<p>I applied for financial aid for this upcoming fall. My parents have been divorced for a while and was on disability last year and unemployed this year. She's basically been making nothing. She did however say she has money saved up and claimed that was the reason we did not receive any financial aid. I only got $5500 in loans for this upcoming fall... can anybody explain this to me? Could it be she did not fill out the right things or screwed up something? I'm really confused and need to make this right.</p>
<p>Your aid for the upcoming year is based mostly on the income reported for last year, and in part on assets reported. The income would include parent income from working and any interest/dividend income from investments. it would also include your income and assets if any.</p>
<p>It is impossible to tell based on what you have divulged whether you should have received more aid. If her income was virtually nothing in 2008 I would have expected you to possibly be eligible for aid (depending on what your definition of ‘virtually nothing’ is). What was your FAFSAF EFC? To be eligible for the main federal grant, the Pell, your EFC must be 4619 or below.</p>
<p>It’s hard to know if something is screwed up without knowing more facts. What’s the COA at the school you’re attending? Is it a FAFSA only school, or does it use PROFILE (and therefore your father’s income)? Does your mother have maintenance/child support income? How much money does your mother have saved? There is some asset protection, and then only a relatively low percentage of parental assets is included. Are your loans subsidized or unsubsidized, btw?</p>
<p>Looking over your post, you are considering attending SUNY or Indiana U.</p>
<p>Swimcatsmom is right, unless you are TAP/Pell eligible and would be receiving money from them, I would not expect anything in the form of FA from SUNY. </p>
<p>Since you are OOS at Indiana, I would not expect any aid from them either with the exception of loans.</p>