<pre><code> I go to a humble, private, Christian University and received my initial fin aid award notice earlier. It says that my whole fin aid package (for this fall, next spring, and next summer) is loan based only. Stafford, Unsubsidised Stafford and/or a non need based loan (which I cannot get because I haven't good credit, but thankfully I can do without it) Where I go to uni, classes are 1,000.00 a pop (not including books). My yearly income was only 8200.00 and my efc is (approx) 700.00. What happened to the pell grants? My efc is not even the cost of one class, for goodness sakes.
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<p>This uni really recently did away with their campus based scholarships, so I am out of the loop for that. I am not trying to sound like a baby, but I really was figuring on a small pell grant and not straight up loans only. I am 32 years old and am one of those folks who had to put their schooling on hold in order to raise their younger siblings, because my late mother had cancer and was really ill a lot of the time. I could try to go part time, but I really do not want to because of that rule about completion rates. I mean, I could go part time and then try to work a second job during the fall, but I live where their is the second worse rate of unemployment in the country- so I haven't any guarantee that I could get a second job at all. It takes months to obtain employment where I live, trust me.</p>
<p>If anyone knows of something I can ethically do, then let me know.</p>
<p>hazmat, I know. Pell Grants pertain to your income. And, I do not understand why my fin aid office form thingy says I do not get a small pell grant and only am to get loans.</p>
<p>you had Pell before? Your school does qualify? I mean so many things could affect how much the award would be such as the cost of tuition. What is odd is that you are "special" student and as such should/could have qualified for other special monies. Is this the only school you appied to?</p>
<p>Yeah hazmat, I attend this uni now- actually. For this present summer semester I obtained the pell grant (enough for the cost of one class with a little left over) and a student loan ( enough to get back three hundred bucks, which I have put away for books for the fall). I have always qualified for the pell grant and humble level student loans. Prior to finding out that this school did away with campus based scholarships, I used to qualify for one of those too. I know enough to know that as of right now I will never be in the red to any university. One day, I hope to earn enough money where I do not qualify for anything (like at grad school). However, I am at a loss as to why my fin aid letter says nothing about at least a pell grant, because like I said, my efc is not even the price of one class.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that your EFC qualifies you. The school may choose to award monies based on their own whims. Some folks call this gaping. Is it hard to take. Have you spoken with the financial aid officer? What is the appeal process?</p>
<p>"speaking with the financial aid officer" is well advised; the advice/comments you get on CC aren't going to help much because we don't have (and SHOULDN'T have) specifics. Your description of your college raises some suspicion that it may not be qualified for federal loan funding (not accredited?) but that's something your school can explain.
I think most of us on this board first consider a college's ability to meet EFC (i.e., endowment), but you say your college offers nothing now. That means you NEED federal money. Ask for it.</p>
<p>I e mailed the "head" of the school and am waiting for a response. I am simply just utilising this messageboard to get ideas. The thing that sticks out in my mind is the fact that for this current summer, I qualified for both a pell grant and a student loan (totally humble level ones). But, for this coming fall (and spring and summer), I am being deemed to only qualify for sub and unsub stafford loan as well as private loans if I so choose.</p>
<p>Can a school loose its accreditation during the course of one summer? I looked them up on the southern association of colleges and schools web site, and it says they are still accredited...but I have no idea how up to date that sacs web site is.</p>
<p>There is no fin aid appeal process listed in the uni handbook anywhere. I have been patiently waiting for an e mail response, because I prefer this sort of thing in writing. I e mailied the fin aid department head and asked, point blank, if they still offer pell grants to people who legitimately qualify for them. If the fin aid department head says, no dice. Then I will e mail the head of the department that looks over fin aid and academic advising. That is all I know to do. I find it odd that everything was alright for the summer, but that everything is messed up for the fall, spring and summer of this coming academic year.</p>
<p>Well, I went ahead and e mailed the higher education commission of the state this school is located in and explained everything in detail. I did that along with e mailing the fin aid department head yesterday evening. Still haven't heard a word from anyone.</p>