So, the current situation is that my mom is a single mother and I am an only child who will be attending Sac State in the fall. Our income is about $41,000 which is what fafsa used but we will be losing about $11,000 in July when I turn 18 and my mom loses child support. We aren’t a very well off family now and I have no idea how we’re going to make it after July.
I did not receive any financial aid or scholarships other than Cal Grant A which is only for $5,500. Other than that, my financial aid packet gives me options for a subsidized loan for $3,500, an unsubsidized loan for $2,000, and a PLUS loan of $10,000. My mom does not want to take out the plus loan but probably would if it’s the only way I can go to school.
Should I take out these loans? What else can I do to help pay for college, besides getting a part-time job (which I already have). Any tips would be appreciated because my mom and I could barely make it on $30,000 a year even if I wasn’t in college.
Are you commuting from home.
You can appeal the awards if your income will change after July. Look on the FA webpage and see if there is a form for appeals. You tell them the reason for the reduction in income. You might get additional Pell grants or SEOG. At $41k in income, did you not qualify for any Pell grants?
Yes, I will be living at home and commuting.
Was I supposed to apply for Pell grants separately? They did not appear on my financial aid page. All that’s there is the Cal Grant A and the loan options.
Did you submit your FAFSA to this college?
What was your FAFSA EFC?
@mom2collegekids
What should this student receive for Calgrant?
CSU’s do not give out institutional aid, so your only options are state & federal aid. Since FAFSA is based on previous year’s income, I don’t think there’s anything you can do for this year.
What’s your EFC? You can use it to obtain a Pell grant estimate from this chart: https://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/GEN1502Attach.pdf (the 16-17 one isn’t available yet, but it only varies by a couple hundred dollars)
Add that to your CalGrant B (which btw should include a supplement of $1-2k on top of it) and your Stafford loan + work earnings, and that’s all the $ you’ll have.
You may be able to afford the school, or you may not. Do the math…
Can you commute to Sac State? If not, is there another school you can commute to?
Yes, I did. And I’m not sure or I don’t remember; where can I find or calculate that number?
I’m not sure where to find or calculate my efc. As far as I know, I’m not receiving Cal Grant B, just Cal Grant A (I’m assuming there’s a difference). I’m also not sure which loan the Stafford loan is? And I will be living at home and commuting.
The stafford loan is the loan to the student, the $3500 subsidized and the $2000 unsubsidized. That’s the loan you should take first IF you need it. The Parent Loans have less favorable terms and should only be taken after the Stafford loans.
When you submitted the FAFSA, there was a email sent to you with your EFC on it. It will read something like 003110, which would mean your EFC was $3110. You can also call the school and ask. Just say you are unclear which grants and loans you qualify for, and ask them to make sure you have it all.
You CAN appeal based on a change in income, but usually only after that change happens, so if the last child support payment will be in July, you may have to wait and apply after that. It’s okay to appeal after the semester starts.
Okay, I found my efc and its 005320, so that means $5,320 that I was expected to pay?
Thank you for the help, I will tell my mom about appealing in July!
Your EFC is the minimum you woild be exoected to pay. With an EFC C of $5320, I don’t think you would qualify for Pell grant money.
But I also think your family’s income is a tad higher than $41,000. Was that $41,000 the AGI (adjusted gross income)?
Regardless…I’m curious why you don’t have enough Calgrant money plus the direct loan to cover your tuition at a public university in CA?
Calgrant experts? Please educate me!
http://www.csus.edu/faid/financial%20aid%20basics/Cost%20of%20Attendance.html
According to this…the cost of tuition and fees is $6800 or so. If you got a $5500 Calgrant, and a $5500 Direct Loan that is $11,000 and those costs would be more than covered.
The remaining costs are housing/board…but you won’t pay those because you are living at home.
Then there are books and personal expenses. The remainder after your Calgrant plus direct loan…plus any earnings from a job,should,cover the cost.
Do I have the wrong school? Am I misreading this?
You need to request Professional Judgement to the FA office since the CS will be ending.
@kelsmom Can you chime in? Child support is ending.
Cal Grant should cover system wide tuition.
If there are just 2 in the family, (1 parent, 1 child) then the calculation is harsher, which is probably why that EFC is highish for income.
However, once PJ is used and the CS is removed (hopefully), the EFC will drop and Pell will be awarded.
That’s the right school. I was under the impression that tuition was more expensive so this is good news to me. Thank you!
Thank you, I’ll contact admissions about this.
Ahh, I missed the post where you said you’d indeed commute. As other posters have said, all of your costs should be covered if you add in your work earnings. You should not take any of the loans.
Sometimes schools will remove the child support if it is ending. Contact financial aid, not admissions, to ask how to request Professional Judgment for loss of child support. $11,000 is a significant loss, and they may well adjust income if you can prove it will end. It may or may not be enough difference that you qualify for Pell … but it will be worth finding out.
@Lilliana330 right now, this student doesn’t HAVE a Pell grant.
But the $5500 Calgrant, plus the $3500 subsidized loan will more than cover the cost of tuition and fees. Let’s say $7000 for tuition and fees. There would be a $1000 per semester refund coming to this student. This will help cover the other costs.
The student will need to have some money up front for fall books, and personal expenses. Hopefully this can be covered by a summer job.
And this student can take the additional $2000 in unsubsidized loans if needed. This should only be done if needed.
The student will also need to demonstrate she has health insurance.
I hope my reading of the cost of attendance is correct.