I just got my financial aid package for next year and the school gave me MUCH less than what I was offered this year. Since my EFC went from around 2k to about 7k, I lost my 5k Federal Pell Grant. What doesn’t make sense is that even with an EFC of 2k, my parents in reality actually helped me pay around 5k this year. Now that my EFC has gone up to 7k, they will most likely have to help me pay around 11k this year. Does this even make sense considering they make around 70k a year? Thats about 16% of their total income, what should I do? Additionally, I always see people take out huge loans for colleges, but my college only limits student loans to 6.5k a year, where do other students even get more loans if they needed to?
Your parents make 70K and you get Pell? So their income changed?
A $7K EFC on a salary of $70K doesn’t seem unreasonable in terms of the calculation (reasonable in terms of reality is another thing entirely). Losing the Pell grant is obviously material, I assume your parents’ income , or yours, increased in 2017?
Regarding student loans, the maximum a student can take over the 4 years of undergrad is $27K ($5,500 freshman year, then $6,500/$7,500/$7,500). Additional loans can be Parent Plus Loans (taken out by the parents), or private loans in the parents’ and/or student’s name. But a student private loan requires a co-signer, which is typically a parent.
One way to cover the loss of the pell grant, is for you to work full-time this summer, and part-time during the school year. You should be able to earn $6K doing that.
Are there any good sources for private student loans?
Have you got an internship over summer?
Unfortunately no.
Are you trying? You are mech eng still?
I would not recommend taking more than the $27K in Direct Student undergrad loans. Go to the career center at your school and look to see what types of summer jobs/internships are still available.
Were there any changes in your parents’ financial information from last year to this year? If not, you could meet with the financial aid office to review both sets of papers and see if there was an error in this year’s FAFSA.
Yes im still in mechanical engineering, but my GPA is probably too low to even get offers for internships (2.8 GPA).
Then just get any summer job. Just because your GPA is lowish doesn’t mean that you can’t work over the summer doing something.
You can work full time and for sure apply to any internships anyway. Look for them now, don’t rely on your school, are you in Az?
Also, keep applying for internships while a lower gpa can make it more difficult it is definitely not impossible. Leave the gpa off the resume. If you interview well it overcomes the gpa.
UPS is always hiring around here, or fast food jobs, if that’s all that you can get for this summer. Preferably at home, so you don’t incur extra housing costs. You need to try and help your parents pay for next year.
Did your parents claim the AOTC on their 2018 tax return?
Do make sure that you try your best to increase your GPA next year and get an internship for next summer.
If your parents’ EFC went up to $7k let them pay the $5k they’ve been paying. Go get a job this summer to make up the rest. There are lots of places that hire college kids for the summer.
What is AOTC?
American Opportunity Tax Credit.
Not only can you work this summer but get a part time job during school to help makeup for the shortfall.