NO ONE has been able to answer this for me, and it worries me so much! I currently live in Texas, and am wanting to attend WSU, short for Washington State University. Could I get a pell grant for them? How would I go about doing it?
Pell grants are income based federal entitlements. If your family income is ~$60k or less, you may qualify for one. Go to the FAFSA4caster website to get an estimate of your EFC (Expected Family Contribution). If it’s over 0005000 ($5,000), you won’t qualify. The closer it is to $0, the closer your grant would be to $5k/year. The yearly cap is ~$5k.
Then go to the FAFSA.gov site and file the FAFSA. You’ll be able to borrow the ~$5500/year federal student loan if you file. Neither will be enough to pay for an OOS school. How much can your parents pay per year? How much do you need? You can go to the college’s website and run their Net Price Calculator to get an estimate of costs.
So it would work for Washington with me living in Texas?
Sure you could get the Pell if you are eligible.
BUT…how do you plan to pay the OOS costs to attend college in a different state? In 2015-16 it cost $35,000 a year and that doesn’t include transportation or personal expenses.
The $5800 Pell is a small portion of this cost.
I plan on paying it with FAFSA and loans/grants. My parents make roughly $12k-14k a year, and I don’t think they are going to help pay anything.
The max Pell grant is only ~$5800. You can only borrow $5500 as a freshman. That gives you a total budget of ~$11k. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to attend an OOS college.
Does your state offer grants for state residents who attend TX colleges? If there are schools within commuting distance of your home, they may be good options. What are your test scores and unweighted GPA? Are you a senior?
The Pell grant doesn’t just provide funds to allow you to jgo anywhere you want. As austin said, based on yours and your parents’ income - you may get a grant - up to about $5700 and you can take out federal loans up to $5500. Your EFC does NOT mean that is all your family will have to pay (with 12k income, your EFC is likely 0, but you will still have to pay something to go pretty much anywhere.
Out-of-state publics (OOS) are the least financially friendly option out there. If not interested in TX publics, your next best bet would be private schools. Even though their sticker price is generous, they usually provide a combination of merit and need-based aid that makes them competitive with in-state publics. And Texas schools do provide state specific grants, event he private schools.
And depending on your scores and GPA, you might have a shot at schools that will meet a significant portion of your need. Do a little looking around. I can’t imagine WSU would be affordable for you unless you got an OOS waiver or something similar.
[QUOTE=""]
I plan on paying it with FAFSA and loans/grants. My parents make roughly $12k-14k a year, and I don't think they are going to help pay anything.
[/QUOTE]
No you can’t.
WSU costs about $40k+ OOS per year… You’ll only get about $14k per year in grants and loans. NOT ENOUGH>
Sorry, but WSU won’t be affordable.
All you’d get is:
$5500 loan
$5700 Pell Grant
$2000 work study (maybe)
As you can see that won’t be enough. Your parents don’t earn enough to qualify to cosign for larger loans, which are a bad idea anyway
Pell Grants aren’t unlimited… They don’t allow a student to just pick any school and then handover a grant to cover.
Where else did you apply since WSU won’t be affordable.
If your parents make under $20,000 a year you would qualify for TX state grants and a Pell grant.
Did you apply to any TX schools?
Did you get accepted?
http://financialaid.tamu.edu/Aggie-Assurance
The Aggie Assurance at Texas A&M pays tuition. Your Pell grant and loan and possibly state grant could pay room and board.
WSU is not affordable with just a Pell grant and $5,500 loan.
Did you file the FAFSA?
Are you a HS senior NOW?
<<<If your parents make under $20,000 a year you would qualify for TX state grants and a Pell grant.
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
But the Texas state grant would NOT be given if you go OOS.
Hoping @malfoy18 lets us know what year he is in HS. If he has already applied to colleges…he could have issues. If he is gathering information…he might not…when the time comes to apply.