<p>Estimated Federal Pell Grant 5,595
State and Federal Grant 5,500</p>
<p>Total 11,095</p>
<p>This leaves me with 11,835 dollars to pay for college. My EFC is 0. Does this mean that Stony Brook will cover the 11,835 or will I have to get loans to cover it myself?</p>
<p>Also I know that they give you like a 7000 dollar loan as part of financial aid. Does that mean I will have to take the loan and then Stony Brook will cover the 4,800 that is left over? Or will Stony Brook cover nothing? Also will Stony Brook force me to do Work-Study so they have to pay less out of their owen pocket?</p>
<p>If your EFC is really $0, and you are a NY resident, might you also qualify for TAP?</p>
<p>No one will “force you” to do work study, but you would be a fool NOT to find a work study job if you receive a work study award. What is your issue with work study? </p>
<p>I read your other posts. If you don’t think you can cover the costs at Stonybrook, how do you think you will cover the almost $60,000 a year cost at NYU?</p>
<p>I hope Sybbie sees this thread. She has excellent info about aid for low income NY residents.</p>
<p>I thought TAP was the 5500 state and federal grant. And yes my EFC really is 0. But you never answered my original question lol. What happens to the remaining 11,800 dollars?</p>
<p>If you ran the NPC on the Stonybrook site, and you got NO institutional aid, your $11,800 balance would have to be covered by other funds. TAP is NOT the same as Pell and the Direct Loan. I know very little about TAP and how much it covers…but Sybbie does. TAP should help you.</p>
<p>You say you are working nights as a manager at a fast food place. Are you saving those earnings? Will some of that money be used to support your college costs!</p>
<p>Stonybrook is a NY state public university. I’m going to guess that most need based grant aid for these schools comes via TAP, not the schools themselves. </p>
<p>Oops…correcting my post! As mom2 pointed out…the state grant very well could be the TAP. </p>
<p>So…in addition, you would be eligible for a $5500 Direct Loan as a freshman. </p>
<p>Get your FAFSA done ASAP after January 1, as both federal work study and Perkins Loans have limited funding at each college. They are awarded on a first come first served basis.</p>
<p>I would also strongly suggest you look at schools that are affordable with the Pell, TAP, and Direct Loan funds. Is there any SUNY to which you can commute?</p>
<p>So I will have to take out a 7000 dollar loan and then also manage to somehow find another 4000 by myself per year? Stony will not be giving me any money?</p>
<p>EFC is a misnomer, and should be considered the least you and your family would pay for college. The EFC number generated will indicate your eligibility for federal (and some state) aid. </p>
<p>Most schools do not meet full need and there is a gap between the amount of aid offered (if any) and the EFC number. </p>
<p>Stony Brook may or may not offer you additional grant aid. They do not meet full need (most schools do not, and those that do often require the CSS profile or another form to gather more financial information before offering determining eligibility for institutional aid). Most schools do not offer institutional aid to bridge the gap between federal and state grants and loans. Students and their families cover the difference. </p>
<p>As a dependent student you will qualify for an additional $5500 (I believe) in direct loans, and may qualify for work study as well. This will not cover the additional costs of Stony Brook however.</p>
<p>The federal and state grant and loans are designed to help cover the cost of tuition and (maybe) fees and books… not room and board.</p>
<p>Can you live at home and commute to Stony Brook, or another SUNY or CUNY school? Possibly a CC for the first two years while saving money to finish off at a 4-year state school?</p>
<p>So I will have to take out a 7000 dollar loan and then also manage to somehow find another 4000 by myself per year? Stony will not be giving me any money?</p>
<p>Look over the cost breakdown. You can figure out how to cut down some of those costs. Rent your books or buy used. Spend less on personal expenses. Spend less on transportation.</p>
<p>Over the summer you should be able to work/save $2500. </p>
<p>submit your FAFSA as soon as you can after Jan 1 to increase your chances for Work Study and anything else that can be offered.</p>
<p>Stony probably doesn’t have aid to give other than maybe some merit money for top stats. Do you have high test scores?</p>
