<p>It does seem very strange. If you were selected for verification, your EFC may have increased as a result … making you ineligible for BF. Or if you completed an earlier FAFSA in such a way that you were incorrectly considered independent - then you fixed it - you may have originally been packaged incorrectly & they just now found/fixed it. Or someone may have made a mistake (it does happen). Do not be shy — call and find out. It is your financial aid, and you have every right to now what is happening with it (and why).</p>
<p>My daughter’s school takes items on and of her account repeatedly until the final, final bill is posted two weeks before it is due. It totally freaked me out until I learned that it reflected administrative tasks going on internally. Perhaps some weird thing is going on with op.</p>
<p>Can you defer the scholarship which caused the problem to a future year in order to get the other items reinstated?</p>
<p>No need to call, tryandsucceed. Every student who was eligible for bright futures had the amount taken off of their awards and loan tab. Currently, Bright Futures is evaluating every student. The amount will come back when you have been awarded the amount. Remember, the previous Bright Futures amount on the page was estimated. No need to freak out. Every student is going through this. It’s off of my account, too.</p>
<p>
Bright Futures is not need based. A student’s EFC has no affect on whether they receive funds!</p>
<p>Sorry - I was just taking a guess - I am not familiar with the BF process.</p>
<p>It says “not on state eligibility list”</p>
<p>Is that what your account says, too?</p>
<p>Yes, that is what mine says.</p>
<p>Thank goodness!</p>
<p>These schools will f with you any way they can. This is just one example. Another is to lead you to believe that you have a 4 year scholly, and they bury in fine print that it’s a one, year NOT renewable. Is it illegal? No. Unethical, maybe. Misleading, absolutely. But by the time you’ve inked the acceptance you’ve been had.</p>
<p>LOL Mitchy. </p>
<p>Y u mad, tho?</p>
<p>And, Mitchy, the scholarship is renewable. The university isn’t “f-ing” with her.</p>
<p>It sounds to me that you will need to take out some loans.</p>
<p>I don’t get your father’s insistence on you covering the EFC yourself, but that’s the reality.</p>
<p>T&S: Can you call the FA office and ask them if it is too late to accept your loans? Usually (not always) FA offices reduce “self help” (loans and work study) aid first when private scholarships are awarded. Since you declined the loans, you had no self help aid in your award when your scholarship money showed up, so the next aid in line for the reduction based on the change in your resources was your grant. If you had accepted the loans last spring, then it might have been those loans that were reduced/canceled, rather than your grant. </p>
<p>It might not work: it might be too late, or your school might have different policies about dealing with outside scholarships, but it is worth a shot. </p>
<p>It might also be to your advantage to go visit the FA office at your school. But leave your “chip” at home, if you do that. :)</p>
<p>
It’s because she is having a hard time finding that $6000. Many of us think her anger at the college is misplaced, but her distress isn’t. It is a difficult situation.</p>
<p>I think scubasue’s suggestion is a good one. That’s a reasonable thing to ask the financial aid office to do. Go in assuming they will want to help you.</p>
<p>And PLEASE remember that the FA reps that you’re talking to don’t make the rules. Their hands are tied and you have to understand that as frustrating as your situation is, they’ve heard WAY worse circumstances this week. Really. Gut wrenching stories. Don’t say anything about the system, or anything to make their jobs harder than they already are. </p>
<p>If you don’t get anywhere with my suggestion, ask whomever you are speaking with if he/she has any advice.</p>
<p>Tryandsucceed-- I was in a very similar situation, albeit 20 years ago. I feel your frustration. Don’t listen to those that say be mad at your Dad-- unless he has piles of cash laying around, which I don’t get from your posts, he may not be able to give you money for college and I understand that. My parents wouldn’t/couldn’t pay for my college either. Yes, they could have taken out loans, they could have scraped together all of their available cash for me at the expense of my mother, brothers, and sisters, to meet our EFC but they probably would have ended up losing their house. I don’t like it when people imply that your dad just doesn’t care. My dad had a lot of expenses when I was younger trying to take care of a sick mother and wife, but we don’t need to get into that. I just know that there are legitimate reasons people cannot pay what their EFC is. I also got a scholarship that reduced my aid, and what made me mad was I had to jump through hoops to get this scholarship only to have aid taken away that was already given. I remember being 18 and very upset.</p>
<p>In the end, I took out more loans then I wanted to and became a Resident Assistant for my last two years to cover room and board. I didn’t really want to do it, but I wanted to graduate. Two semesters I came up $300 short, and my Aunt gave it to me. I worked
summers and my parents gave me a little spending money here and there. </p>
<p>I would go back to the school and point out that you only need 22 classes to graduate. Does this make you a junior eligible for more of a loan? Explain how the outside scholarship and the money they took away is really needed. Perhaps they’ll match the scholarship with more institutional aid if you appeal their decision in a responsible and calm manner. And remember, if you have to take out extra loan money it’s only for 2 years not the normal 4 if you’re transferring so many credits in. </p>
<p>I guess all I can say at this point is call them or go to the financial aid office and see if they can help. Don’t just send an e-mail, talk with some one directly. At this time of year they’re probably getting bombarded with tons of e-mail.</p>
<p>I thought BF is not need dependent. If that is the case, it would stay on the account even if it does reduce your EFC. Unless that has changed, it could just be that if you are being verified, while your FAFSA is on hold, the BF is not a go.</p>
<p>Here is the way it works most of the time. You get your need, defined as COA minus EFC. You are not PELL eligible so that does not come into play. Ususally, the BF would first go towards that need, reducing it, and then your state school would further reduce that need with any outside merit awards yo might get. They then would give you the federal entitlements, usually just the unsub Directs, but some schools consider the whole Direct loan amount, ($5500 freshman year) to be applied first and if you refuse to accept the unsubs, then you have to come up with the money. The school money comes last if there is any. There is no guarantee to meet need. That the school offered you some money before they knew about the outside scholarships, means you get to see them strip it all down, something you would not have seen because the offer would have never been made, had the outside awards been given first. That’s the way it generally works for everyone. You may think it’s unfair, and many things in life are, but it’s fair in that everyone in your circumstance would be so treated. The rules were well in place before you came around.</p>
<p>It is a little known or misunderstood fact about Financial Aid. It is the amount that a college will award you.</p>
<p>The college takes into account any money that you might have coming, including scholarships. The college looks at the remaining amount and makes its award based on that.</p>
<p>The same is true for any of the college saving plans that are out there. It is expected that you report that money and the college will award accordingly.</p>
<p>The student CAN get the Direct Loan…as long as the loan doesn’t cause aid plus EFC to exceed the cost of attendance.</p>
<p>
No, Bright Futures is not need dependent.
</p>
<p>
Everyone who qualifies for the merit scholarship gets it. From what I understood, the university took away tryandsucceed’s grants, not merit scholarships. I would believe those would be the last to go not given. </p>
<p>Is that right, tryandsucceed? Your freshman grant and uncertainty need based grant was reduced?</p>
<p>
Hope OP read this very important post by scubasue. OP, please let us know what you find out after you contact USF’s finaid office.</p>