<p>I was just accepted into the Honors Program at George Washington University, and I would love to go--but it's an expensive school, and my financial situation will change significantly next year and I don't want to be stuck in D.C. if I suddenly can't afford a second year there.</p>
<p>My EFC this was 0 as my mother is a full-time nursing student and reported no income (father isn't in the picture). I have the maximum Pell Grant of $5550 this year as well as a 20k Presidential Scholarship and an 18k aid grant to cover a cost of attendance of about 56k, with work-study and federal loans to make up the difference.</p>
<p>My concern is that my mother will be making about 30k next year, and our EFC will go up to between 3 and 4k, and my Pell grant will go down to about 2k. I was told that even though my Pell Grant is going down, that my current 18k grant could possibly go down as well.</p>
<p>Now, my mother is going to have her own student loans that she'll be starting to pay off as well as her own living expenses. As we aren't credit-worthy enough to take out PLUS Loans or private loans and no one in my family could co-sign anything, I am worried that my aid could be reduced to the point that the difference couldn't be made up in additional unsubsidized Stafford Loans as I would only be eligible to take out approximately 4k more in my sophomore year. If the reduction between Pell Grants and my need-based aid grant totals too much more than 4k, I would very simply no longer be able to afford to go to GWU.</p>
<p>Has anybody had any experience with changes of financial aid from year to year, particularly with such a sharp change of income? Even if I am safe next year, worries that I may be unable to afford my sophomore year may prevent me from going to the school if I don't get some kind of input, and naturally, the school won't answer any of my questions.</p>