<p>I'm 25 and my family has been paying for my tuition and books throughout my academic career at UC Irvine (and I'm very grateful).</p>
<p>However, after visiting with a financial advisor, my parents said I need to do it on my own for the last year of undergrad because they're having problems retiring. I found this out in June (a month past the deadline) and applied for FAFSA early July.</p>
<p>When dropping off my proof of citizenship I spoke with a person at the financial aid office and they told me I wouldn't qualify for Cal Grant or maybe the Pell Grant.</p>
<p>I'm new to the Financial Aid system, obviously, so I would like some info if you guys can. What are the consequences of applying late, due to my situation? Is my situation good enough to appeal for the cal grant or which ever one refuses me? What about Federal Loans?</p>
<p>Do you have your EFC? Depending on your EFC, you are entitled to the Pell Grant regardless of when you apply. You are also guaranteed a certain amount of unsubsidized loans regardless of your financial need. I don’t really know anything about the Cal Grant, but many state aid programs have priority deadlines and if you miss them, especially by several months, there might not be enough money left for you to receive it. This might not apply to the Cal Grant though, you’ll have to check. There are also other federal loans that you might qualify for (Perkins loans, really).</p>
<p>Yes I have an EFC=0. I figured it wouldn’t matter for the loans, but now that I realize I may qualify for grants i would like to get my hands on any that I can get. I never qualified for anything before…</p>
<p>Pell Grant is an entitlement, so late filing doesn’t keep you from getting a Pell for which you are eligible. If you have a prior bachelors degree, though, you are not Pell-eligible. Otherwise, if you are in a regular, degree-granting program of studies with a 0 EFC, you will get a Pell grant. </p>
<p>You mention that you were dropping off proof of citizenship. It’s possible that the person you spoke with thought you would not be getting a Pell grant because it wasn’t showing up in your file when they looked. If they use the software we use, the Pell award doesn’t populate until the citizenship issue is resolved. Once the school updates your citizenship in the computer based on the documentation you submitted, you may see the Pell grant award.</p>
<p>Late filing can affect grants OTHER than Pell. It may be too late for other grants, but you would still be eligible for Pell & loans.</p>
<p>kelsmom - my daughter qualifies for the SMART grant but her school told me she won’t have the money until the fall. Is this normal? we don’t even know how much she qualifies for.</p>
<p>VERY normal! SMART requires manually finding & checking eligible students. The student must be reviewed for eligible major, GPA at least 3.0, grade level for fall, and any prior SMART awards. We don’t put ours on until fall, either. We have to check GPA and grade level after summer term is over.</p>
<p>As long as the student is Pell eligible - even for a small Pell amount - the SMART award is $4000/year. It prorates based on enrollment, like Pell; student must have at least 6 credits to receive a payment. Students can only receive $4000 per grade level ($4000 while classified as a junior & $4000 while classified as a senior).</p>
<p>Okay thanks! We had to pay her bill but that’s ok since she will still need to buy food.
I wasn’t sure if it would be the whole $2000/semester so thanks for verifying that.</p>
<p>This confused me…the OP says the parents said he had to do this “on his own” but since he’s 25, wouldn’t he be an independent for financial aid purposes regardless of what his parents say?</p>
<p>I am guessing he did not apply for FAFSA in the past as his parents were paying for it all. Probably should have applied last year as well - at 24 he would have been independent and probably would have got some FA which would have saved the parents some $$$s.</p>
<p>yeah I didn’t apply for financial aid in the past because I was a dependent (my dad claimed me on his taxes). We didn’t know how it worked because in the past I applied and got nothing. I thought the independent age was 25…</p>
<p>Anyway I’m not happy about the mistakes I made financially with school…but we were able to afford it…</p>
<p>Thumper - I didn’t know that I was considered independent since I still lived under my parents roof and my parents claimed me on their taxes…I made a huge mistake…</p>
<p>Atorian, independence for taxes and independence for financial aid are different things. Actually, for tax purposes, IF your parents are supporting you more than 1/2, they can declare you on their taxes until you are 26 (I’m not a tax expert but I believe that is correct). For financial aid, you are considered independent now.</p>