<p>I heard from a friend that if I have a single parent, don't own a house or an expensive car, my parent has very little income, and I have many siblings than I don't have to pay for college. Instead I will receive a lot of grants but no loans so in the end I don't pay anything for college. Is that true or is it just some cruel myth into tricking students?</p>
<p>True and false.</p>
<p>It completely depends on the school and their aid policies. Some of the most competitive schools have policies where they promise to meet full need (based on what they consider your need to be) with no loans in the package. These schools will want your non custodial parent (and spouse if there is one) information as well as your custodial parent. Other schools promise to meet full need but may include loans. Others do not promise to meet full need at all.</p>
<p>Schools that promise to meet full need without loans are usually the most difficult to get into. They also require more financial information - generally CSS/profile for their own institutional aid and FAFSA for federal aid.</p>
<p>If you go to a school that does not offer much in the way of their own institutional aid then you will be looking at federal aid and, possibly, state aid depending on your state. Federal grant aid will nowhere near cover the full cost of even a 4 year State school. Even with the maximum in federal grants and loans you may not quite have enough to cover the full cost. My daughter has a 0 EFC, is at a 4 year State school, and is almost loan free, but this is only because she has a good merit scholarship that waives all tuition and also includes some cash for other expenses.</p>
<p>Post #3 lists federal aid that is available</p>
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<blockquote> <p>I heard from a friend that if I have a single parent, don't own a house or an expensive car, my parent has very little income, and I have many siblings than I don't have to pay for college.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Well...if you are asking if this is true for ALL colleges...the answer is NO NO NO. There are many schools that are simply unable to meet the needs of all students with "free money" (grants and scholarships).</p>
<p>If you are applying to one of the very competitive schools with huge endowments, that meet full need and have excellent financial aid policies, you would likely do well. However, the first hurdle at those schools is getting accepted...some accept less than 10% of the students who apply.</p>
<p>If your situation is as you state, you might (you'd have to run the numbers) be eligible for the maximum federal monies. My understanding is that these monies are about enough to pay for a community college for the year....for a student who continues to live at home. The federal money is NOT enough to support any four year school for a student who is also living in the dorm (maybe someone can correct me on this if I'm wrong).</p>
<p>You would need a combination of federal funding AND institutional money (money that is from the school itself) to come close to the full cost of attendance at most four year schools.</p>
<p>In addition, most schools have a student contribution requirment that can be several thousand dollars per year. These schools expect that students themselves will be stakeholders financially in their educations. Students can typically earn this money working in the summer and perhaps during school as well.</p>
<p>There are very few (compared to the number of college students in the U.S.) COMPLETELY free rides out there.</p>
<p>I would say...the answer here is FALSE. You have no guarantee of a "free" college education. No one does.</p>
<p>Definitely no. As mentioned above, it is possible at some schools to go to school debt free (or with a reasonable loan amount). At many, it is not the case.</p>
<p>At my state's flagship public U, students with a 0 EFC have their need met without loans. However, the school uses Profile - they look more closely at assets than what the FAFSA shows - but they don't consider noncustodial parent income. This is a great deal - but admission isn't guaranteed - it's very competitive. I work at a public U that attempts to meet the need of our low income students, but we just plain don't have enough money. If a student lives at home, it is manageable, but the student WILL have to take out loans. If a student lives on campus, the parents will usually also have to take out loans. </p>
<p>Most students I see who have 0 EFC have full Pell grant, SEOG (our maximum award isn't huge, because we have so many low income students), an institutional grant, work study, and maximum loans. There is often unmet need after all of this aid is awarded. Again, living at home can reduce the expenses and make the school far more affordable.</p>