<p>I was accepted for a local school a while back. It's a good school and everything, but it doesn't have the degree I want. I applied to my dream school months ago and they wait listed me-- and then two days ago let me know I was accepted. The local school costs about $7,000/year (I won't need room and board, etc. so it's way cheaper) while my dream school hits around $18,000/year. It didn't even occur to me to apply to my dream school for financial aid, but I've applied for the FAFSA and local grants...</p>
<p>..What I'm worried about is, when I check the dream school's site, all of their financial aid application deadlines had passed. Does this mean I can't get any aid from them? I've applied for a few scholarships but I haven't heard anything back yet. I don't think my mom can afford to send me to this dream school because we never saved nor did we plan. It's unfortunate, but it happened.</p>
<p>So my questions are:
-What options do I have for financial aid at this point? (Months before I'm supposed to be moving up there...)
-Are loans worth it? My mother is pushing me not to get them but I don't see any other way.
-Know any quick, good ways to earn money for college? Heh.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance everyone~!</p>
<p>You said you applied for the FAFSA. You don’t really apply for the FAFSA. The FAFSA is a form you fill out and send to schools. Have you sent it to your dream school? If not,do it. </p>
<p>What EFC do you have and how much are your parents able to pay? Are you looking at possible Pell $? Is $18K the total cost or what you have left to finance? </p>
<p>You need to call the financial aid office asap and ask them whether they will still consider your financial aid application. Even if the priority deadline is past, they might process your application for at least some funds.</p>
<p>If you had your FAFSA sent to your dream school, you may automatically be considered for financial aid/ scholarships. I would call the financial aid office and talk to them about aid- they are usually very helpful. good luck!</p>
<p>What else does your dream school require for a financial aid application to be complete? Does it require something other than the FAFSA (like the Profile or a school generated form)?</p>
<p>If you completed the FAFSA and that is all the school requires for consideration of need based aid, just check to see if the school REQUIRES anything else. Perhaps you have already done what you need to do. Most schools require the FAFSA only for consideration of need based financial aid awards.</p>
<p>I’ll stick my neck out here…I don’t think the schools that use the Profile cost in the $18,000 range…anyone know if I’m right?</p>
<p>After you submitted your FAFSA, did you receive a SAR with an EFC? If so, what was it?</p>
<p>Did you include this school as one to receive your FAFSA info? If not, do so ASAP and call the school and tell them of your mistake.</p>
<p>What school is this? And what school is your safety? What is your likely major?</p>
<p>Thanks for the quick responses everyone.</p>
<p>2collegewego: Heh, sorry I wrote applied. I just filed it. The EFC we were given was around $4500. My mom really wants to pay that much but I don’t know if she will be able to or not. :S I’m gonna be doing a work study on campus hopefully to help pay for it as well. And I know this is going to make me look super ignorant, but my whole family is really new to college. I’m the first in my family to really go for a degree. My mom got an associates at a college she worked at so she didn’t pay much for hers. So… do pell grants get awarded automatically when I submit my FAFSA to the school…? That’s the impression I was under.</p>
<p>takeitallin & thumper1: I’ll call the financial aid office, indeed!
As for submitting other forms, when I looked at the college’s website, it seemed like they had additional grants that had to be applied for, but I wasn’t really sure. The last one looked to be due March 1st… and I got my acceptance letter around March 8th. 
I’ll check and see what sort of grants they award anyway.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: Yup, as I wrote a bit further up, my EFC is about $4,500. I did go back and change the FAFSA to reflect my new acceptance, but I’ll make sure to call the school to let them know.</p>
<p>The school I’d like to attend is Ball State, but my fall back is the University of Southern Indiana down in Evansville (where I currently live). My major that I really want to get is Japanese/Japanese Studies.</p>
<p>;_; I got home and looked it over again with my mom, and the FAFSA site said I wasn’t eligible for Pell grants. I’m going to call the financial aid office tomorrow and see what they have to say.</p>
<p>The qualifications for Pell are cut and dry…no gray area. Since it’s set by the feds and paid by the feds, schools don’t have any leeway with the numbers… Here’s the chart…</p>
<p>Pell EFC table<br>
<a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/P0901PaymentSchedules1D.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/P0901PaymentSchedules1D.pdf</a></p>
<p>If your EFC is over 4617 or more, you get 0. Even if it’s a bit under, you won’t get much. For instance…if your EFC is 4500, you’ll get $976. That would pay for books, but not much else.</p>
<p>*The school I’d like to attend is Ball State, but my fall back is the University of Southern Indiana down in Evansville (where I currently live). My major that I really want to get is Japanese/Japanese Studies. *</p>
<p>What kind of aid is Ball State known to give to an in-state student who won’t qualify for Pell? </p>
<p>What are your stats??</p>
