Even if you think your family makes too much money to qualify for financial aid, you should still fill out the FAFSA. You need to complete the FAFSA to be eligible for certain loans that don’t rely on income such as the unsubsidized Direct Student Loan the PLUS loans for parents. The FAFSA is also … Read more
Yes. You can appeal your financial aid award if there has been a change in your family circumstance or if you believe that the process did not account for a specific aspect of your family situation. The following is a list of reasons why you might appeal your financial aid award: Job loss Reduction of … Read more
The Federal Methodology is the formula used by the federal government in calculating a student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) which determines their eligibility for financial aid. Students receive their EFC by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and receiving their Student Aid Report (SAR). The Federal Methodology is used for calculating the … Read more
The Cost of Attendance (COA) and Average Net Price (which for some reason never gets abbreviated) are actually defined by the government. Basically, the COA is the total cost to attend college for one year, Fall through Spring. This includes tuition, room and board, books and schools supplies, fees, equipment and room materials, and travel … Read more
Articulation agreements are agreements between community colleges and four-year institutions on how students’ credits will transfer. This is not the same thing as simply transferring to another school. These agreements state that students who have completed specific requirements will be admitted as a transfer student. The goal is to eliminate any questions as to which … Read more
For students with divorced parents, the custodial parent is the one the parent they lived with the for the previous 12 months. This isn’t necessarily the parent who has legal custody or who provides the most financial support. If your lived with both parents for the same amount of time, then the custodial parent is … Read more
The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) program is a campus-based aid program. The school’s financial aid office receives a certain amount of SEOG funds each year and then distributes the money to its students based on financial need. The school sets the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant requirements, the deadlines, and the award amounts which … Read more
There are specific limits for federal financial aid programs. Since July 1, 2013, first time borrowers of subsidized loans are limited to a maximum time of 150% of the length of the student’s program. This means that those in a four-year program are limited to six years of loans while those in two-year programs are … Read more
An outside scholarship is one that is not part of the financial aid package awarded to you by the college. You need to report any outside scholarships to the financial aid office because it will affect your need-based aid. Schools are required by Federal rules to adjust financial aid package so that the total of … Read more
