<p>1) I applied for FAFSA about 2 weeks ago, but haven't submitted my application to the school yet. When will they notify me how much financial aid I'll be awarded? Will it be after I'm accepted?</p>
<p>2) I'm applying for Spring 2014; will this lower my chances of receiving more aid as opposed to if I apply for Fall 2013?</p>
<p>3) I'll be living off-campus, so will they send me the difference check after they take tuition/fees into account? How long does this take to arrive, and should I have ample cash saved to pay rent/bills? That's probably an obvious 'yes,' but in most people's experience, how long does it take the difference amount to be awarded to you?</p>
<p>Grad school aid is usually either loans or merit awards (based on stats, not need). Exceptions are PhD funded programs, but that has nothing to do with FAFSA.</p>
<p>many grad programs don’t permit spring admission. Have you checked to see if yours do? If so, since the aid will be fed loans, you’d get those.</p>
<p>Are you applying for a masters program? if so, expect to pay all costs thru loans. </p>
<p>Having a low EFC for grad school is rather meaningless. Since grad school students are independent, many/most grad students have low/0 EFCs.</p>
<p>Grad schools loans do have limits, so if your loans cover high tuition, then money for rent, etc, may not exist. How expensive are your schools? </p>
<p>I doubt that you’d have “ample money” to pay rent/bills. </p>
<p>Warning: if you do get a spring admit, then your aid may be very misleading since it will seem like more for one semester. You may find that you’re very short when you start for the school year. Plus, you have to figure out how to cover the summers.</p>
<p>You will need to contact the school directly for the answers to your questions.</p>
<p>Are you coming in as a transfer or as a new grad student?</p>
<p>Yes, you will be notified of financial aid award after acceptance.</p>
<p>1) I applied for FAFSA about 2 weeks ago, but haven’t submitted my application to the school yet. When will they notify me how much financial aid I’ll be awarded? Will it be after I’m accepted?</p>
<p>If you haven’t applied to any schools, how can schools tell you what your award might be??? You won’t get an award (loans) until you’re accepted to a school. The school wlll send you your award (loan amount).</p>
<p>How much are you planning on borrowing total for this degree?? What is the degree for? How much debt do you have so far?</p>
<p>I’m kind of in the same boat as the OP. I just graduated with my bachelor’s in Mid-Level Education from Arkansas State University. The entire spring semester I was in an internship in a middle school where I was absolutely miserable (no support, no discipline, etc.) Unfortunately I got pretty depressed due to a bad relationship with my clinical supervisor and began to think I didn’t even want to get a Master’s degree. During the wait-time between the end of internship and graduation ceremony, I suddenly decided I definitely wanted to go to grad school to get my Master’s in Counseling. Keep in mind that I didn’t fill out my FAFSA until around May 8th (I know…bad). </p>
<p>I’m currently waiting on admission. For the program I want to get into, I have to take (and pass) the MAT test which shouldn’t be a problem and I’m taking it on June 7th. Also the program isn’t incredibly competitive from what I’ve heard (it’s Lincoln U in Jefferson City, MO). I have a decent GPA (3.8) so I’m not that worried about admission. I’m more worried about the financial aid aspect. So here’s my question if anyone can help…</p>
<p>1) I’ve heard that grad schools don’t really give aid based on need and that having an EFC of 0 as an independent grad student doesn’t really matter. This kind of freaks me out as I know I waited too long to receive grants, work study, etc. I can’t even apply for scholarships at this point and I’m so angry at myself for it. I’m basically relying on loans here. My undergrad debt is $20,000 and that was with having a nice scholarship. My school costs estimate at $6,000 per semester, or $12,000 per year and that is taking 9 credit hours both semesters. Is it even possible that I could receive enough loans to cover that?</p>
<p>2) I have no real financial help. I don’t have a relationship with one of my parents and the other has their own financial difficulties so great that I know they are unable to help. I realize I will need to work (thankfully my classes would all be night classes MTW 5-10pm). Is it reasonable to take 9 grad hours and work? I’m thinking I will need to pull AT LEAST 25 hours a week with mine and boyfriend’s incomes.</p>
<p>P.S - sorry for the long-winded post. Brevity isn’t my strong suit.</p>
<p>As the other posters have said, FA for Grad programs is usually in the form of loans. As far as Federal aid is concerned, the grant aid such as Pell is not available to grad students at all. Some programs do have Grad/Teacher/Research assistant positions available. How much financial help they are will vary by school and program.</p>