many people say that edinboro is a party type of school and doesn’t have a good rep?
If your EFC is higher than the. Cost of attendance, you will not receive a federal work study award. That is. Need based aid award.
well taking a part time job around clarion isn’t a bad idea i guess :3
You can’t afford Clarion with the package you’ve described here. It costs ~$26k and you have $12k (and $9500 of that in loans).
Commuting to college is going to school. If you’re accepted at Edinboro, the only way you could attend this fall is to take the extra $4k loan that you qualify for because your mom was turned down for a PLUS loan. You’d have to work all year to pay for books, transportation, & fees. And work full-time next summer just to cover the 2nd year tuition. Keep your debt as low as possible.
so you think edinboro would be a good choice?
OP you need to change your mindset. Right now you’re looking at staggering debt in 4 years unless you get a rock solid financial plan within the next few weeks. Forget whatever your friends are doing: this is you. In all likelihood, you wont even see your HS friends again for at least a while if not forever.
If you were not awarded work study by your college, you will NOT be doing work study this fall. Work study is financial aid and it HAS to be awarded to you. I wish to caution you about taking a job in college as well. I have a good friend who entered college last fall with a plan to work pretty much after classes every day to pay for college and he finished the year with a 1.87 GPA because he simply had no time to study, do HW, or dedicate himself and subsequently was put on academic probation and lost all financial aid. Working in college requires STRONG self motivation.
I know you’re set on this college/attending this year. Your first step should ABSOLUTELY be to appeal your financial aid. My family’s income dipped a lot and we lost a significant amount of assets due to a long term unemployment in the family and my college offered us an extra 7000 GRANT aid, a 2000 work study grant and a 1500 Perkins loan to boot.
Please stop tunnel visioning on Clarion and be realistic. How do you see yourself repaying tens of thousands of dollars in ever rising debt due to interest in 4 years?
If your moms 2016 income tax return is very different from 2015, when you are talking to financial aid about an additional loan, you need to ask about a financial aid appeal based on your current family income.
Watch the refund dates carefully on registration and enrollment. Do not start school or sign contracts agreeing to pay for things you do not have the money for. You can wind up with lots of debt and zero college credit if you are not careful. If you owe money at one college, it can be impossible to take classes at any college. There is a national database.
Edinboro is your only choice unless Clarion gives you $14k/year ($56k over 4 years). Their grants are ~$3k/year, so I wouldn’t expect them to close a $56k gap for you. Ask for a financial consideration due to loss of income, but pursue Edinboro. If it’s an accredited PA public university, it will be fine.
You say your parents were married in 2015. But they are NOT married NOW.
When you filled out the fafsa, you should ONLY have included your mom’s income if your parents were divorced by the day you filed your FAFSA.
It doesn’t matter what kind of rep it has if it’s the only school you can afford. And I don’t mean to be harsh, but Clarion is not ranked much higher than Edinboro. It’s not like you’re comparing Edinboro to Harvard. College Niche rates Clarion at a B- and Edinboro at a C+. You’re splitting hairs here. And I’m not being judgemental - the schools I went to were ranked about the same as those (or worse) and I had a very successful career with a very good salary. Having to commute to college is nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of people do it.
That’s a good point. If your mom’s income is ~$40k or less and you filled out the FAFSA incorrectly, you may get a small Pell grant too (up to $5k/year). It’s not enough to pay for Clarion, bit it may get you to Edinboro with minimal debt.
You got a small state grant, right? So you have the $5500 federal student loan and a ~$3k state grant. If your mom can dig up $1,000, that should cover the tuition at Edinboro. You can work to raise money for books, fres, & travel. Call their financial aid office and the FAFSA help line tomorrow and ask how you should have filed. If you can qualify for a Pell grant, that would be great.
Both Edinboro and Clarion have about 50% 6-year graduation rates and neither meets full need for financial aid.
