<p>I just spent 20 minutes typing in a nicely worded, concise question and when I clicked submit..... it says I'm not logged in. Oh well, so go's my luck......LOL
Anyway...</p>
<p>Good Afternoon,
This is a very informative web site. I'm very glad I found it.</p>
<p>Hopefully some of you very smart people will be able to give me a general idea of my Pell eligibility.</p>
<p>I was laid off in June of this year and decided I should go back to school. I do not have a degree, but have many college credits. I am a single, independent student living alone.</p>
<p>I submitted my FAFSA and received my results back recently. But of course it was based on last year's employed income. My AGI for 2008 was $33,744.</p>
<p>My SAR showed:
DRN: 0917<br>
EFC: 09703 </p>
<p>So, no Pell Grant there.</p>
<p>I have completed the paperwork for a Special Consideration Application. My earned income from this year was: $15,617.76 (salary I earned before the lay off)
Expected other taxable income of: $7,728 (expected unemployment through the end of 2009)
For a total of $23,345.76</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me if they think the drop in income of over $10,000 from last year will affect my EFC enough to qualify for some sort of Pell Grant?</p>
<p>Any information is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
~M</p>
<p>Probably not. A single student does not have the income protection a parent has and a higher % of a student’s income goes to the EFC than that of a parent. </p>
<p>The income protection for a single independent student with no dependents is @ $7000. Then you get a certain amount of allowances for taxes (actual federal taxes and an allowance for state and fica taxes based on tables in the formula). After that 50% of the remaining income goes toward the EFC. The Pell requires an EFC of below 4619. I think your EFC will be over that with a $23k income.</p>
<p>Thank you for the response. Although that wasn’t the answer I wanted :-)</p>
<p>Am I correct in assuming that the reduction in income will affect my EFC somewhat and MAY, depending on what the school decides, allow me to be eligible for an increase in some form of aid?</p>
<p>I already have student loans I was paying back when I became unemployed. I am not in default, but in the unemployed deferment category.</p>
<p>By already having student loans from years gone by, will that negatively affect the possibilty of receiving new loans for this school?</p>
<p>It will certainly reduce your EFC. Probably not enough to be eligible for federal grant money (though you won’t know or sure until the numbers are adjusted and the new EFC produced). Unfortunately as an independent student with no dependents you are not eligible for the automatic 0 EFC as you would be if you had a dependent other than a spouse. You should be eligible for federal loans and possibly work study (depending on the school’s policies for WS and if they have any funds left). The main Federal student loan, the Stafford, does have caps for the amount you can borrow. For an independent undergrad student the aggregate cap is $57,500 (cumulative total).</p>
<p>If you have have a lot of hours already make sure you are meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for your school. Schools set these limits and they affect FA eligibility. At mu kids schools the SAP is set at 150% of the hours required for your degree. So, for instance, if a degree requires 120 hours then once you get over 180 hours you loose eligibility for aid. The 180 hours includes all hours attempted (including Ws and Fs) at any school. There are usually GPA requirements as well. My son was initially denied aid when he returned to school as he had done one disastrous semester (out of 4 semesters) where for various reasons he dropped all the classes that semester. He was able to appeal and get aid. But it was a shock at the time as he had never applied for aid the first time round (we were paying at that time) and thought he wasn’t going to be able to return to school.</p>
<p>Thank you for the great information. That makes me feel a little better about this adventure. I have about $11,000 left in student loans that I was paying off.
I suppose I will have to add to my loan balance because I would not be able to afford school without it. </p>
<p>Please don’t assume you won’t get a Pell grant. Some schools are adjusting expected income to 0 for laid off workers - your school may be one that is doing this.</p>
<p>The government is giving schools the latitude to adjust income to 0 if they choose, based on evidence of collecting unemployment. It is not something schools have to do, but it is something they can do. My school does not do this (we take earned income for the year into account) — but I am aware of other schools that set the income to 0 after a certain period of unemployment.</p>
<p>It is definitely worth a special circumstances appeal.</p>
<p>My nephews CC will not adjust his EFC for 2009-2010 until he files his 2009 tax return and FAFSA in January 2010. He became unemployment February 2009 and can prove the lost of income as compared to 2008, but the schoolspolicy is FAFSA proof. He even provided a budget showing that as an independent 24 year old, he can barely cover his expenses (insurance, car payment, etc. and he moved home) so how could he pay for school while he is unemployed? They did give him a subsidized loan and hopefully will get some kind of retroactive money after he files the appeal in January as directed. I have never heard of a school doing it this way.</p>
<p>Sometimes the finaid officer can adjust your income based on what your income actually is during the time you are in school. So, if you are going to be a full time student and are including income from a full time job, you can request they not consider that income.</p>
<p>I am note sure of the UG rules as we have been talking to med schools for my DD who is working full time in her gap year, but only makes enough to pay living expenses.</p>