<p>Before you consider taking out a bunch of loans, consider what your income will likely be when you graduate. What is your likely career? How much would a newish grad in Japanese studies likely make? </p>
<p>Can you commute to USI? Do they have a Japanese studies major? </p>
<p>*I did go back and change the FAFSA to reflect my new acceptance, *</p>
<p>I’m not sure what that means. Are you saying that Ball State had not been sent your FAFSA info before now? Did you think that you were supposed to wait until you were accepted?</p>
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<p>Er, sorry. I’m just really confused about the whole FAFSA thing. I mean, I sent my information to Ball State in addition to USI. I didn’t know I could send my information to a school I wasn’t accepted to. Like I said, my mom didn’t have to pay for any of her college so she knows nothing about scholarships, grants, and financial aid. It’s been a really big process for both of us, because we’ve been researching our butts off.</p>
<p>I guess we were just a bit over, so I didn’t get any Pell grants.</p>
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<p>Ball State’s grants average around $9,500, but they only go to 56% of their freshman class. My mom said she could probably pay around the EFC, and I plan on working to help pay for my schooling. </p>
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<p>What do you mean? Sorry, like I said, I’m new to this.</p>
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<p>With my Japanese major I was planning on getting a minor in education and teaching Japanese or enrolling the the Jet Programme (basically working in Japan as an English teacher or teaching assistant for 2-3 years). Ideally I’d work overseas in Japan as a translator or teacher. For teachers, I’ve read they make about $40k/year as far as high school teachers, which is my fall back career. There’s a huge demand for Japanese teachers in my area now, so I’m fairly certain I’d get a job.</p>
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<p>I can commute to USI, but they don’t have the major I want. They don’t even have a full Japanese program. It only goes to year two. Not only that, but as far as technology USI is waaay behind (in my opinion.) They don’t really have any work-study opportunities for my field either so I feel like I’d be wasting my time. Not that there is anything really wrong with USI, but I just really don’t like the campus. I’ve taken some classes there and visited there.</p>
<p>The whole university just rubs me the wrong way. My tour guide was rude and couldn’t answer any of my questions about the campus and everyone we spoke to was very curt. Ball State was completely different, we just mucked about campus and plenty of people would just talk to me and the tour guide was very nice and professional. I felt very at home there. USI not so much.</p>
<p>HimeKoi, Yes, you were supposed to send your financial aid app as soon as you filled it out and not wait for the admissions letter. The EFC is not what your mom will have to pay. It is the minimum she will have to pay unless you get merit $. </p>
<p>You need to see what they offer you. You won’t get Pell Grant $. All financial aid students are expected to work during the summer and/ or school year (work-study).</p>
<p>Your stats are your gpa and test scores (SATs or ACTs). Can you apply for some local scholarships? Does your state have grants?</p>
<p>With my Japanese major I was planning on getting a minor in education and teaching Japanese or enrolling the the Jet Programme (basically working in Japan as an English teacher or teaching assistant for 2-3 years). Ideally I’d work overseas in Japan as a translator or teacher. For teachers, I’ve read they make about $40k/year as far as high school teachers, which is my fall back career. There’s a huge demand for Japanese teachers in my area now, so I’m fairly certain I’d get a job.</p>
<p>Ok…so you think you might be earning about $40k per year. If that is what you’ll be earning somewhat soon after you graduate (maybe not starting salary), then you should not borrow more than the Stafford max loans for undergrads. Anything more than that could be stifling for you. </p>
<p>If Ball St is too expensive, is it possible for you to go to a CC for 2 years, get your Gen Ed req’ts and then transferring later? At least then you could borrow less.</p>
<p>Okay, my GPA is a measly 2.8, I didn’t take the ACT, and my SAT scores were as follows:
Math: 530
Verbal: 600
Writing: 610
Overall: 1740</p>
<p>I’ve been applying for scholarships like mad but I haven’t heard anything yet. I just filled out a form on our state’s grants, so yes, hopefully I will hear some good news on grants.</p>
<p>I think when I filled out the FAFSA (around March 1st or 2nd) Ball State wasn’t even in my mind because I had resigned myself I wouldn’t make it in. This is mostly because of my GPA. I wasn’t even expecting to get an acceptance letter, but I guess I’ll just have to learn from my mistake.</p>
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<p>Alright, I’ll make sure not to go over. Thanks for the advice!</p>
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<p>Yeah, this was a thought that occurred to me… BSU will definitely be my first choice no matter what, but money will decide for me. I can deal with a CC, and living at home for a while wouldn’t be completely awful.</p>
<p>BSU will definitely be my first choice no matter what, but money will decide for me. I can deal with a CC, and living at home for a while wouldn’t be completely awful.</p>
<p>You won’t have to borrow as much that way. Plus, maybe by that point, your mom will be better prepared to help with EFC and/or other costs.</p>