Hello everyone. I’m in a pickle and I’m not sure what to do. I will be entering my last semester of college and I received about 3/4 of the financial aid that I usually receive. This semester I received the Pell grant and loans, nothing else. I have already spent 4 years in college, but I am double majoring and decided to stay an extra semester to enroll in a new certificate program offered by my university. This certificate program takes at least 2 semesters to complete so I started the program last semester and I will be finishing it this fall. I also need a few more classes for my majors. I have a single mom that has 3 children (I am the oldest) and my youngest sibling is a special needs child. My mom was unemployed for a large part of 2014 since her boss told her to quit or she would be fired. She was eventually rehired and will start work next month. So my mom made less money than usual but I received less financial aid. I am not sure what to do. Housing here gets more expensive by the year and I am not sure I will be able to afford it. I try to find the cheapest housing available but it’s stil a challenge. To this day, I still haven’t found a place to live that I can afford.
Anyways, I am not sure what to do. I have received work-study in the past but I didn’t receive it for the fall semester. I am on a wait list. Even if I get work study, I will still come up short. I am considering taking a second job if I am awarded work study but I’m not sure if I will be able to handle 2 jobs and a full load of classes. I have also never had any luck with scholarships. The only scholarships I have ever been awarded were through my school’s financial aid office. All of the scholarships I have applied for personally were never awarded to me. I was offered a PLUS loan but my mom has really bad credit and was rejected. The school increased my loans but they’re only a fraction of the original PLUS loan amount.
My mother already has a hard time making ends meet and can’t contribute to my education. I received enough aid to cover tuiton, but not enough to cover housing, utilities, textbooks, food, etc.
Did you consult with your school to see if they ever give their own money for aid after 8 semesters? It isn’t usual I don’t think. Didn’t you have a counselor to make a graduation plan for 8 semesters? Even though you don’t have an actual work/study allocation, there is nothing to stop you getting any other job that is available. The W/S may be first in line for jobs at school but there may be other ones available and you can look off campus too.
You can get the Pell Grant for 12 semesters. You can get the loan up to your dependent student limit of 32,000 or if your parent is turned down for Plus then you can get 12,500 per year federal student loan. now up to 52,000.
If I were you I’d start looking for some kind of live in arrangement in exchange for housekeeping, babysitting etc. Also you could contact your department for your majors and see if there are any small awards available.
@BrownParent Thanks for the help, I will look into that. They actually do give help past 8 semesters. It’s fairly common as my school doesn’t have a high 4-year graduation rate.
Find out from FA office if you can get a whole year’s worth of loans for one semester since you are graduating. Or have your mom apply for a Plus Loan. If she gets denied, you’ll get an extra $2k.
Just because your school has a low 4 year grad rate does not mean that they give aid beyond eight semesters, particularly if any of that was merit.
Is any of your financial aid merit aid? Was the balance of your aid need based aid?
If yes, most schools have policies that merit aid and need based aid ends at the end of 4 years or 8 semesters with the goal of students going in, taking what they need and graduate without stretching out the process. Based on the fact that you only received aid that you are entitled to by the federal govt, this seems to be the case.
If you don’t get the certificate, how many credits do you need to get your degree? This may end up being your option, to just finish the degree and then do the certificate program on your own dime once you are able to pay for it.
I agree with mom2ck, you need to speak with the financial aid office and find out if you can take the year’s worth ($7500) in student loans this semester, take what you need to get your degree and finish school.
Apparently your school does not meet full need for all students. It sounds like they also have some limitations on how they award need based aid for students who COULD have graduated…but decide NOT to graduate.
That is the question you need to ask. It sounds like you have fulfilled your bachelors degree requirements and are staying at the school solely to complete the certificate program. It is very possible that the awarding of need based aid for those in the certificate program is very different than that for students pursuing a bachelors degree.
When you speak with the financial aid office, find out if you can get a full year worth of your Pell and student loans for the fall semester because it is your last. If not, find out if you could do that in the Spring Semester. If that would make it possible for you to finish up your program, and if you could get all the classes you need in the spring, then you should take a leave of absence for the fall, work and save money, and re-enroll in the spring.
You really have to talk to your school. As @mom2collegekids said, just because the 4 year grad rate is low doesn’t mean institutional aid continues beyond 8 semesters. It may also be the case that some kinds of institutional aid will continue, but not others. You have to ask your institution. State aid also may be limited to 4 years, if you were receiving any of that.
This is unfortunate. I’m wondering what kind of certificate would pass a benefit-cost analysis here – an extra semester of college is expensive but the value of most certificates is not that high. Even a double major typically doesn’t have a great rate of return. I realize it is too late to re-do this decision, so hopefully you are able to get the financing you need.
I helped start a certificate program at the U where I work, but we are careful to not oversell the market benefits of it and would never encourage someone without a lot of resources to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to get it.
Why would this school give the full year Pell for only one semester? The Pell is prorated …and given by the term. If the student isn’t in college in the fall, the student would not be eligible to receive Pell funds for the fall. The student would only receive half the Pell on the spring…the half for when he or she is enrolled.
Perhaps you were thinking about the Direct Loans. The student could take a leave in the fall, and get the full $7500 Direct Loan amount for year in the spring term.
@Madison85 I was not living with my mom over the summer. I was taking classes this summer and working. I also made much less than $2,000-$3,000. I now regret enrolling in the certificate program, but I still need a few more classes for my majors. I will talk to the financial aid office. Thank you all.
You said you spent 4 years in your college. Have you applied and received Cal Grant for all those 4 years? If you have, one of the reasons of reduction is maybe because you have just exhausted all eligibility years of Cal Grant. You can receive Cal Grant for only up to 4 years unlike Pell Grant (6 years). And if you are attending 4-year university, most money comes from Cal Grant. To apply Cal Grant, you have to submit seperate form other than FAFSA called GPA verification form by march 2nd prior to the school year you want to receive Cal Grant. As I type comment I just realize that I don’t know your residency. Do you live in California?