I was just wondering how FASFA really works. For example, if I want to go out of state does it still help??? Also how much can I expect to receive? If an out of state college costs 40k a year including room and board how much would I get. My household income is in the 50k-60k range so without help I would have to go to an in-state, low-quality school.
FAFSA is the application for federal aid. It will establish an ‘expected family contribution’ or EFC, and from that you will be able to estimate how much FEDERAL aid you will get. With a family income of $50k, you’ll likely not get much as a Pell grant, but a lot will depend on other factors like family size, siblings in college. The feds also give most schools some grant funds that the schools give out as SEOG, and that will depend on the need of others at the school, but usually about $1-2k per student. You can’t count on that. And you will be eligible to take a $5500 loan.
That’s it unless your state gives additional funds either for need or merit (Florida bright futures, Ga/Tn Hope). Schools can give additional need based aid but often it is not a lot or restricted to residents.