<p>Ok, I'm new here! I've recently decided to go back to school and complete my undergrad work. I'm 25, been married 5.5 years, have two kids, 4 and almost 2. I did go to school for a while after 1st child was born and now I'm headed back. I've got less than a year to go! YIPPEE!
I just checked the status of my FAFSA and my EFC is 0. (No shock there.) Now I'm totally new to this Financial Aid stuff, though I did have FA before, but I was um, not independent then. My mom and dad still did a lot and I had some scholarships and well, I was just pretty dumb for stopping when I did.
(At least on paper. Life happens. My dad was ill for a long time and I knew I wanted him to see me married and see my children. I will never regret that as he passed away this past Feb. and was able to see both. He was 83 at the time.) Now, my mother isn't able to help like before, though she is still more generous than she should be.
Anyway, here is my question. Is there anyway to guess what I may be getting from Pell? I know there is no way to tell beforehand, but an estimate? I know that I'm going to need a little bit more than the max for Pell and I really don't want to make a mistake on loans. We've made mistakes financially, but they were minor and for some reason this FA stuff just stresses me at the mention of it. IDK Y! I've read everything from my FA Advisor and talked to them, but they seem to speak a language all their own.
I'm so glad I found this board!</p>