over, but I’m not complaining now that it’s significantly higher this year and I won’t be living as comfortably next semester (or will be making a few more calls to the Bank of Parents).</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it’s not a completely fair system at all and it’s a system that’s easy to scam. A more accurate cost of attendance might help, but I still think the middle middle class will always get the short end of the stick.</p>
<p>Among other predicted values I was offered a loan and workstudy, is there a certain date that I have to accept these by, I was reading through the financial aid package and didn’t see anything about deadlines of accepting the awards, maybe I just completely missed it but does anybody know?</p>
<p>Sorry for the ignorance, but does the financial package come via email or through gatorlink? I’m getting kinda nervous since i haven’t received anything yet./</p>
<p>You should’ve gotten an email. Either way you can check status of your awards. Go to isis.ufl.edu, log in, then click the “financial aid” tab and go to awards.</p>