Your FAFSA is a federal form that is signed under penalty of perjury, so it must be 100% truthful and accurate.
If the FAFSA you filed was inaccurate, you must change it to be accurate even if this means a lengthy verification process is triggered. If it was inaccurate, you must change it to be accurate whether it helps you get more aid or hurts you/costs you aid.
Perhaps the college can expedite the review/aid revision process given that you have decisions to make ASAP.
It sounds like your FAFSA was already changed once to add your stepfather’s income and assets…and that the college is reviewing your financial aid award based on that revision. Is that correct?
When that change was made, you did NOT indicate that your father really should have been the custodial parent. Is that correct?
But now you are realizing that with your mom and stepdad income and assets, you may not qualifynformthis federally funded aid…so perhaps you should have indicated your dad as your custodial parent on the FAFSA. Is that right?
I’m saying…you will need to be able to DOCUMENT that you need lived with your dad better than 50% of the time prior to the filing of your initial FAFSA document this year. Can you do that? Was your drivers license address your dad’s house? Is your dad’s house in the same district as your high school? Did you change your HS permanent address to your dad’s address? Do you receive your mail at your dad’s and if so, have you done so since before filing that initial FAFSA?
If not…how will you prove that you loved with your dad greater than 50% of the time?
Answering part of the original question, you should accept the loans in the following order:
Federal Perkins Loan: $5,000
Federal Subsidized Loan: $3,500
Federal Unsubsidized Loan: $2,000
Also only do Work Study if it does not affect your grades/any merit scholarship. Due to the drain on your time.
@rgosula I believe the regulations have changed. Students MUST accept the full Direct Loan amounts BEFORE they can get the Perkins Loan.
@kelsmom is that correct?
Yes, I believe that applies to new Perkins borrowers.
Schools are required to package sub/unsub before Perkins, but I don’t believe students actually have to borrow the full amount of sub/unsub offered before borrowing Perkins (we don’t do Perkins, so I am not 100% sure on this - that’s what it looks like based on the training I have attended - but students should ask their financial aid office to be sure).
@bhs1978 , this is not correct: It was my understanding that you can not accept the federal subsidized loan without also accepting the un subsidized loan. You absolutely can accept the sub loan and not the unsub (but if you accept unsub and not sub, the school has to switch the unsub to sub to the extent possible, as this is the “better” loan).
Hey, @fbislife are you ok?