<p>tuition for the college i'm planning to attend is about 58,000(including indirect cost).</p>
<p>Federal Pell Grant:5,645.00
Federal SEOG Grant:2,000.00
Federal Loan-Subsidized 1:3,500.00
Federal Loan-Unsubsidized 1: 2,000.00
Federal Perkins Loan 1: 2,000.00
Fed Work-Study Opportunity FR:3,000.00
Founders Award Scholarship:5,000.00
Aid Year Totals: 23,145.00</p>
<p>it says my remaining estimate balance due is 32,557. </p>
<p>i'm the first child of the family, and have no idea what to do with these.
also my parents can't afford 32,557, as you can see my EFC is 00...</p>
<ol>
<li>should i write financial aid appeal?
2.does this mean i have to pay 32,557 for this year?</li>
<li>how does these loan works? is there any advice to decline any of them? cuz they have pretty high interest, though I understand that I would have to pay after I leave this college.
4.what does EFC exactly means? I heard that means it is family contribution $, but since I got 0, does it mean my family don't have to pay any? which portion of $ are they saying that my family don't have to pay? I'm so lost...</li>
</ol>
<p>Yes your family is expected to make up the $32k difference. If you were to decline the loans then you would have to find the money some other way. </p>
<p>With an efc of 0 you can write an appeal, but many colleges can’t or won’t meet full need.</p>
<p>If your family can’t afford the $32k out of pocket then you may need to find a school that is more financially affordable.</p>
<p>The way it works is that your EFC is the minimum a person can expect to pay without a scholarship covering more than need. In your case, with a family EFC of zero, it means that you are permitted to get the entire Cost of Attendance covered, and still get federal and state aid. I don’t know of any school that guarantees to meet all of the FAFSA EFC, however. What has happened with this school, is that it has gapped you. It has accepted you and given you a $5K scholarship out of its own money, a$7K in some federal funds to which it subscribes and the PELL and Stafford you can get anywhere and has told you that is what it can give you. </p>
<p>Yes, you can appeal it and ask for more money. In your case, it is a statement of fact that your family has a zero EFC, and that the amount of money the school is expecting you and your parents to pay is undoable. Pure and simple. Give it a try. But, the school may not have the money. Most schools in this country accept students on a need blind basis That is, they will offer you admissions without consideration of your need, but they do not have money to meet everyone’s need and many kids will get gapped. Which is what happened with you. They do this, because some kids may have some outside means of getting the funds–grandmom, a non custodial parent, borrowing that isn’t listed on the FAFSA, and it 's up to the student and family to figure it out. There are only a few schools that will reject you if you have need, but those schools do tend to give financial aid packages meeting or coming close to meeting need for those they do accept. Most of the schools that outright guarantee to meet need, use their own definition of need, not the FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>So, yes, state your case, but be aware that this can be a case where you can’t afford this school and the school can’t afford you either. Look at your list for the more affordable options. If you are from a state that helps out with the funding of college, and you have some state schools on your list, those may be your best bet. Commuting to a local school may be your most affordable option. The PELL and the Staffords are going to be funds that will be usable by pretty much all of your choices. The rest will depend on state funds if you are in a state that provides them and the college is in that state and whatever the college has in its own funding.</p>
<p>This is Puget Sound you’re talking about, right? I hate to be so blunt, but the school is aware you have an EFC of zero. And it awarded you a grand total of $5,000. That’s all - just $5,000. So the school knows you can’t come up with an additional $32,557 . . . and they don’t care.</p>
<p>The rest of the “award” is federal money (and loans), most of which you’d get at ANY school you attend. The school didn’t “give” those to you. You’d get most of them anywhere. So it’s not a gift from the school. All the school gave you, out of its own coffers, is $5,000.</p>
<p>An appeal isn’t going to get you from $5k to $33k. It’s just not going to happen. A school that really, really wants you as a student will try to find a way to make it affordable for you to attend. But this just isn’t that school.</p>
<p>I know this is the school you were planning to attend. And it accepted you. But the school’s lousy financial aid award makes it impossible for you to attend. You don’t have the missing $32,557, and the school’s not going to give it to you.</p>
<p>What kind of financial aid award did you get from Northridge? Did you qualify for a Cal Grant?</p>
<p>I have no idea for Northridge right now, because when I go into the “check what I got for financial award”, the only thing I see on that page is “No self-service access for this aid year.” :(</p>
<p>I did months ago, and tried to sign up, and it didn’t let me…</p>
<p>The information you have entered does not match what is currently on file at the California Student Aid Commission. The information entered on this page must match what is on your FAFSA or the application on file to create your user account. </p>
<p>i had my SSN and my Dream Act ID right next to me and copied down exactly for many times, but wasn’t able to sign up for the website</p>
<p>Unless they change the award, you cannot go there. Those unguaranteed loans start compounding right away. And if you attempt to take out an additional tens of thousands in loans, you will destroy your life, or your parents will destroy theirs. We are still paying $1000 a month on student loans now, all these years later. It has been 18 yrs. The interest on my unguaranteed loans started compounding right away, and by the time I graduated, my loans were so incredibly high. We could not pay the full amount, so we were not even paying the entire interest portion. All these years later, we are still paying $1000 a month. If I could give my degree back to get my money back, I would go for it. It was not worth it. There are cheaper alternatives. You do not want to be in your 40’s and still paying this kind of money. If it life changing, but in a really bad way.</p>
<p>Kei, good for you that you aren’t giving up – sounds like you may need to take a step back and detach your hopes for Puget – as you have heard you definitely don’t want to go there as it stands…it is much better to NOT go somewhere and leave yourself free to figure out other options (rather than entangle yourself further, wasting time and energy). Sounds like you need to take more time developing a plan and getting some advice on strategy. And congrats on the Dream Act!</p>
<p>Kei…EFC is a FEDERAL number. The fed gov’t has NO POWER over the country’s universities to force them to give you money to pay for school. Schools would CLOSE if that happened because most schools do NOT have much money to give away. </p>
<p>The country’s colleges are not treasure chests of gold ready to hand out $200k for four years to students with lowish EFCs. Most schools aren’t affordable to many/most students. Most schools expect families to fund their kids’ educations, and if they can help out a bit, they do. </p>
<p>FAFSA only schools tend to give the worst aid. IF you’re instate for Calif and got accepted to a Calif public, then you should have most of your need met there. Call and find out why your aid isn’t showing at your Calif school.</p>
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