<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am a third year community college student and I also work full-time as a bartender. For the last two years I have submitted my FAFSA on the web. Both years I have been denied any Federal Pell Grants. I am a bit unsure why. First, nobody claims me and I am completely dependent on myself. Secondly, I only make $20,000 ayear and I have a lot of bills to pay which if someone took notice exceed an annual salary of $20,000. My estimated EFC is 5570. What I don't understand is that my circumstances should be honored as most people in my shoes wouldn't even consider attending college. Why am I denied aid??? By the way, I live in California.......very expensive.</p>
<p>Any advice/insight???</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Simple - your EFC must be 4619 or below to qualify for any Pell grant for the 2009-2010 school year. You don’t qualify for the Pell based on your EFC.</p>
<p>Expenses are not considered in the EFC formula - so your bills are not relevant. As an independent student with no dependents, you will have a higher EFC than students who make a similar amount of money but have dependents to support.</p>
<p>$20K goes a lot further for a single person than it does for a family. Hence the reason why the federal government doesn’t look at expenses. Realistically, most expenses are a chosen responsibility, at least to some magnitude. While you may feel that $20K isn’t a lot in your specific situation (and depending on circumstances, you may be correct), many households live on considerably less than that. Those are the households that the Pell Grant is designed to assist. For example, a family of 4 living on just under $30K a year…or a family of 6 living on just under $40k per year.</p>
<p>IOW, Pell Grant funds are specifically designed for those people who are living at or below the poverty level based on a federal formula.</p>
<p>You live in California so CC is around $30/credit. At $30/credit, that’s $900/year.</p>
<p>I have a nephew attending CC in California and his rent is about $500/month with one roomate. He was living with three others before that and I think that his rent was even lower then.</p>
<p>Stop working, go on public assistance, and just hang out. Full ride. :)</p>
<p>Seriously, the Pell grant is for extreme cases of need. Your EFC looks about right for a single person, given that most EFCs seem to lock in at around asking for 1/3 of your take-home pay unless there are special circumstances. This is all my opinion, but seems to align with other folks here on CC.</p>