<p>poker - you should be able to find your EFC somewhere from the fafsa.com site -shame your Mom got gyped by them.</p>
<p>Federal grant money (ie money that does not have to be repayed) is very limited. There are only a handful of grants the Pell grant, ACG (Academic Competitiveness Grant), SEOG and SMART. Other than grants federal aid is loans and work study. All federal aid depends on your ‘need’ which is calculated by taking you EFC (from FAFSA) away from the schools COA.</p>
<p>Pell GrantThe maximum Pell for 2008-2009 is $4731 but that is for someone with a zero EFC. With an EFC of over 4041 there is no Pell eligibility. For EFCs of over 0 to below 4042 the amount of Pell eligibility is graduated. It is impossible to guess your EFC from the information you have provided. If your Mom’s income is $30k and there are no other income or assets your EFC might be around 2600 which would qualify you for @ 2180 in Pell grant. If her income is $40k your EFC might be @ 4700 which would mean you would not qualify for the Pell grant at all. If her income is below $30k you would qualify for more but if there is other income (such as your income if any) you would qualify for less. so based on the information you have given you may qualify for from $2180 to $0 in Pell grant money.</p>
<p>ACGMaximum $750. The ACG is dependent on Pell eligibility and an academic component. Based on your GPA you will not qualify for it.</p>
<p>SEOGfederal Maximum $400O but it is very limited funding so most schools make their own maximum lower. Schools decide their own criteria for awarding it but it is the neediest students which at many schools means those with an EFC of zero. As it is limited funds most schools specify that you must file FAFSA early to be eligible.</p>
<p>SMARTIs for 3rd and 4th year students doing certain majors.</p>
<p>It looks like the only federal grant money you may be eligible for is Pell and that only if your Mom’s income is on the lower end of the numbers you mentioned. Other than that you should be eligible for the federal Stafford loan which is a maximum of $3500 for a freshman. Work Study which can be up to @$3400 depending on the school. Work study is paid to you as you work for and earn it so it is not available to pay bills at the beginning of the semester. My daughter has WS and we regard it as her money for miscellaneous expenses (spending money). Your Mom will probably also be eligible for plus loans.</p>
<p>Unless BGU has large grant money of their own to award you will probably not receive enough aid to avoid enormous loans. With the BGU grant of $3600 and a possible Pell grant of $2180 that leaves you with a large amount to finance.</p>
<p>As others have said you may need to consider a community college for the first couple of years then transfer or maybe even a smaller instate 4 year university in your home state. I know the smaller regional universities in our State are considerably cheaper that the large State Us. Good luck.</p>
<p>Poker, how much is mother going to pay towards your college next year? When it comes right down to it, that is the big question. If she is willing to come up with $10K, whether it is through loans, savings, gifts, salary, that is what you have to apply towards your college costs. You also have what you can pay. If you work this summer, and if you have some money put away, that is what you can contribute. You also can add the amount you are willing and able to borrow. If the college cannot provide enough funds including any federal and other govt monies to meet the amount left, you can’t go. There is no money, end of the story.</p>
<p>Poker,
I am sorry but your attitude frightens me. To even begin to think that your mom on her income could help pay for that is outrageous. How do you feel you are being screwed? Your grades are terrible and your SAT is low average. You do need to prove yourself in a community college first. With those SAT scores and grades, I question if your background is sufficient enough to even begin to master college level work. I don’t feel that you have done your part to make college happen given your academic record. Make good grades at the community college and then transfer somewhere. If you decide to focus and produce good work, you will be eligible for monies as a transfer student.</p>
<p>Your mom didn’t “screw you over”. She was idealistic and, like most parents, wanted to see you go to college. The reality is, she can’t afford it and it sounds like it took a while for her to figure this out.</p>
<p>PS community college is not “lame”. I teach in one and the vast majority of my university transfer students had a much higher SAT than what you produced. My students go on to excellent universities and on to graduate school. </p>
<p>Here’s the big question are you into the “image” of college or do you want to really achieve something? It it is the latter, the community college can help make that a reality.</p>
<p>First of all, who are you people to tell me where I should go and who are you to make judgments on me? That’s ridiculous, don’t tell me where I need to go, you don’t even know me.</p>
<p>“Also, I’m not going to CC. I’d rather people not laugh at me for the rest of my life.”</p>
<p>as opposed to laughing at you the rest of your life for being in debt over $60,000 for Bowling Green State University? So you understand how this amount of debt will effect your life? delay the purchase of a home, nice car and maybe even marriage? That instead of paying for ballet lessons for you daughter, you will be paying off student loans?</p>
<p>And that is if you can even find someone to loan you the money – you will have to have a cosigner and I hope you mother, if she would qualify, wouldn’t be so naive as to take on that kind of debt on her income.</p>
<p>your immaturity is loud and clear to anyone reading this thread – you have absolutely no concept of money, either how it is obtained or how it is used.</p>
<p>If you mother actually earns $40,000 then she is most likely just getting by – she doesn’t have an extra $15,000 to spare to send you to college. She probably doesn’t have even $3000 to give you.</p>
<p>If your mother agrees to cosign your college loans, that will effect her ability to buy a car, buy a home, get a job – it may increase her insurance and prevent her from qualifying to rent an apartment. If you default on the loan, which is a possibility given your lack of understanding of how money works in the real world, she would be responsible for paying for the loan – the same as if she had borrowed it herself. do you really think that is fair?</p>
<p>What gave you the idea that the money to pay for college would just appear? You seem to have no understanding of the financial aid process and are unwilling to be realistic.</p>
<p>What exactly are your plans – since the suggestions we have given you are not adequate? Are you seriously contemplating borrowing $20,000/year for college? Who are you borrowing it from? Do you have a summer job lined up? Have you contacted the financial aid department at BGSU? Do you know your EFC? Have you figured out the costs for school aside from room/board and tuition? How are you paying for your housing deposit? Books for the first semester? transportation to get there?</p>
<p>It is time to grow up and stop your whining – take a look at where you really want to be in 10 years and the best way to get there. You have options – they just aren’t the ones you like.</p>
<p>Please, swallow your pride and see the reason that’s being set before you. The community college route may not be the glamorous image of a 4 year university… but as of right now, it’s your only viable option.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but some institutions don’t tolerate the kind of grades you have produced, so who is to say that you won’t go off to your glorious university, pay loads of money you don’t have, and then flunk out first semester?<br>
Do yourself a favor, and don’t screw yourself over.