<p>The federal and state grant and loans are designed to help cover the cost of tuition and (maybe) fees and books… not room and board.</p>
<p>This is true. Gov’ts can’t afford to be providing room and board for students.</p>
It will depend on each individual school. Very few schools promise to meet need. Many schools do not offer much or any institutional need based aid, only merit based aid and whatever Federal and State aid a student is eligible for. </p>
<p>This means many schools may not be affordable for 0 EFC students. You need to look at schools that meet need, or where you qualify for merit based aid that combined with federal/state aid will be affordable.</p>
<p>(I have no idea whether Stonybrook meets full need).</p>
Not really true. They can cover whatever cost is uncovered by other aid/scholarships. My daughter had a full tuition scholarship and she used her Pell and her State grant to cover her living expenses.</p>
<p>IME they’ll refund you any excess PELL/gov’t money you have after they apply institutional scholarships and grants. This might not be the case for OP, but for others, there are cases where the institution pays for all tuition and students use government grants for R&B or for driving expenses.</p>
<p>Does Stoneybrook have any extra scholarships/grants for low-income students? Do you maybe have to apply to them separately? You can also find other independent scholarships. Check with your high school. I was able to get about 2k just from scholarships available in my community, and our GC walked us all through the process of applying.</p>
<p>Basically, the calculator is saying you would have to figure out how to get that $11K.</p>
<p>Assuming you are a NY state resident, the TAP is probably included here: “State and Federal Grant 5,500” Here’s a link so you can find out more about the TAP.</p>
<p>On top of the grants listed, you could also take out a federal loan for $5,500.</p>
<p>Other than that, schools can choose to give you additional money: some SEOG (a federal grant that is first-come first-serve but is often just a few hundred or, at most, a couple of thousand dollars), College Work-Study (the ability to earn money at school but no guaranteed job) and additional loans (Perkins), or institutional money (like merit scholarships). NY state schools do not guarantee to meet need and the calculator is not estimating that the school will give you additional money. I don’t know how accurate the calculator is but, in general, you will want to submit your financial aid documents as early as you can (the fafsa for next year isn’t available until Jan 1) because that money is first-come first-serve so, once the school has awarded all the work-study and all the SEOG, it’s gone. </p>
<p>I hope Sybbie sees this because New York has EOP/ HEOP which does open doors for low-income students accepted through that program. This is something you need to look into. </p>
<p>Each school runs their own EOP/ HEOP program and it’s possible to be admitted to one and not another. Look into this at different NY state schools. NY state guidance counselors are very familiar with the program so your guidance counselor should be able to help you.</p>
<p>If Op has received an acceptance already s/he probably did not apply to EOP or was not academically eligible for EOP and admitted through general admissions. If OP was EOP eligible, what would have happened is Op would have cleared the academic hurdle then given an application to apply for EOP and if financially eligible would have been admitted some time in 2014 (filing the FAFSA is a requirement for EOP).</p>
<p>Keep in mind a student can have a 0 EFC and not be eligible for EOP depending on the family make-up and not meeting the income cut off.</p>
<p>The Direct cost for OP to attend Stony brook as a NYS resident is 19, 358</p>
<p>IF Op is NYS resident with a 0 EFC s/he would be eligible for the following</p>
<p>Pell 5645
TAP $5000
Direct loan $5500</p>
<p>total of $16, 145 leaving a gap of $3213</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend that OP files the FAFSA on 1/1/14 to increase his her chances for getting SEOG and or a Perkins loan, both which are given on a first come/first served basis. In addition, Op needs to get a job/may 2 jobs in the summer so that s/he can have start up costs for school (book money, sheets, school supplies toiletries). While Op may be eligible for work study, Op must first find a job and work before receiving any money.</p>
<p>Attached, please see Stony Brook Scholarship link, where OP can determine if they qualify for any of the school based merit scholarships</p>