only recieved pell grant and no other aid

My FASFA EFC is 0, and I recieved the max pell grant and nothing else. I’m not even sure how to appeal this. I called and they said the CSS indicates institutional and the FASFA is for federal need. I still don’t understand… Does anyone have any experience with this? They’re saying my family can afford $250k…

Well, you apply for FA for each year and no school costs $250k per year, so they aren’t saying you need to pay $250.

Are you OOS for California? Then all you will get is a Pell grant.

Are you at a school that requires the CSS? Those are usually more generous with need based FA, but it really depends on the school and how they award FA. Some schools rely heavily on merit awards and give very little in need based aid other than the federal Pell grant (although there is usually a supplemental grant too SEOG?), the student loans, and any outside scholarships. The very top schools give little or no merit, and use the CSS to determine how to award need based aid.

It does seem very strange that you have a $0 EFC based on the FAFSA and a much higher school EFC based off the CSS. There can certainly be a gap, but usually not $0 EFC and then full pay off the CSS.

@twoinanddone Yes, over four years, I’d have to pay 250k total EFC. The school requires the CSS and they do not give merit aid at all.

Which school?

And if your FAFSA EFC is $0, you should also be eligible for the largest amount subsidized loans. That also counts as aid, and it’s not based on any CSS numbers.

Do you have other choices? Not all schools give financial aid to all students, but this case sounds extreme.
Are your parents divorced?

Please list your other choices and how much they will cost you each year.

Something is amiss as it would be next to impossible to have an EFC of 0 and have the CSS EFC at 60k unless your parents own a multi million dollar home with tons of equity.

This might be a stupid question, but did your family turn in all the CSS forms and documents? Though many (most?) CSS schools don’t meet full need, it does seem odd to have them give you zero institutional aid.

Can you outline the actual award, the uni in question, your state of residency, your citizenship. Are your parents divorced?

@BelknapPoint Wellesley College

@txstella
yearly breakdown:

Wellesley - about $60k
Tulane - full ride
UC Cruz - $20k
Spelman - about $60k, and Spelman only looks at the FASFA. They gave little to no aid this year. I know dozens of girls who were accepted and only one who received aid.

My parents are married. They own a business with little to no profit. Everything they make goes right back in to pay employees. They are in the red on taxes.

@collegemom09 We own two homes, but one is for extended family members to live rent-free in. I think the homes are the reason why, but I’m not entirely sure how to appeal this.

@milgymfam Wellesley is entirely meets-need.

@sybylla

Pell: 6195
Work study: 2100
Loan: 3500
parental contribution: $258,805
student contribution:$1,981

You have a full ride scholarship to Tulane! That’s fabulous! You should grab that and don’t look back. Just my $.02 worth. Tulane offers so many majors and opportunities.

If your parents own a business, it could skew your CSS profile and make CSS schools unaffordable.

It is interesting that you get Pell, as you have two homes and a business. Is that from a simplified test from FAFSA?
If you go anywhere, make sure that the award is for 4 yrs. The CSS disparities are worrisome IMO. Are you combining merit awards in any of these options, e.g. Tulane?

I’ve never heard of such a discrepancy before. Those houses must be worth a very large amount of money. Since you have a full ride elsewhere (and a very nice elsewhere at that) I would just go there. Tulane is an amazing school. Our EFC and CSS amounts were dollars from each other, which was reflected in my D’s FA offer. Is the Tulane offer merit only?

Is the Tulane award a merit scholarship? If so, you need to go to Tulane. If the Tulane award is financial aid, you need to worry about aid for 4 years as @Sybylla stated. Can you afford UC Cruz?

Appealing for financial aid because your family is housing relatives won’t fly as this is a choice. Your parents have chosen to house relatives over saving for college. They can sell this 2nd home and raise funds, The equity value of your primary home is considered by many CSS schools and thus makes CSS schools unaffordable for a lot of people. I don’t think CSS schools are affordable for you given what you have described.

@sybylla I am unsure what a simplified test is. I received a Tulane-specific scholarship and did not apply for aid there because the scholarship was awarded with early admission.

@txstella Do you think it’s worthwhile to appeal?

I’m no expert in financial aid but I don’t think an appeal will help. Someone else might know more.

Tulane is a full ride merit scholarship. Did you visit? Tulane has a great campus.

How much are you asking Wellesley for? Your parents own 2 homes and can afford to let family live in one rent free. You can ask, but I wouldn’t count on them giving you more than a few thousand – if they budget at all.

If you want to understand, contact the Wellesley financial aid office and ask them why you are receiving no institutional financial aid (from a school that claims to meet 100% of calculated financial need for all admitted students) with a FAFSA EFC of $0. No one here can tell you why, but Wellesley financial aid should be able to answer that question pretty easily.

For all who assume that owning two houses and a business means financial solvency, it depends COMPLETELY on the status of the business and where one is in their debt to equity on their houses. We changed jobs and opened a new business. We went from full pay to 0 EFC and Pell Eligible and we owned three houses. Our son attended an OOS state school and didn’t get any extra aid, nor did we need it because we’d saved in a 529. Long story short, high startup costs or a flailing business plus leveraged homes can end up with a zero EFC easily.

In the end I agree with the other posters…call Wellesley, but be prepared to yell “Go Green Wave!”

nm