So, I now know that I am in a legal guardianship with my uncle. I also do not work at all so I know my efc is going to be either 0 or very low. My question is this: since my efc is low and I’m an independent student, how much aid am I Guaranteed?
You can get a Pell Grant of <$6K, and you can take loans of $9500 for the first year. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much
The Pell and the $9500 in Direct Loans are guaranteed federal funding for you. You schools also check your state to see if any grants are offered to low income students based on the FAFSA EFC.
Ok thanks. So the school I’m applying to has an annual tuition of 8k and combined with housing and meal plans totals up to 15k. Since you said that I would get 6k plus the 9500 in loans that would be a little over 15k. So that basically means financial aid covers my annual college expenses right?
And then I can always do work study right ?
You can get a work study job if you are awarded work study in your financial aid package.
You are from Tennessee. Are there any state grants for low income students? Check and see. Those would be better than loans.
I remember you. So you were able to find out for sure that your uncle has a court ordered guardianship? That would be different from just that he can legally sign things for you while your parents are elsewhere.
You’ll need to work in the summer to pay for things that your aid won’t cover…cell phone, health insurance, day to day expenses, transportation, etc.
Where are you applying? Do you qualify for Tenn HOPE?
Yes I was able to find out about the guardianship. He has some papers of proof that I’m in a legal guardianship. And I am going to work during the summer. As well as during fall and spring. I’m applying to either Austin Peay or university of Tennessee at Martin
Try to look for colleges that will give you their own aid in addition to your Pell Grant. Taking 10 thousand a year in loans is steep.
What’s are your stats?
My stats?
You should apply for aid as early as possible. It is likely you’d get some FA from the school or maybe an SEOG grant or a Perkins loan, which are other forms of federal aid. The SEOG doesn’t have to be repaid, and the Perkins loan is subsidized through college so better than half the Stafford. Take the loans out last. Try to get as many grants or scholarships as possible.
GPA and ACT/SAT scores so that people can suggest schools you can afford.
My gpa is overall 3.0 and act is 22. But I’m taking the act in October to get a better score
What are the minimum req’ts for HOPE?
Minimum requirement is 3.0 gpa and 21 act
Did you try the net price calculator for the above mentioned schools and what did it come up with?
I’ve never done a net price calculator I’ll do one.
Actually I do recall I’ve actually done one. When I was doing a net price calculator for one of my schools I couldn’t really fill it out the way it would be meant to. I’m in a legal guardianship and they didn’t have the option for me to choose the legs guardianship which then lead me to questions regarding my parents and as a result I was unable to fill out the info on them.
Oh I see the UTN net price calculator only seems to work for dependent students, asks about parent income. Austin Peay also doesn’t let you select independent status.
How does this work when OP fills out FAFSA? Does he have to report the support that his uncle provides for him? If OP has no income does he have to provide a non filer’s statement?