The school (Webster university) i’m currently at has not met my need since I transferred there last fall, and considering my EFC is $0 that’s frustrating. It’s so bad that I can’t even go flat-fee; I have to take 12 credits or i’ll have FA holds. At Webster full-time flat-fee is considered 13 instead of 12 credits.
I recently moved into my own apartment because of personal reasons. I got a refund only because I pay per credit hour, but because I can’t go flat-fee I’m about 6 credits behind on my degree. To many that may not be a big deal but I want to graduate on time. I’ve also decided even though I love webster I may have to transfer again to the state university because of price. I’m hoping that won’t be the case but i’m not going to hold my breath.
I would like to add that I am a independent student, and that won’t be changing.
On to the questions:
Has anyone had experience with being gapped with no EFC (this has happen to me at two schools now)?
Will my financial aid go up now that i’m paying rent?
While I would like my rent to be covered (probably not gonna happen), will Webster at least cover( with FA) my full tuition this upcoming year?
I will be junior in the middle of the next school year will my max loan amount go up at that time to 12,500 or will I have to wait till 2017-18 for that to change?
I know I could have given more information, so ask away and i’ll answer.
Your school policies dictate the financial aid you receive. You need to go and talk to a financial aid officer at your school.
It sounds like Webster does not guarantee to meet full need. They have not done so for you. I’m not sure what you mean…about getting more aid now that you are paying rent. Your housing costs would have been in the cost of attendance as a commuter, or as a drop student or as one who rents a place.
So…I would,suggest you discuss your financial aid situation with the financial aid folks at Webster.
With an EFC of $0, you would get the full $5775 Pell Grant…and you would get $7500 in Dirct Loans as a junior…plus $4000 additional s an independent student.
How much more money do you need? Did you receive my grant money from the school?
Very few schools promise to meet 100% of demonstrated need (in other words, provide aid for everything above EFC), and I’m guessing that Webster is not one of those schools. So, being gapped is a very common thing, even with an EFC of $0. And schools that do meet 100% of demonstrated need usually calculate their own EFC instead of using the FAFSA EFC, so these schools are defining “need” as they see fit.
To Thumper1:
I only need my tuition (24,500) to be cover as that’s what’s important. Also, the grant money the school gave me still left a gap and I only get it if I take 13 - 18 credits. The problem with that it automatically goes flat-fee at which point I go from getting a refund to having a $2000 hold on my account.
To mommdc:
I will have 45 credits at the end of this semester. I always fill out my FAFSA the first week of the year and the only additional aid I will get going Flat-Fee is work study. My old school gave me Perkins and SEOG but the gap was still about $4000.
The school i’m looking to transfer to is very affordable at about 7,000 a year for tuition but just not held to the standard as Webster. I feel that would affect me later since i’m planning on going to law school.
You are not understanding the 'flat fee’cost. Your cost for 12 credits is $X. The cost for 13 credits may be $X+$2000, but the cost for 17 credits is also $X+$2000. You would be getting 5 extra credits for that same $2000. That’s how you pick up the credits you need to graduate on time At most schools you need to take 15 or 16 credits a semester to graduate on time, and many schools charge the same if you take 16 credits or only take 12.
Right. With less than 13 credits, you are viewed as a part time student and ALL of your aid is prorated on that amount of courses.
So…again I ask…how much money do you need??
Rally, I agree with others…you are better off gong full time, and getting school done…UNLESS yo need to attend oart time so that you can work full time. Is that the case?
If so…really you cannot exoect to,get full time full need based aid for attending part time.
Okay, let me try clear the Flat-Fee issue up. I currently get full time aid because the government considers 12 credits to be full time, but my school considers full time to be 13. If I were to take 15 credits as I would like to the school’s full time Flat-Fee tuition would kick in and there wouldn’t be enough aid to cover the tuition. There would be a difference of about $2000 after all aid (Including state) is consider besides work-study.
I was wondering if there was even a possibility of the school raising or giving me more aid because if they don’t I will have to leave.
