<p>My son accepted the final aid package from his selected aid package, after some adjustments were made at the same time he decided on the college, the first week in April. Today, we got a statement (no letter) stating that our Stafford loads (subsidized and unsubsidized) were adjusted. I would use the term reversed. I waiting on a return call from the school. Obviously the school can do this, but is this common and if so, what is the point of the financial aid package if the school has the right to keep many of the aspects of it. This is my first kid going through this process and so much of it begins to feel like a gam that I am just never going to win.</p>
<p>That is odd and concerning. I thought Staffords were fairly straightforward. My son got a last minute smallish local scholarship and they deleted his work/study and unsubsidized his subsidized Stafford his freshman year but I “sorta” expected something like that. But I did not think they could “reverse” an unsubsidized Stafford. I’ll be interested in the responses. Maybe it’s just a paper thing since I think all kids can take out Staffords. Sophomore year no subsidized, no work study and this year some subsidized and some work study (with pretty stable income reported on FAFSA). This is a school that does not meet 100% need, but I do find it interesting the fluctuations. I always assumed the word/study and subsidized portion is was what was “left over” after the true “need” kids were taken care of. We required Staffords for S1 to have some skin-in on his college regardless. The work/study when it came this year was a bonus for him and he was happy as jobs are tight locally he reports.</p>
<p>If you actually lost the loan amounts, there is something you did not share … such as a huge scholarship, large grant amounts, etc. The eligibility for Staffords is computed in the following manner:</p>
<p>Subsidized=Cost of Attendance-Expected Family Contribution-all grants/scholarships-work study (if awarded prior to awarding Stafford; this varies by school)-Perkins loan (if available)=“Need” eligibility for a subsidized Stafford. Sub is then awarded up to the maximum annual limit ($3500 for a freshman) or the “Need,” whichever is less
Unsubsidized=COA-all grants/scholarships-work study-Perkins loan-subsidized Stafford=eligibility for unsubsidized. Unsub is then awarded up to the maximum annual limit of sub & unsub ($5500 for a freshman) or the eligibility amount you came up with, whichever is less</p>
<p>The only thing that would change this would be if your child was not eligible for federal financial aid for some reason. Students who are admitted as guest students are NOT eligible for Title IV federal aid (Pell, SEOG, CWS, Perkins, Stafford loans). Students who are not admitted into a regular, degree seeking program of study are not eligible for Title IV aid. Young men who do not register for the draft are also not eligible for Title IV aid (if 18 or older). I am assuming no prior college, so I am leaving out the other reasons for having loan eligibility taken away (as they wouldn’t apply for a first time student).</p>