<p>I'll be attending Columbia University in the fall of 2014, and I've received a financial aid package from the university which covers about 80 percent of the cost. When I apply for FAFSA, will I get aid in addition to this, or is FAFSA just more documentation for the university?</p>
<p>The short answer is that it’s more documentation for the university. </p>
<p>The way it works is that when you apply ED to many schools, including Columbia, they request that you fill out an estimated PROFILE using prior year’s info, updating the info the best you can with your best guesses. At that time, you cannot fill out the FAFSA for the Fall 2014-2105 school year, because that FAFSA, the 2014 one, isn’t even available until 1/1/2014. So you use an estimated form , and when accepted ED, you get an estimated package using those estimates. Look at your package and see if it includes any federal funds like SEOGH or workstudy. You cannot get those awards without a legitimate FAFSA on file. Government rules. Also, when you do the FAFSA in final form, there will likely be a verification process requested, often with the available IRS retrieval tools when your returns are filed and processed. </p>
<p>Your current award is something Columbia put together, on the numbers you provided them, and could change if the final numbers as reported on your parents’ tax forms are different. Also the FAFSA 'vets" you to make sure you are eligible for federal aid. So Columbia will verify your numbers through the FAFSA and possibly, through other requests. But the FAFSA process makes it much easier for them, letting the feds do that work, and also making it a federal offense if the info you report is done for fraudulent purposes. Schools don’t have the time to deal with this. </p>
<p>Columbia uses CSS to get more detailed information and also for its institutional aid. FAFSA is required for an Federal aid. It is not likely you will get more aid once you file FAFSA as Federal aid you are eligible for has probably been included in your estimated aid package based on the info you provided through CSS. However, any Federal aid (Pell grant federal loans etc) included in your aid will require that you file FAFSA before it can be disbursed to you. </p>
<p>FAFSA isn’t more documentation for the university, it is the actual application for Federal aid. </p>
<p>“university which covers about 80 percent of the cost.”</p>
<p>Which means that you’re expected to pay about 20%. Since Columbia “meets need” then 20% is about $12,000.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that may mean that your EFC will be higher than $6,000 (unless you have a noncustodial parent).</p>
<p>If you have an EFC of more than $6000, then you won’t get any free money from the feds. All you can get is loans. </p>
<p>Were you offered any Work study? </p>
<p>Hate to say it, and I don’t know what state you live in, but paying only $12,000 a year for college is a gift, and you should be appreciative–you could get a job easily earning half of that, or more, perhaps a loan, parent contribution, etc. for the remaining $6,000, for example. If my S only had to pay $12,000 for each year, I’d be kissing the ground quite literally. I have a friend who is Mormon. Her son gets into BYU for only $6,000 a year (instead of $11,000) because they are LDS. She is still looking for aid even though her husband already collects 100% disability from Veterans (and he’s not all that disabled, believe me) and 100% disability from SSI. Sad that people like that drain the system. The son also gets $1,200 a month from SSI and some money from Veterans for being the kid of this man. He could save up this money in NO time.</p>
<p>Every student’s situation is different, and it is important to refrain from making judgments about what a particular student can and cannot afford. For some, even $1,000 is a lot of money.</p>
<p>OP, if you have questions, please call or email Columbia’s financial aid office. They will be able to give you a better idea than we can.</p>
<p>kelsmom–I worked full-time during college, came from a lower middle class, blue collar, at best, family, abandoned by alcoholic father, other big issues, so I think there is merit in people working a bit to earn $6,000. Now everyone believes they are entitled. Columbia, at excess of $200,000 for four year college, and someone is going to grouse over $6,000 to $12,000. Sorry, I have little sympathy.</p>
<p>^ I would agree with you. Working 40 hours a week for three months during the summer at 10 dollars an hour(could be higher or lower depending on the work, the location other reasons and makes the math easy- 12 weeks * 40 hours is 480hours <em>$10 is $4800 dollars during the summer. Then an average of 10 hours during the school year lets say 36 weeks with some time off. 10 hours *36 weeks =360</em>10 = $3600 plus the $4800 from the summer is $8400 total which added to a 5500 federal loan is plenty of money to cover a 12000 efc and books and pocket spending money with no parent contribution whatsoever and a student could earn even more than that by working more or finding higher paying jobs. Doing that would affect FA however. </p>
<p>No 40 hour a week, $10 an hour jobs for summer in these parts. In fact, it is difficult to find a 40 hour a week job at that pay even for those willing to work all year … over 30 hours means employer must pay for healthcare, so employers are limiting hours these days.</p>
<p>My daughter has received merit aid and other grants from her school which will mean we pay less than our EFC, but why wouldn’t she look for other scholarships to avoid loans? I hope she gets 100% in scholarships. Why turn down money that’s offered? My co-worker’s son had a prepaid tuition fund (529 plan) but got a full ride at an OOS so he took it. Family can afford to pay, but doesn’t the son deserve the full scholarship?</p>
<p>The money from SSI will stop when son graduates from hs or turns 18, whichever is later. I don’t know about the VA funds. Also, they may be using it to live, which is what it is for, so can’t save it in no time.</p>
<p>I have friends who live in areas so depressed that there are no jobs for young people. Even the part time positions that are usually filled by teens and young adults can snapped up by older folks looking desperately to get every bit of work available. My friend’s business has failed, and the only reason they stay afloat is that she found a job 2 hours away and lives at a friend’s house during the week to to make that money. She home schools, so her two high schooler watch her younger child. She goes back home for weekends, and feels thankful to have a place to live during the week so she can make that money. It’s all that’s keeping them afloat. She could not come up with a thousand or even a hundred bucks for her two kids in college. </p>
<p>If someone is entitled to get funds from program as they designate the eligibility, it’s a “go for it”. I don’t make the rules, you don’t make the rules, and it’s up to the rules as to who qualifies for what. Yes, it’s often unfair. I’ve seen kids,one of mine, in fact get a $30K merit award from a university that does not meet full need, and families so wanting to help their kid go there, that they take out loans for that amount. </p>
<p>It’s not fair that my mother pays taxes on her paltry government widow’s pension whereas my mother gets more from SS and it isn’t taxed. Lots of unfairness. </p>