<p>My sister and I are both starting our first year of college this Monday and we both applied for financial aid to pay for it. The problem is that we dont know how much or even if we're getting anything. we can't afford college at all so we want to find out before school starts so we could drop the classes in case we dont get any money. We have only received an email saying that our fafsa has been processed and that we could review our sar . It obviously our first time applying so we really dont understand anything. All I know is that somehow the efc is used to determine if and how much money a person gets is that correct? My sister and I both got a efc of 00000* . Were not really sure if thats good or how were supposed to determine how much were getting . How do we find out if we are getting any money?</p>
<p>Contact your college. It is the college that makes the financial aid award.</p>
<p>You can't really tell how much you will get just from your EFC. A lot depends on the school, what it costs, and their financial aid policies - for instance some schools promise to meet full need others do not. Have you only just applied? If so there is some aid you are probably too late for.</p>
<p>Contact your college. Only they can tell you the exact aid.</p>
<p>if im supposed to find out from my college , could they just tell me over the phone if and how much im getting or is it something your supoosed to do in person?</p>
<p>Depends on the college. My daughter's college puts it on her account on their web site. My son's college mailed him a letter with the information.</p>
<p>Call and ask.</p>
<p>Call them, they will likely ask for your school ID number or some other type of identification. If they do not want to tell you over the phone, they can always send you an email.</p>
<p>x-posted w/SCM, dont you ever sleep ;)?</p>
<p>I am a night owl. Can't sleep at night - can't get up in the morning!</p>
<p>well thanks , ill try checking my account . i didn't even bother checking it . if that dosent work i guess a call dosent hurt (even though i hate phones!).</p>
<p>Loser09 (as an aside, I feel bad that you chose such a screenname....)--</p>
<p>I'm guessing you and your sister are pretty much doing the application, enrollment and preparation for starting college on your own. Your EFC reflects a very modest family circumstance. Based on this conjecture (actually, in any case) it's important that you develop an ability to be pro-active in taking care of business, whether it's figuring out your financial aid, registering for classes, advocating with a professor, etc. I completely sympathize with your shyness about phoning, but in the long run, not keeping on top of things may cause you great harm in your college career.</p>
<p>Now is a good time to develop those skills. As a start, I am concerned about the asterisk by your EFC. This generally means that you have been randomly selected for verification by the federal gov, and if this is the case, you would have been notified that the school needed additional paperwork. If this hasn't been attended to yet, it may be one reason you have no award notice.</p>
<p>Please make every effort to call the FA, get some good answers, and follow through on what they tell you. It can make the difference in whether you can keep those classes or not.</p>
<p>Best wishes to you.</p>
<p>and to add if you are starting school monday shouldn't this all have been done months ago (including getting the stafford loans, etc..)</p>
<p>ARe you sure you're properly enrolled and registered? I've never heard of a school allowing that to be the case if the financial balances haven't already been settled.</p>
<p>^I've got a bunch of kids I'm working with to get their aid figured out. but yes, they are enrolled. If the FA is in the works, most will start classes. the last thing the school needs to do is wipe out a bunch of registrations, then have to fix them again (or lose a bunch of students.)</p>
<p>I realize that's different from most Cc'ers experience. there's another world out there, though, where getting enough paying bodies is a challenge.</p>
<p>
[quote]
realize that's different from most Cc'ers experience. there's another world out there, though, where getting enough paying bodies is a challenge.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Was that directed at me Garland? That was a remarkably nasty post about the members of a forum where you are a moderator.</p>
<p>My point was that the student needs to make sure that everything actually is as she thinks it is.</p>
<p>My daughters school (a large State U) charges everything to the bursars account just before school starts and the payment is not due till the 15th of the next month so it is possible to be enrolled, registered and start classes before settling any balances.</p>
<p>Mine is going to a CUNY this fall. Completely non-selective school (accepts 100%) with many poor people. On registration, you are given a piece of paper that says that if your accounts aren't settled in 30 days, your registration is cancelled.</p>
<p>At my daughters school the charges (tuition/fees - last year room and board were the same but she is off campus this year) were on the bursars account August 17th and the payment is not due till Sept 15th. My son's school payment is due the 1st day of classes. My friend on the other hand had to pay for her daughter's school back in June. There are probably 1000 different variations.</p>
<p>I think it is actually better that tuition etc is paid before classes start. My son has a friend who was a month into classes before she realized her parents were not going to pay (messy divorce situation) and she ended up having to drop out and is just now returning after several years - I think she had to pay off the old bill first - it would have been better to have known up front.</p>
<p>0000*</p>
<p>Just reiterating what Garland said., the *** on your EFC means you should be verified- this is not a big deal- you provide a copy of the tax return you used to fill out the fafsa, proof of sibling enrolment and fill out a verification form your school provides.</p>
<p>It is no big deal, but it must be done in order to get your money. I am not sure if there is any time limit, but you'd better gather that info and call in to determine what you need to do. </p>
<p>Some financial aid is limited in it's availability, like Perkins loans, so be sure to get on this right away so you don't miss out.</p>
<p>Zooser, I don't think Garland is directing any aspersions towards you. It's just that there are many kids out there who are applying to local colleges on their own and at their pace without looking ahead or knowing what to do next. They file their papers, and then wait for the answer. I think Garland's job is such that she works with such kids which is a whole different challenge from CC kids. Your kids (and mine and Garland's along with all CC parents' kids) are ever so fortunate to have parents helping them along this process as it is really a pain in the neck. Certainly it is more than my knuckleheads could have done on their own, especially if financial aid were involved. It is to those kids Garland is addressing her concerns.</p>
<p>For those who have not heard from their colleges about FA packages, (and a lot of those schools have open or on site registration rather than application processes), they should call and discuss what they are getting and how to get it. It is shocking to many that even as you get your financial aid award, there is more to do to get that money into your school account. You cannot sit complacently and let things take its course. It's a true pain. Better yet, if you are starting soon, go to the school, bring a notebook with pages where you can insert loose papers and sit with the FA officer and go through everything on site. Zoosermom is right in those deadlines in terms of paying. Registration can be cancelled without payment, and accounts can incur hefty late charges if someone is not on board with you at FA and are aware of your situation.</p>
<p>The school two of mine went to didn't require any payment until Sept 30. I think this was to allow drop and adds before they determined what the tuition was. In any case, they definitely applied, registered and attended school before any tuition was due.</p>
<p>3bm, it's not necessarily tuition being due, it's a question of arrangements being in place. Financial aid/scholarships must be affirmatively accepted and so forth. It just sounds like something is missing from this student's circumstance, that's all.</p>
<p>Cpt, not all CC kids and families are the same. I'm uneducated, my husband is functionally illiterate, and I know several CC families who come from difficulties. This isn't Lake Woebegone, much as it may sometimes seem that way, and I would have thought Garland would know that.</p>
<p>My son started grad school last fall without having accepted or declining his Financial aid award. He paid out of pocket for the first semester (sometime in september) and accepted the loans for the second semester. Not all schools follow the same procedures.</p>