<p>So with all grants and loans offered by my school, I thought I was covered--but I'm not.
- Work Study money isn't disbursed until I actually work, so there goes $1,500 that I can't use for this fall semester
- For some reason, Estimated AC Grant Yr1 isn't disbursed to me? What exactly is this? I was offered $750 yet on the disbursal page, there wasn't this grant listed..</p>
<p>So in conclusion, I'm doomed. ;___; Can anyone help me? My EFC was 0. My parents have no money to help me pay. I am working this summer and have some savings, but those were for my books/personal-expenses/transportation fees.. which isn't enough to cover the total amount I need to pay for Fall Registration & Housing fees for the fall semester.</p>
<p>Should I call my school's financial aid office about the work study and AC grant?</p>
<p>I thought I would be okay so I didn't look into out-of-school loans. :(</p>
<p>My son just lost his AC grant. Apparently he had too many credits from AP classes and is considered a sophomore even though he hasn’t taken one class there. Do you have a lot of AP credits? That may be why you lost your AC grant. I would call the financial aid office and explain the situation. I know that at the university my son will be attending they allow work study to be converted to loans. If you do that, you will get the money up front. You don’t have to convert all your work study to loans. You could convert a portion or all of it. It would be up to you.</p>
<p>I just looked at my previous records (that I printed out of my first financial package–it was actually revised but I had no idea until now that…):</p>
<p>My college decreased my Federal Direct Unsubsidized Ln Loan amount. Their initial offer was $2,000 before I… may have made a mistake— It is only $451 now.</p>
<p>Before my financial aid offer was revised, I had reported two scholarships:
$250 which will be paid directly to the school this fall semester by my high school
$2,000 <– This would be okay; however, it will NOT be paid to my university in one lump, but paid in “two or more equal payments”— I have no idea how much the scholarship will be divided into NOR when they will directly send the amount to my university.</p>
<p>Has this negatively or positively affected my financial aid package?</p>
<p>Note: My pending financial aid doesn’t include the two scholarships reported.</p>
<p>If you reported those two scholarships to the university, then it would negatively affect your financial aid package. My son reported an outside scholarship, and his financial aid package went down by that amount. They took it away from his work study. If you only have $451 in an unsubsidized loan, they should be able to increase that loan amount by $700 (more if you would like) to make up the loss of your AC grant. Bottom line, is give them a call. They should be able to help you find a way to get $700, and in all probability that will include an increase in a loan amount. Good luck.</p>
<p>If your parents won’t qualify for a Plus loan, then you can get a larger student loan.</p>
<p>You can’t convert your w/s to loans if you’re already borrowing the max.</p>
<p>How much did you borrow in student loans? </p>
<p>I am working this summer and have some savings, but those were for my books/personal-expenses/transportation fees.</p>
<p>You can use your work-study earnings to pay for “personal expenses, transportation, etc” since those expenses will occur throughout the semester…not all at one time. Your summer earnings can go for books and this $700 debt.</p>
<p>If you don’t already have the maximum in Stafford loans ($5500 of which up to $3500 may be subsidized if you have unmet need) then you should be able to convert the WS to loans. </p>
<p>Or you can uses your summer earnings to cover your immediate needs and use WS for personal and travel expenses. Generally that is what WS is used for as it is not available at the beginning of the semester.</p>
<p>Is the ACG still showing as part of your aid package but just not disbursed yet? Sometimes certain parts of aid are disbursed late because the school has to verify eligibility. My daughter has 2 grants in her aid package (the SMART and a state grant) that disburse later than the rest of her aid. You need to check this with the school. Of course even if it is still there only half will disburse this semester.</p>
<p>But talk to the FA department ASAP. It sounds to me like you should have no problem getting this sorted out.</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone! I tried to give them a call but their line was full, so instead I heard their automated message about the ACG and Cal-Grant. Like Swimcatsmom said, they needed to verify it.</p>
<p>Oddly enough, my Cal Grant B- Access got switched to Cal Grant A? I thought I chose Cal Grant B, because I heard it was better in a long run… why have they done this??</p>
<p>After they updated my student portal with these new changes (they added cal grant, except it’s not B anymore-it’s A && they added AC grant into the page too), I no longer owe anything… Should I still try and give them a call about the Cal Grant switch?</p>
<p>From what I understand, the university decides which Cal Grant is most beneficial for you. At least that’s what they have been doing at Berkeley which is where my son is a freshman this year. You could call to find out why they made the switch if you would like… I’m happy to hear you don’t owe anything though. That’s great news!</p>
<p>ACG is awarded (and eligibility is verified) by the school, not the government. FAFSA determines your initial eligibility only (Pell-eligible, met the rigorous coursework standard for your state). Then the school must use your actual transcripts to determine whether you qualify for a 1st (or 2nd) year award. Assuming you receive 3 credit hours per AP/CC course you’ve taken, you should receive a $750 award this year. Next year you won’t receive anything as this is the last year for the ACG program.</p>
<p>You should email your FA office to find out when they will disburse the ACG money.</p>
I’m really hoping for the best because the city itself is pretty small so the competition for jobs outside (yet close) to the campus will be difficult.</p>