having a FT job affect my fin aid?

Paying for College
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<p>Hi. Feel free to skip to 3rd paragraph for question. So, basically I am 25 years old and have been working full-time and going to community college part / full time for the past 4 years. I currently have over 100 units and will complete all my TAG req. for Mechanical Engineering by Spring '13. </p>

<p>I make roughly $25000 a year at my job. I kept it to support myself through college and support my hobbies (related to major). I did receive the BOG fee waiver for most years but I have never received money from financial aid for living expenses, which is understandable given that CCC is cheap (free with BOG) and I can buy my own books and housing. So basically I take the minimum full-time units (3 classes) I can handle with my 46 hour a week job. My job is full-time or no time so I can't work less than that. My plan is to take 3 classes this Fall and then quit my job before Spring so I can complete the remaining 4 classes, with high marks, before I transfer. I will barely have enough cash to cover rent for the semester, but when I move to UCD, I will essentially be broke. </p>

<p>Here is my question. Given that FAFSA accounts my income from when I had a job, will I still be able to receive financial aid when I go to UCD? If so, will my aid be significantly less than if I didn't work?</p>

<p>This worries me a great deal because having a job severely limits my time to study and I barely kept up my GPA for TAG qualification (3.29 cumulative, 3.45 transferable). I just hope it wasn't expected of me to have saved a huge sum of money.</p>

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<p>Google EFC Formula 2013, and you will get the link to the PDF for the current formula. It changes a bit each year, but this will give you a good idea of how your income will affect your EFC. Then you need to run the Net Price Calculators for the places you will apply to as a transfer. That will give you some idea of what your aid packages might look like. For details, contact the Fin Aid office at each place.</p>

<p>You may find that it makes more sense to continue working full-time while studying part-time until you finish your degree.</p>

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<p>You may be able to request “professional judgment”. Talk to the finaid folks at your school ASAP. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/664682-quitting-full-time-job-return-school.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/664682-quitting-full-time-job-return-school.html&lt;/a&gt; may be helpful.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thank you both. I found the thread provided to be useful and the Google search was helpful as well.</p>