<p>Okay, so you are not close to your aggregate limits. Your EFC did not change due to verification. You did not change your information after awards were packaged.</p>
<p>Given the COA and the EFC you listed, you are incorrectly awarded. You need to ask how they came up with your awards. They are not correct … unless you were given an incorrect COA by the financial aid person.</p>
<p>How many credits are you enrolled in?</p>
<p>I am enrolled in 9 hours, but I will have to drop down to 6 if I cannot get more aid. </p>
<p>You said the awards are incorrect, how far off are they? I have no way of knowing if that COA is right, because they really do not publish anything but general financial aid information like the academic requirements.</p>
<p>They are required by law to provide you with your COA. Ask.</p>
<p>To determine your correct awards: COA-EFC=Need (eligibility for sub loans). You may receive up to $8500 or your Need, whichever is less. COA-sub loans=eligibility for unsub loans. This is why you must know your COA.</p>
<p>Your enrollment might be an issue if you request a budget adjustment. Federal regulations require that actual tuition and fees be used when a student gets a budget adjustment. You need to find out how many credits are used for a full time graduate COA. If it’s more than the amount you will be enrolled in, your tuition component for your budget will be decreased to your actual charges. If you are enrolled in MORE than the number of credits used for your COA budget, you can request that your tuition component be adjusted to actual charges (the school does not have to increase it, however … they are only required to decrease if it’s fewer than budgeted).</p>
<p>Given that you have children, it may actually be worthwhile to see if you can get a COA adjustment, though, again, it may not go through.</p>
<p>Dropping down to 6 credit would make you a part-time student at most universities, which could negatively impact your FA (by way of dropping your COA).</p>
<p>Well that is the COA she gave me, but it is clearly wrong based on that calculation. I’ll call instead of email and see if I can talk to someone else and find out the correct COA. I’m sure it could’ve been a typo in her email or she was just in a hurry. </p>
<p>Again, I’m not sure if its worth asking for a budget adjustment. Without any additional aid, I will have to drop down to 6 hours. Full time for grad students is 9 hours, half time is 5 hours. </p>
<p>Thank you kelsmom, you have clarified how financial aid is awarded and I appreciate that. I’ve read about budget increases for things like daycare, health expenses and computers, so I thought it might apply to loss of income, too.</p>
<p>I did ask what would happen if I had to drop a class, and she told me that it would only change my FA by the actual amount of tuition for that class. So the amount would drop by approximately $550 per semester. I hate to do that because it means dragging out grad school even longer, but I don’t think I’ll have a choice.</p>
<p>EFC adjustments are possible for loss of income, not budget adjustments. This is because aid is only for educational expenses.</p>
<p>Budget adjustments are possible for child care costs while you are in class. The school isn’t required to make the adjustment, but most will do so.</p>
<p>If EFC adjustments are possible for loss of income, wouldn’t that apply to me? I thought that was not an option. Sorry if you’ve already explained that.</p>
<p>ETA: nevermind, its late but I figured it out. With a lower EFC I might get more sub loans, but the total aid stays the same. Sorry, I’ve been thinking about this too long. </p>
<p>What kind of budget adjustments are allowed?</p>
<p>Child care while the student is in class. Computer purchase (one time). Unusual expenses related to the program of study (such as required supplies for an art student or a professional-grade instrument for a music major). Unanticipated expenses (such as car repairs for accidents). Private school tuition. None of these are guaranteed to be allowed, but schools CAN increase budget for them.</p>