<p>I'm finding out that I may not be receiving as much money from my state as I had originally expected so I am now curious about what kind of federal aid I may receive based on my EFC. I don't have my financial aid package yet and I understand that it's going to vary but it would be nice to hear from someone who knows more about this. </p>
<p>My EFC is 2128</p>
<p>My SAR says:</p>
<p>*I may be eligible for a Pell Grant of up to $3400. Does this mean I'm going to receive 3400 or could it be a lot less?</p>
<p>*Would I be eligible for FSEOG?</p>
<p>*I may receive an Academic Competitiveness Scholarship. How hard is this to receive? Im graduating with an Advanced Studies diploma and will have at least a 3.5 GPA in addition to a 27 ACT.</p>
<p>*Would I be eligible for a Perkins loan?</p>
<p>*What about other loans and work study? I indicated I was interested in work study.</p>
<p>I would appreciate anyone with some knowledge in this area to give me some insight. Thanks.</p>
<p>You should get the full amount of Pell you are eligible for as long as you are enrolled full time.</p>
<p>SEOG criteria is determined by each school. A lot of schools require a 0 EFC for SEOG. So probably not.</p>
<p>ACG is based on you completing a rigorous program as determined by your state. It is scheduled to cease existence after 2010-2011.</p>
<p>Perkins and WS also depend on the school. They both have limited funding and the school sets their criteria based on how much funding they have and how may students they have with need.</p>
<p>The reason that it says, “may be eligible for a Pell Grant of up to $3400” is because if you attend a community college that costs less than that, you won’t get $3400. Or, if you attend school part-time, or if some other reason occurs that will make you eligible for less.</p>
<p>But, that said, if you go to a 4 year university full time, etc, you’ll likely get about $3400 (is that an increased amount for 2010-11 school year??? anyone???)</p>
<p>You’ll have to contact your schools to find out if they award Perkins and FSEOG. Each school can be different in regards to this.</p>
<p>What state are you in? Why will you get less aid from your state? What schools did you apply to? What are their COAs?</p>
<p>I am in Tennessee. I have applied to The University of Tennessee-Knoxville. That’s where I am trying to go. I expect expenses to be for both semesters:</p>
<p>Tuition: $6,855
Room: $4,672
Meal Plan: $2,854
Books: Idk? Over a thousand likely. </p>
<p>Total: $14,381</p>
<p>Well the reason I may not be getting as much money from the state is somewhat of a long story but I will try to summarize it. Up until my junior year I attended a private school. For my senior year I decided I wanted to transfer back to public to take more advanced classes. In TN schools get a category rating depending on a lot of factors. The category for my private school indicated that I COULD but didn’t HAVE to be tested in order to return into a public school. The two schools I am in district for used this as a basis to deny every single credit I had without taking a lengthy teacher-made test to verify each one, which they made it clear to me they were NOT going to do. They went as far as to say they would refuse my PE credits. I had two other friends transferring out of the same private school that year and the schools in their districts accepted them with no questions asked. </p>
<p>But to cut to the point, I had to attend an out of state high school in a border county. They accepted me without a hitch and I pay no tuition. In Tennessee we have the Lottery Scholarship. The HOPE is the main scholarship which grants you 4,000 dollars a year for a 4 year college in-state. It has ridiculously low eligibility requirements which are basically to have either a 21 ACT or 3.0 GPA but you don’t have to have both. It states clearly that some out of state border county schools are eligible; I have confirmed that my school is on this list. So I am going to fight and ensure I get that at the very least. There are other state grants and scholarships available especially through UT which would have gave me a full ride; but I likely won’t receive them because in their eyes I am not in-state for financial aid purposes, only for in-state tuition.</p>
<p>But if what you say about the Pell grant is correct then in addition to the HOPE scholarship that gives me $7,400. That SHOULD cut my costs in half. There could be other things I receive I don’t know about; but for now I’ve accepted that I’ll need to take out some kind of loan at least for my first year. Since I will most likely be doing engineering I know there are many departmental engineering scholarships that I could still receive my sophomore year. And my third and forth year I may receive the SMART grant.</p>
<p>But thanks for telling me about the Pell grant, that makes me feel a lot better. Do you think I will have any problem in getting the rest of the expenses paid for even if it means more than one loan my first year?</p>