<p>I'm a senior applying to top schools (Bowdoin, amherst, hamilton, MIT, etc..)- all colleges that meet full financial need and are need blind institutions.</p>
<p>My mother makes no money. She has narcolepsy and cannot work. Her and my father have been divorced for almost 10 years. He makes 75000 dollars a year. He's filling out the NCP profile for the CSS etc. My mom's EFC is obviously 0, and my father's is around 8000/yr. He is not going to pay this and I know that I will have to take out some loans.</p>
<p>But.. the FAFSA is based only upon my mom's income, which is 0 dollars per year. I then qualify for a pell grant of about 5000 dollars a year.</p>
<p>Because the colleges I'm applying to meet everything except about 8000 a year (which my dad should but won't pay) will the pell grant cover 5000 of this 8000 or will it simply go to the school I attend so that they don't have to give me as much money?</p>
<p>TLDR: Is the pell grant part of financial aid or does it add to the financial aid?</p>
<p>It will be a part of the financial aid ‘package’. A meets-need school will add up everything to match the cost of attendance - pell grant, other grants, scholarships, loans, expected student contribution, expected parent contribution.</p>
<p>Pell is part of your financial aid, not in addition to it. All federal aid is included as part of the aid a school awards to you. So it will not reduce any part of the contribution based on your father’s data (or any student contribution if your school expects a student contribution - many of the more generous schools do).</p>
<p>Even scholarships? That would mean that scholarships would be worthless for me. They have to integrate them somehow yes? otherwise I couldn’t even use scholarships to cover the parent contribution.</p>
<p>Also my contribution will simply be work provided by the college. I do not have any savings for them to ask for :o</p>
<p>Scholarships can’t generally be used toward parent contribution (unless the scholarships exceed need). However at schools that include loans in the aid package (many do, including some in your list), the scholarships can reduce the loan amount. They can also reduce student contributions. So definitely worth it at many schools.</p>
<p>Presuming you live with your mother, make sure in addition to the schools listed that you have some FAFSA only schools on your list. Only 300 or so colleges in the nation require the Profile. She might need to report some of the income that is enabling you two to live with a roof over your head, eat, pay utilities, etc. this is TBD the source of that income. You still may very well qualify for Pell at FAFSA only schools, but do take the time to run a reliable FAFSA calculator so you are certain.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about work-study, then the college is not likely to award you $8K in work study per year (not would you be able to work that many hours). Also, work study is financial aid as well. If you have concerns about meeting your EFC, you probably need to get a job and start saving now. Also, remember that portions of the cost of attendance aren’t actually billable expenses. You may be able to save money on books, transportation, etc. But it’ll be a stretch to make that $8K work if the college includes loans in your awards.</p>
A lot of the more generous schools (including some on your list) expect a student contribution - they expect the student to work in the summer to come up with the contribution. WS is a separate thing and is a need based part of your FA package.</p>
<p>Susgeek, that is a very ignorant statement. I am sorry to be so blunt, but I am astonished at the comments some people make on this forum. MANY, MANY, MANY people have 0 income to report on the FAFSA … legitimately!!! I worked at a large, urban university with a HUGE Pell-eligible population. I regularly verified the FAFSA’s of families who earned 0 income, not to mention many more with unbelievably (but truly) low incomes. There are scads of people who earn little or no income from work in our country.</p>
<p>TANF, WIC, housing subsidies, SSI, etc are not reported on the FAFSA. If mom doesn’t work, she is probably receiving some assistance. If not, she is living on the good graces of friends or relatives, and the EFC would still be 0 in such a case. Any child support she receives would not be counted, as her AGI is too low … and unless the ex pays more than 30k/year alimony (doubtful, given his income), that won’t count, either. </p>
<p>Please be a bit kinder to young people from difficult circumstances.</p>
<p>I had a disabled husband (who eventually died) so I do understand. And I had four children, the eldest 13 when he died. </p>
<p>I was making the point that there is income in the house, somewhere. Maybe it is all social services, but it might not be <em>dunno</em> It wasn’t unkind, it was a question.</p>
<p>The OP didn’t say that the income was all social services. He/she didn’t say at all. He, being a kid, might not really know.</p>
<p>Globular, please keep in mind that the 100% need schools do NOT commit to match the FAFSA EFC. If either of you parent are homeowners, the schools may add home equity into the mix. There are a few other wrinkles as well, but home equity is usually the big ticket item that can lead to a substantial gap between FAFSA EFC and the college determination of “need”.</p>
<p>You need to look at the FAFSA EFC figure as a <em>minimum</em>. That is, with your Dad’s FAFSA EFC, the schools you are looking at will probably expect parents to pay <em>at least</em> $8000 – but it could be more.</p>
<p>Take a look at colleges where you might be eligible for substantial merit aid and add a few to your list. If you have the stats to be considering MIT, there are probably quite a few colleges where you could qualify for a full ride.</p>