Help me with FIU Financial Aid.

Paying for College
1

<p>Hello everyone. Im going to be a Freshman on Fall 2007 at FIU (Florida International University). I had done the FAFSA like a month earlier but right now is when they actually updated their website with the FAFSA info etc. I checked my account and this is what it says:</p>

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<p>Cost of Attendance: 18,842.00</p>

<p>Expected Family Contribution: 3,770.00</p>

<p>Estimated Need: 15,072.00</p>

<h2>Total Aid: 0.00</h2>

<p>*Let me clarify that it says Total Aid: 0.00 because the awards have not been given, they are announced April 15.</p>

<p>Ok so in the Cost of Attendance, everything is taken into account, room and board, food, transportation, books, tuition, everything. So according to FIU I have an estimated need of 15,072 and according to College Board, FIU meets around 64% of need so I would expect FIU to offer me 9,646 in aid (64% of 15,072). Now some questions please:</p>

<li><p>Out of this 9,646 in aid, how much should I expect to be from grants, work-study and loans independently?</p></li>
<li><p>If I decide to commute to school instead of living on Campus, do they subtract the Room and Board from the Cost of Attendance since I wont be living on Campus or does the Cost of Attendance remain constant whether Im going to live on Campus or not?</p></li>
<li><p>When I get my financial aid package offer, can I just accept the grants and decline the work-study and loans? Or do I have to accept the package as a whole? I ask this because I will have BrightFutures to cover for the tuition, plus a $2,500 scholarship yearly ($10,000) total from FIU so I wont really need any loans or work-study but of course would love the grant money.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Enlighten me as much as possible. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>anyone help me?</p>

3

<p>With that low of an EFC, you might qualify for a Pell, a FL Student Assistance Grant, an ACG, surely a subsidized Stafford for $3,500, and maybe a Perkins as well. With the 75% Bright, I'd recommend dorm living for the college experience. Did you ask for work-study? If not, go back in and change the answer to "Both." 64% is a figure they want you to go by, not what they might award in actuality; all schools do this to mislead families from not asking for more aid when it's there for the asking!</p>

<p>Where can you borrow money at 0% for 4 years and six months? Wake up and do the math, or are you that financially irresponsible! You can accept or decline any aid offered. It's possible you'll even receive a no work work-study award; many students do. Good Luck!</p>

4

<p>You can check with College Board to see what average % of grants to loans they offer.</p>

<p>If you live at home and commute, the Cost of Attendance drops because room and board aren't included. The college website will have a lower COA. There may be no real savings, depending on the aid package, though, because your need drops as well. So the grants & loans will decrease if you live at home.</p>

<p>When you get the offer, you can decline the work study. Don't be so sure that you won't need it, though. And work is a good thing-- builds character and allows you to start building your resume. Work Study is a particularly good deal because it doesn't hurt your financial aid the following year.</p>

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<p>The 64% of need figure is an average, not a promise. They could offer you a lot more, or a lot less, you won't know until you get the actual award offer.</p>

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<p>I see guys, thanks.</p>

<p>I can see the bit about work-study being good and I will take it if it places me in a job about computers etc (im going to major in CS) etc. But I certainly do not want any loans.</p>

<p>Also, what are some grants that are used given in the financial aid and up to how much do they go to?</p>

<p>EDIT: Also, i went to collegeboard and I got this numbers:</p>

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<pre><code>* Number who applied for need-based aid: 866
* Number who were judged to have need: 746
* Number who were offered aid: 723
* Number who had full need met: 113

  • Average percent of need met: 64%
  • Average financial aid package: $6,536
  • Average need-based loan: $2,545
  • Average need-based scholarship or grant award: $1,695
  • Average non-need based aid: $1,025 </code></pre>

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<p>So from this numbers, what would be an average financial aid I would get from FIU? It looks as I wont be able to cover everything if I decide to go live on Campus. FIU's dorms are new (as in 2004) so they cost around 3.5k per semester (7k a year)...</p>

7

<p>I contacted FIU Financial Aid office and they said that their Cost of Attendance doesnt change even if I decide to live Off-Campus and that is because they dont have enough dorms for everyone.</p>