I made corrections today on my FAFSA on the e-mail it says that my eligibility for Pell Grant Estimate is 6,095$ and Direct Stafford Loan Estimate is 9,500$
Does that mean, for my freshman year in college i might have a grant around that estimated amount from the school?? Is this full year or semester??? Will it go to my dorm and meal plans??
Also loans you have to pay back right? Will i have to pay it back after i’m done getting a degree? Will i have to pay it back after each semester?
Those all the questions i have at the moment. Also my EFC is all zeros…
Your FAFSA EFC is $0. This means you will get a Pell Grant of $6000 or so. This is a federally funded grant, not a grant from the college. The $6000 is for the full year. You will get $3000 each semester.
Are you an independent student for financial aid purposes? If so, what qualifies you for this? I only ask because you have $9500 in Direct Loans…and that is the amount for independent student for the full year. If you are not independent, your loan amount will be $5500 for the year.
From reading you other thread…you are an incoming freshman. What makes you independent for financial aid purposes? Are you married? Do,you have a minor child you support? Are you an armed forces veteran? An orphan? A ward of the state? In Foster placement?
You can use these funds to pay for tuition, fees, room, board, books…
Your Pell and Direct Loan will be sent to your college. These will be used to pay any billable costs from the college first. If the Pell, Direct Loan and other aid don’t pay your full bill, you will need to pay the balance.
Direct Loans are deferred in terms of repayment until six months after you stop going to college.
Okay, so i get 3,000$ for each semester, what about loans? is there a limit to taking out loans?
I am! i’m doing fall term, I put “Yes” for the death of my parents but really, its complicated cuz i have no whereabouts about my father (he had never been in my life ever) and my mother had passed away while i was 13 or 14. So i guess that’s how i am independent.
Okay! All my funds right? Grants and Loans?
So pretty much, with the 3,000$ ,since it’s grants, will automatically go to those things? Or will I have to personally pick where it goes to?
Thank you so much for answering my questions!
Yes, there is a limit to loans, and the $9500 is it. It will be split per semester. Those figures are for full time students so if you take fewer credits, you might get less money. So basically you have $15k for the year. The money will be applied to billed costs of the school - tuition, fees, room and board if you live on campus - and any remaining will be given to you.
Have you picked a school that is under that cost?
You will get half of the grant and half of the loan each semester. It will FIRST be used by the college to pay their billable costs. You don’t have to indicate how these funds are allocated. You will receive a bill for the balance.
With whom do you live? I’m sorry for your loss of your mother.
If your father isn’t really dead…you should have indicated he was dead! That’s just not true.
@twoinanddone I plan on being a full term student, but i don’t have any scholarships or anything and i only applied to this college cuz, i barely get money now so it was pretty hard to pay application fees and send in my ACT score. So no, i had not.
@thumper1 OOOH i see i see. I live with my brother. We don’t have any papers saying he is my legal guardian but, i’m 18 now so, i don’t know if that matters anymore or not. He also don’t have a job either. We both don’t have jobs. We only lived on my SSI benefits which is ending in June since i had graduated from highschool
Sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. You may be asked to supply copies of parents death certs. Since Dad may not be dead, that won’t be possible.
How old is your brother?
@thumper1 @mom2collegekids well, i really don’t know what i should do when it comes to my father then ??? like i said, he just never been in my life, i don’t even know his last name. So, i have no clue if he is dead or not. What should i do if that happens? (He is also not displayed on my birth certificate only my mom if that helps any )
My brother is 28. He been trying to find work for years now but no luck which is why we live off of my SSI check. and i never had a job as well as i was busy with high school and didn’t want to take my attention off of it since i was missing a lot of it in general. I am now looking for work myself.
which brings up another question, would the college be the one to tell me if i apply for work study or FAFSA?
If you want work study, call the college and ask for them to add it. It doesn’t sound like you have other aid from them so you might be able to get it. If you don’t, it isn’t the end of the world and you can still get a job near the school or even on campus.
Go over to the school and ask them to go through your costs and aid with you. If you have questions, ask them until you understand how it all works. Ask how much it costs and how much you MAY get as a refund after all costs are covered. Don’t expect a lot. You and your brother have to work to pay your living expenses.
How much does your college cost? Will you be able to cover the costs with your Pell Grant, and Direct Loan? That’s about $11500.
You can earn money through a job which will add $2000 maybe…but you won’t HAVE that money up front. You will only have it when you earn it.
So…you and your brother are living totally off of YOUR SSI? Does that cover all of your expenses? Rent, utiiities, food, clothing, everything?
I’m going to be very frank here…you need to both get jobs ASAP. Any job.
@thumper1 in this booklet i found for the college it says for in-state it would be 17,378 annually and that was the “2017-18 tuition rates and charges” (it shows the tuition and fees are 8,478$ room and board 7,900& and books and supplies 1,000$ i assume this is estimated though.)
yes, we had. we don’t pay rent since we had to buy a house with the money our mom left behind from life insurance i think it was.
yes, we both know. he been trying ever since our mom died with no luck and it worst cuz we dont have transportation (long story short my mom never taught him and didnt want him to be taught because she had fear he will run away like the oldest did who is in Oklahoma, also the rest of the family are no help when it comes to us. Our only transportation is a cab/uber. )
If you live at home, your charges from the school will be the $8400. You’ll have to buy your own books. You won’t pay room and board, so you should be fine.
Nothing wrong with using Uber rather than having a car with all those costs. Or a bus pass. Just plan your trips wisely. Get a job near your school so you can make one trip per day.
@twoinanddone as a freshmen at this school, i have to live on the campus.
okay! i keep that in mind!
You can’t afford to live at this school and your brother probably can’t afford the house if you don’t share the expenses. You need to go to a school where you can commute.
If this is UArkansas, please be sure you understand costs. I see this, which exceeds 17378 for an indepedent. https://finaid.uark.edu/cost-of-attendance.php
I’m seeing 20k, before books and personal.
When a student’s home is within a certain distance of campus, they are sometimes allowed to live at home and commute. Of course, you may eat some meals on campus, to spend time with classmates.
You may need to talk to the finaid folks to understand your options and your own bottom line costs.
With the federal college loans, payments can be delayed until 6 months after graduation. But interest accrues throughout that and if you leave school completely, the loans can come due, even though you don’t have your degree yet.
The college should have sent you a list of costs when you got your finaid info.
@twoinanddone I could just not go to college at all tbh… not at this moment.
@lookingforward That’s not the college, the college is University of Arkansas at Jonesboro (A State) also, for A State i am too far from home to live just at home and i don’t apply to anything else so, i have to live on campus. I see, thank you.
Two questions.
- Is there any community college within commuting distance of your home? These probably have open enrollment so you can apply there now.
- How are you and your brother going to pay for the house expenses, property taxes, insurance, utilities, any maintenance...if NEITHER of you is working...and yes I’m yelling...and your SSI is ending which you say is your only income?
In addition to possibly not being able to afford college, it’s very probable that the house is unaffordable.
Is there any trusted adult who has been helping you with how to budget? Anyone?
I know you needed a roof over your head…but home ownership isn’t exactly free…even once the mortgage is paid off.
You are living on a financial house of cards. On move…and it’s all going to tumble.
Once more…you both need jobs…any jobs.
For your father, put father’s name unknown. Your mother is deceased, and she’s the only one who would probably have known his last name
Oh please, I don’t believe your brother has been honestly trying to get a job and has not been able to find one. McDonald’s is always hiring. It sounds like your brother is just mooching off your SSI benefits. When your benefits end, He’ll likely magically find a job or start mooching off somebody else.
You could commute to a local community college for the first two years