Think about it, you can either; go to a local community college (live at home to eliminate housing and meal plan costs) earn some decent grades and then transfer (after applying for financial aid at the beginning of Feb.), continue on your path of throwing caution to the winds and becoming thoroughly indebted, or… if you are hell bent on not going to community college, take a year off, work and save, and then try again (with some smarts).</p>
<p>I honestly wish you the best of luck and hope you see that YOU need to do something, and fast or you will no longer have options, you’ll just have closed doors.</p>
<p>How about you stop saying that ______ is my only option. Do you know me? No. Do you know what you’re talking about? No. You don’t, you have no semblance of a clue.</p>
<p>And for anyone that has any clue of what they’re talking about, my EFC is $2,436, but I doubt I’ll find anyone here.</p>
<p>Poker, I have followed this thread without saying a thing. You have posted on this board to get some advice. I really do think that Hornet has given you very good advice. Please don’t feel like community college is a “loser school”, or anything to be ashamed of. There are students who really do choose community college for various reasons. Perhaps you don’t know many who decide on community college at your hs, or within your circle of friends. Many bright students go to CC because they do not have the money for a 4 year residential college, do not want to go into debt, have a parent or sibling who is ill and need to be close to home, and so on. I know a young man who decided on CC because he did not know what he wanted to major in, and did not want to spend thousands until he knew what he wanted to study. I am another poster who does not know you, but with your stats, and since your mother cannot help much, it really is a great avenue for you to open doors to your future.</p>
<p>Your EFC should qualify your for some amount of a Pell Grant. You will also be offered a Stafford Loan and may be offered a Perkins Loan as well. In addition, you may be offered work study (this usually doesn’t exceed $2000 or so for the year). That is about it for federal money. The college has already given you $3600 (scholarship). Bowling Green is a public university. They do NOT guarantee to meet your full need. In other words, even in the best situation, you would likely have a gap between the money they offer you and the amount you will need to pay.</p>
<p>Again I ask…did you discuss the finances with your mom? Is she able to contribute at all to your college education and if so, how much? Until you know that piece, you will have a lot of trouble determining just how much of a shortfall you are going to have.</p>
<p>You mention that your mom is a single mom. Is your dad in the picture at all? Any chance he will be able to help you out at all?</p>
<p>I just have a hard time believing that ALL kids who come from single parent, low income families have this problem. My one friend is in the nearly exact same situation and apparently got a lot of financial aid and is going to West Virginia U. next year, which is almost exactly the same price as BG, so why is CC the only option for me? That’s bull****.</p>
<p>ok – let’s take a look at your options and see if you can find anything that might work for you.</p>
<p>community college is an excellent option – but I can see why you don’t want to do that. Between living at home with mom and attending a CC or living on a campus out of state and going to college, BGSU does sound like a better life for an 18 year old. But CC is still an option.</p>
<p>take a gap year, ask if you can defer admission to BGSU for a year, and work your tail off earning money. Live at home to save money and save, save, save. If you don’t think you want to live at home, check out americorps – you don’t get a ton of money, but it pays ~$4500 plus housing and food allowance.</p>
<p>Look at in-state schools – ones where the cost doesn’t include an additional fee for being out of state and one where some additional state money might be available.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t see what your other options are.</p>
<p>PA state schools are jokes…they’re for people that can’t get in anywhere else…I have one in my town (Bloomsburg), it’s a joke. They all are. Why do you think they beg people to go there? </p>
<p>And again my question goes unanswered: why is it possible for my friend to go OOS, but not me?</p>
<p>I can’t speak for your friend – but my guess is that his FA package included loans and work-study and he may have gotten a bit more grant money from the school. The problem is that grant money is already dispursed – and you missed the deadlines.</p>
<p>If you go to the BGSU website, they spell it all out clearly – for maximum aid (things like additional grants and perkins loans) you needed to have your fafsa in by march 1st. except for guaranteed federal money (pell and stafford loans) that money is already allocated.</p>
<p>If you qualify the ACG maximum for a freshman is $750.</p>
<p>I doubt that you will qualify for SEOG with an EFC of 2436.
You should qualify for a Stafford loan of $3500
Perkins loans are very limited as the school is awarded very limited funds and once they are awarded they have no more to offer. They are usually awarded to students who have major need and apply for aid early. If you have just applied you probably will not get a Perkins though it is possible.</p>
<p>So probably have for sure:
School scholarship $3600
Pell 2436
Stafford loan $3500
Total 9536</p>
<p>Unless BGU has their own grant money (most State schools do not) that probably leaves you with about $14000 a year to find. I have not included WS in the above amounts as it is paid to you as a salary so is not really available for tuition and fees.</p>
<p>swimcatsmom – it leaves him with more than $14,000 to find. His original figure of $23,300 didn’t include books, living expenses, healthcare, transportation, etc. That figure only included room/board/tuition.</p>