I’ve filled out the FASFA paperwork for my daughter to attend MSSU this fall as a freshman. The only income we have is my disability income it shows she may receive the federal pell grant of $5775. Does anyone else know of grants that I could apply for? She’s received one $1300 scholarship so far. It cost around $16K to attend MSSU a year. FASFA said no on loan. She ranks 52 out of 371. She deserves to further her education and because of my disability and unable to make so much a year she shouldn’t be punished. Help!
<<< FAFSA says no on loan >>>>
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What does that mean? Your DD is eligible for a $5500 loan. Did she get it? What about work study? Or did y’all check the box on FAFSA stating that she didn’t want loans or work study?
What is MSSU?
Did she apply anywhere else? Is there a school she can commute to? If you can’t afford this school, then she can go to a community college for two years and then transfer. What are her test scores?
Did you apply for financial aid before March 1? In my state (not MO) there are a couple of grants the state would give if applied for early (about $5k). Still not enough for sleep away school. March is a little late to be exploring financial aid if the goal is to have her in college this fall.
http://www.mssu.edu/offices/bursar/undergrad-in-state-fees-on-campus.php
Looks like tuition is $2938 per semester for 15 credits.
The Pell Grant of $5775 should be enough to pay tuition at a community college. She should do that and work and save for her last couple of years of college.
Here are the room and board prices for MSSU. They sure buried them on their site:
http://www.mssu.edu/student-affairs/residence-life/traditional-rooms.php
So she would need $3000/semester to live on campus.
She could accept MSSU and take a gap year and save every penny she can. Enroll in fall of 2017 and retain the scholarship.
There is no box to check on FAFSA stating that loans are not desired.
@BelknapPoint I wonder if that’s a change. Several years ago, a student posted here that he indicated, “no” for loans because he (wrongly) thought that it would mean more grant money.
Anyway…the Mom’s post is confusing. Why would the fed gov’t say “no” to student loans for this student? I’m assuming that she’s in high school now, so she can’t be delinquent in any previous loans.
If the mom is talking about being denied for a Parent Plus loan, then that just means that the DD can get $9500 in loans.
You’re right; that makes no sense. Hopefully OP will explain what happened.
It looks like the full COA for a student living on campus is a little more than $16K (barring a big increase over the 2015-16 costs). A little over $12K of that is direct to the school. Your daughter should be able to get a $5500 loan as a freshman ($6500 sophomore year and $7500 junior and senior year). I’m not sure what you mean that FAFSA said no loan. Also, as M2CK said, if you are turned down for a Parent Plus loan, she can borrow an additional $4000, but she may not even need all of that. Between the Pell grant, a $5500 student loan and her scholarship, she would appear to have the direct costs covered. I would think she would be eligible for work-study, which could pay her personal expenses throughout the year. Between that and a summer job, she’s very close to having the full COA covered, and if she is frugal she may not incur all of the expenses included in the COA (she might not need the full transportation cost listed, could get used books, etc.). Has she asked her guidance counselor about local scholarships? Does she qualify for any of the MSSU scholarships listed on their website?
If she’s not comfortable with loans or can’t find a job to supplement the Pell and loans, is there a community college to which she can commute? A full Pell grant should be sufficient to cover tuition at a community college.
@BelknapPoint Found out that FAFSA did used to ask if the student wanted loans, but that question was removed.
I don’t think disability matters, it is how much income, whether from disability or not, the family makes, as well as number of dependents etc.
Your family filed taxes already, and used that to populate FAFSA?