I said that I was going to live on campus, but I've changed my mind. What do I do?

Paying for College
1

Hi –

When filling out the FAFSA, I was pretty unsure of what my plans were and I decided to select “on campus” for my housing options at all colleges I listed. Just in case. But now, I’m leaning more towards commuting and staying with family. How will this impact my financial aid options? And, what should I do?

2

gotta let the financial aid office at your school know. If you were packaged based on living on campus, you may find a decrease in your package now that you are living at home

3

My nephew moved to an apartment after freshmen year at UCB hoping to save money. It turned out the financial aid was reduced that he ended up paying more out of pocket.

4

Some schools also require a student to live on campus a certain number of years, most often 1-2 years.

Sometimes the only exception granted is if you are living at home with parents within a certain number of miles from the school.

Find out from the school if commuting is possible in your situation and how your aid would change. Pell Grant should stay the same, but if the school gave need based grants of their own to cover some of your need, the aid may be reduced with a lower COA.

Also commuting isn’t free, so take transportation costs and parking fees, if applicable, into consideration.

5

@mommdc I’m a transfer student and the university that I’m transferring to is primarily a commuter school anyway. Transportation is definitely going to be costly, but staying at home for now is the best option for me at the moment.

It’s really just a matter of contacting the financial aid office and letting them know? I’m not concerned about a package decrease at all, I was just worried that I might be “locked in” to having to live on campus/wondered if I needed to go back and edit my FAFSA.

6

I would talk to the school first and then change your FAFSA if needed. They might be able to change it for you.

7

If you haven’t paid a housing deposit or applied for housing, you would not be locked into living on campus.

But if you let the schools know now about you wanting to commute, they can make a financial aid package that reflects that, so you can make an informed decision about which school is most affordable for you (as a commuter).

So contact the schools.