<p>Hi
Back in April, I was admitted to three schools. Two of them offered me close to $40,000 in both school and federal grants. the other offered me $25,000 in just school grants. i decided to enroll at the school that offered me $25,000 (it is a much better school), but i am now wondering why they didn't offer me pell, acg, fseog grants while the other schools did. also my efc is around $1950. any thoughts? should i call to financial aid office? thanks.</p>
<p>If you were eligible for Pell at two schools, you should be eligible for Pell at the third. There may have been some mistake in computing your financial need.</p>
<p>As for the other grants that you received at the two schools, you can't really compare those from school to school. Not all schools have the same amount of money to pass out. Pell is different --- you get it no matter what, as long as the cost of attendance is high enough to qualify you for a full Pell grant. But the other grants are not guaranteed, and some schools get more government grant money than others ... and each school determines its own method of distribution. Also, PROFILE schools treat assets & divorce differently than FAFSA-only schools. If your parents are divorced, they are both expected to contribute with the PROFILE formula; not so with the FAFSA formula. If your parents have a lot of home equity or some other assets not counted in the FAFSA, the PROFILE may expect a higher contribution as a result. These are just a couple things that could have made a difference between schools.</p>
<p>However, the fact that you received Pell at two schools & not the third really makes me wonder if that third school made a mistake. If I were you, I would call the school's financial aid department tomorrow.</p>
<p>It may not matter whether you get Pell and SEOG grants or not.
My son "got" both, but these were not treated as "outside scholarships" by the school. Instead they went dollar for dollar to reduce his well-endowed college's grant.
I don't think many people understand this about Pells, etc. Next time you see someone in print bemoan the inadequacy of Pells, check who is talking. In my experience it is almost always a college administrator. The grants are a transfer payment to the school.</p>
<p>Pell is not considered an outside scholarship, but many schools consider other federal programs, such as the Byrd Scholarship and the Academic Competitiveness Grants and the SMART Grants as outside scholarships and use those funds to reduce loans and work study. The last two of these are only available to students who get Pell Grants.</p>
<p>Danas, did your son's well endowed college meet 100% of his need? That is, did the cost of attendance minus Expected Family Contribution minus all grants & scholarships equal 0? If so, of course the college grants would be reduced. Colleges do not provide financial aid to cover the Expected Family Contribution. Only if there was still a gap after all aid would reducing institutional grants due to Pell Grant be surprising.</p>
<p>kelsmom, yes, this was a 100% of need college.
I feel very grateful for the support my son (and we, his family) received. I am not complaining.
Still, at least for these kinds of schools, the idea that Pells and SEOGs make college more affordable to those of limited means is just not the case. It may function as a kind of federal "bribe" to accept poor kids, however.</p>
<p>Certainly makes it more affordable at non 100% need met schools. My daughter has Pell, SEOG, ACG and a State grant. Along with her scholarships she has almost a full ride. Without those grants we would have a lot of loans (a lot by *my *standards anyway :) - we would not even consider taking on the amount of loans that many students on these boards are quite cavalier about).</p>
<p>swimcatsmom, is this a state school?
My son benefited from a no loan policy below a certain income at his school, and my daughter attends a no loan school for anyone on financial aid.
I think it's ironic that the public sector (if that is where yours attends) wants a bigger pound of flesh from those with limited means.
Congrats to your daughter for cobbling together a great package!</p>
<p>danas - Yes it is a State school. It is the combination of the merit aid and need based aid that really makes it a good package - better than we ever expected. She has a merit based full tuition waiver plus cash scholarship. I know without that we would still have thousands in loans so it is a real blessing (and all credit to her for the hard work that earned that scholarship). I am so relieved that she has maintained the GPA to keep it as we have a friend whose son- who is very bright - had the same scholarship and lost it the first year. She does have some loans - those will hopefully disappear her Junior/senior years as she is in a major that qualifies for the SMART grant.</p>
<p>As long as she manages to keep the scholarship we are hoping to be able to help her with grad school or med school which is what she is envisioning for the future right now.</p>
<p>When our son started college a few years ago we did not qualify for need based aid and did not expect to with her - between my husbands early retirement and high medical expenses we do qualify now so we really appreciate what is available.</p>
<p>thank you kelsmom! i called the financial aid office and was informed that a mistake had been made and that i am pell, fseog, acg eligible. my parents were so thrilled we went out to a nice dinner. (echoing the "tax-rebate phenomenon"?)</p>
<p>What great news!!!</p>
<p>I am so happy for you! </p>
<p>I used to work in financial aid for a small school. When I think of the mountains of paperwork we had, I can only imagine how much worse it must be for a larger school. Mistakes do get made. It's always good to call if you think something might be incorrect --- making sure to politely explain why you are concerned. The worst that can happen is you are told everything is correct ... the best that can happen is you find out great news like insydeout!</p>