Side note:
For one semester my Flat-Fee tuition is $12,250.
While my aid is $10,187.
Yes, for that $2000 you could take one more credit, 13 total, OR you could take 18 credits for the same price. Five credits for $2000.
Only the school can tell you if they have extra money for you. You will not get more Pell for taking the 1-5 extra credits.
It’s not a refund, it is the excess on your loans. You borrowed this money. I get that you need it to meet your bills and buy food and transportation, but it is not a refund as it’s not money you overpaid, it is money you have over borrowed.
Wouldn’t it be better to take the extra 6 credits over 2 semesters and be able to graduate on time, not having to do another semester? Could you take 6 credits over the summer and work as well to pay for it?
To twoinanddone:
I know that the refund is excess loan money, everyone that I know calls it a refund (even the school) it’s habit. I also know the school has the final say so I really just wanted to know other experiences, when the school doesn’t meet need (with a EFC of $0). I really thought I had bad luck that two schools gapped me.
To mommdc:
Taking 6 credits over the summer is/was my plan, but only if my tuition is completely paid why going flat-fee for the rest of next year.
Ideally, I would like to take 6 credits this Summer, then 18 in Fall & Spring. Honestly, paying my rent with FA doesn’t matter to me all that much if the school is providing enough aid for tuition. I can cover my rent with a part time job, but having rent and a $2000 tuition bill per semester just won’t do.
There are very few schools that provide 100% of tuition for EFC $0 students, so it is not in any way surprising that you found 2 of them. I’d be more surprised if you found 2 that covered everything just with need based grants (many people combine merit and need based). EFC of $0 means you qualify for Pell grant, and the school can use that EFC to qualify you for other aid, including SEOG, Perkins loans, and the school’s own aid. None of those are guaranteed.
We really don’t know if you can get more aid because we don’t know what comprises your aid now. Do you get $5780 in Pell grant money? Do you take $6500 in Stafford loans as a sophomore? Perkins loans? SEOG? School grant?
Very unlikely you’ll have summer covered. Most students use Pell and maximum loans during the school year and don’t have it for summer. Or if you do have it in the summer, you may not have it for next school year (some schools put summer in the year before, others in the next year for FA)
The following is my full FA package for the year:
$3000 Federal Work-Study
$1850 Access Missouri Grant
$5775 Federal Pell Grant
$5250 Direct Unsubsidized Loan
$4500 Direct Subsidized Loan
If I take 13 Credits I get also:
$3500 Webster Grant
GRAND TOTAL: 20,875 (Without work study included)
Tuition: 24,500
My school uses next years funds for summer school so I could possibly take courses over the summer. Also, i’ve come to the realization that while I love Webster i’m most likely leaving due to me not being able to afford it. I guess the good part is that I will be transferring to a school that’s tuition is only $6,300 a year, which my pell and state grant will cover completely.
Where were you living before assuming this rent bill? This sounds like a new bill…you say “now that I’ll be paying rent”. So…where did you live before.
To austinmshauri:
I only borrowed $6,000 for school the rest was living expenses
To thumper1:
I lived with my god-parents and that just wasn’t working anymore (no fighting just a lot of hostility in that house). Plus, I was thirty minutes from school (on a good day) so I moved closer to school. Even though that’s a new bill my tuition wasn’t cover before that anyway. The only reason I had the money to move was because I pay by the credit hour which is significantly cheaper than flat fee (but extends my years in school).
Ok so I’m not the best at math, but if you pay $2000 more for flat fee (13 or more credits), but then qualify for an extra $3500 grant, wouldn’t you end up with an extra $1500 of aid?
You said you were short 6 credits, you have been taking 12 credits, so taking 15 credits for two semester would catch you up again. The extra grant would cover what you pay more. No need to use aid for summer or do an extra semester.
If the state school you want to transfer to is indeed $6300 per year then I think that would be your best choice. What school do you want to transfer to? What is your major?