You need to file a correction to your FAFSA assuming that on the day you originally filed it, your mom was single. Correct it by using only your mom’s 2015 income.
hey guys sorry for the late answers and thank you all for your opinions, it seems like i should fix my fasfa in the hope of getting more money, they were married in 2015, they’re seperated now, but the divorce is not finalized, so you can see where that screws me over, love the opinions and i will take them into full consideration 
If they were separated when you filed the FAFSA, only your mom’s income should have been included. Do you have a ballpark idea of what it is?
If your mom earned ~$40k or less, you may get a Pell grant of up to $5k/year. That, plus the $5500 federal student loan and $3k state grant would give you ~$13k/year. That would be enough to cover the $9500 tuition at Edinboro and leave enough for books, fees, and maybe transportation too. It won’t be enough for Clarion.
Call Clarion’s financial aid office today and tell them you mistakenly included your dad’s income on the FAFSA. Tell them your mom’s income and ask if they have any grants for students at your income level. If they can’t give you $14k/year, you can’t afford them and you need to withdraw before you get billed. You have to contact the registrar to withdraw from courses, and contact residential life to withdraw from the dorms and meal plan. If you don’t withdraw, you’ll be billed and will owe the money, so find out the deadlines and stay on top of it.
it was around 30,000 last year so i imagine it is still less than 40k this year. though they are not legally divorced right now. and do not worry, i did not finalize anything yet 
i did talk to a financial aid person yesterday and they have a form for low income since 2015 but i would only get an additional $50. and so it is still okay for me to change the fasfa correct? or should i just tell the schools that i mistakenly included his income, again they are not legally divorced just separated.
Please list your GPA and Test Scores. Home State. If your stats are good, it is possible to take a gap year, reapply next year to a new set of schools that are more likely to offer you merit.
Plus, getting past the 2015 tax return showing high income will help you greatly with need based aid. Look for colleges that do not require the additional forms listing your father’s financial data.
We as posters here have a bigger picture view of the long term consequences of taking on large loans. You may be focusing on the short term situation, and don’t want to feel left out of the hordes of people heading off to college.
We are asking you to consider a more mature view of your situation. You do not have the money to start school this fall. But you are giving us some details that lead us to think that waiting one year, reapplying to a better list of schools, and your new FAFSA based on 2016 data will give you a much better deal.
You only get to be a freshman once. Freshman get the best merit aid, and you can take your gap year to find the best school for you and your financial situation.
Working for a year, saving your money, and starting over with your college search are good ideas to consider.
Search around this forum and educate yourself about student loan debt. What is your career goal? What annual salary do you expect from your first job? Your student debt can cripple you, limit your options, and stress you out.
So use a financial calculator. Take one year of loans, multiple by 4 years, and figure out what your monthly payment will be. For ten or twenty years after you graduate. Compare that with a budget in your hometown. Rent, utilities, car, phone, food, clothing, Etc. Can you live and pay a large loan payment each month?
This is soul crushing stuff to have to deal with. No doubt about that. It is good that you are a fighter, looking for a way to make it to college. But a smart fighter needs to survey the whole journey. Step back and really soak in your situation.
If for any reason you drop out of school, your loans will still be due, but you may not be able to get that same salary without the college degree.
Please keep asking questions and open up to the possibility that there are other options to consider.
I doubt you are going to qualify for a PHEAA grant with an EFC of over $25,000.
You said you live with your single mom. Did you only put her income on the FAFSA?
How much approx does she make?
Clarion costs about $10k for tuition and fees. On campus room and board is probably $10-12k.
How are you going to pay for $20k with a $9,500 loan?
FAFSA was available in October, and state grant has a deadlibe of May 1.
My D had to apply for student loans by June.
Do you have a community college, or PASSHE school close enough to commute so you could live at home and just pay the tuition cost with your student loan of $9,500 and part time work earnings?
http://www.clarion.edu/tuition-and-financial-aid/tuition-and-fees/estimated-cost-of-attendance.html
Looks like tuition and fees for instate is about $11,000 and average room and board another $11,500, depending on actual room and meal plan costs.
When did you file your first FAFSA? Once it processes, it should not take long for a correction to the FAFSA to process.