Student Financial Aid Application (FAFSA) Expected Family Contribution=$0...Will I get money for school?

Question

Just curious if anyone knows about what I will get. Tuition is $2,300 per semester at state school.

I just had to reort my income because of my age (23). I didn't get to work much last year because of school (overloaded).

sorry....report my income

Answer 1

yes that means that you will get the highest amount of aid possible for you because family contribution is how much your family is expected to have to help pay. If it is $ 0. Then your family is not expected to pay anything because of income being low.

Answer 2

Ok...
While I was in college I worked at financial aid for a while, so here's the best advice I can offer...
Since your EFC is 0, you are not likely going to receive any grants (being free money) but you are ALWAYS able to get loans (must be paid back after grad).
See if your school has an SEOG Grant. This is money for low income, and it may not consider your EFC.
Pell Grant is based on EFC, sorry.
There are 2 types of loans that are the main ones schools offer/push for:
Perkins and Stafford
The only problem with these loans is, depending on your status (I'm persuming you are an entering Freshman?) there is a cap to the allowed money you can receive. For example, Freshman can only receive like $1500 total for their 1st year, then Sophmore can receive $2500, Juniors get $3500, you get the idea. The higher rank you are, the more you can get.
Now, let me break down Perkins and Stafford.
Perkins is a general loan with a cap. If I remember correctly, interest does not capitalize when you first pull out the loan until it is paid.
Now, Stafford is different. There are 2 different types of Stafford loans, Unsubsidized and Subsidized. This means, under Stafford Loans, you can receive 2 loans and not 1. The difference in these loans is, one of them capitalizes on interest from the first second you get it until it is paid back until you graduate while the other is not.
For example, let's say your Freshman year you get a Stafford Loan. You can get both Sub and Unsub. I don't remember which loan it is specifically (your office will) but when you first receive it as a Freshman it is collecting interest your entirity college life. So, if you graduate in 4 years, you will pay back that loan PLUS the interest it accumulated on it. It is wise to go with the loan that is interest free until graduation, but sometimes you desperately need the money and you do what you have to do.
btw, I personally went into teaching, which there is a program that will forgive ALL of your Perkins Loans that you receive and $5000 of your Stafford (more if you go into Special Education). I basically went into teaching for the free education, you just have to teach 5 years at a low income school (which all of them basically are) or be in a needed area (math, science, spec ed). (links on sources btw)
There are other loans you can receive out there, such has Fannie Mae student loans and others that are banks. Colleges don't really handle those personally, so they more than likely will know little about all their details.
Please keep in mind, if you do not finish college you will owe back loans. You can not declare bankruptcy to get rid of them, you will owe on them until they are paid. This is something that more 16-17 year olds need to understand before borrowing from the Government.
Otherwise, look into scholarships. Walmart, Target, KFC (yeah, shocked me) and a LOT of other places have scholarships that can be won to help pay for college.
Last thing I can think of, if you decide to get a job and work on the college campus, some colleges give a Grant along with that. I worked for 3 years at my University and I received a small Grant of $500 on my award letter. Something else to ask about.
Sorry this was soo long. I hope this helped.

Answer 3

The only thing that you can guess ahead of your financial aid award announcement is your loans as Beholdall mentioned. You can see the amounts in his post. The caps to how much are rather low for Freshmen, but get higher as you progress through school. (Reason for this is that that the drop out rate for students during their first year of college is rather high. They would rather loan money to those who stick through college.)

There isn't a way to guess at what you may or may not recieve in grants because the amount available to students varies from state to state and school to school.

Whether you get certain loans and grants is also effected by when you filled out your FAFSA. Some states have due dates for when the form needs to be filled out and those that are completed before the due date get priority funding. Some just run on a first come, first serve basis. In summary, the later you filled out your FAFSA, the fewer grants you will get and the more likely you will recieve loans that you will have to pay off the interest during your time in school (versus loans that start the interest only ~after~ you have graduated).

Where you live, are going to school, your financial need, and when you turned in the FAFSA will also affect your chances at obtaining something called 'work study'. During your schooling, 'work study' are funds that the government gives to the school to pay you if you get a job of some sort on campus. At most campuses this is given out rather quickly, however.

Answer 4

Most likely, if you are going for a Bachelors degree. If not, your school will have resources to help you!