Financial aid package?

Question

I received my financial aid package and I have to say that I am quite disappointed. I was granted $14,560 and the estimated cost of attendance for an out of state student is $27,920. I have $13,360 gap, how can I ask for more financial help? I do not want to get loans right now, I have heard way too many horror stories of people “in debt up to their eyeballs”. I was only offered one scholarship which is $18,000 for 4 years, there is no way that I can attend Iowa state university with a $14,560 grant. My family EFC is $1,964, shouldn’t I be offered more aid and what can I do to receive more aid?
I have a pretty good grade, 3.7GPA and top of my class.

Answer 1

Did you apply to any other universities and received their financial aid packages? If yes, you might want to bring up the subject to Iowa State University. Sometimes colleges and universities will adjust financial aid packages if they really want you. However, I will provide some free places to locate money for college.

First, the college's financial aid office and website has a list of private scholarships offered from outside organizations and companies. Sometimes a college major's website will list scholarships, too.

Second, the public library has a book listing scholarships with some not even listed on the web.

Third, the high school guidance office has a list of local scholarships and state scholarships & grants. There could be some based on your GPA and class rank on the state level.

Finally, I recommend joining several free membership scholarship search websites, but the best I have located is Scholarship Experts since they have a very thorough and lengthy survey to complete compared to Fastweb. There are scholarships for a variety of things including ethnicity, clubs, hobbies, and even wearing duct tape to the high school prom. Most are updated on a regular basis. Most offer a customized search based on information entered onto a form on the website.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Most schools allow students to appeal their financial aid packages by writing a letter to the Financial Aid Office. Use this opportunity to draw your school's attention to any issues that they might have overlooked when awarding you your original financial aid package.

I would recommend appealing based on (a) your low EFC and (b) your academic achievements. Emphasize that your parents would have difficulty paying for your education based on the current package. Let them know that you would be an asset to their school, as demonstrated by your high GPA (and, hopefully, some extracurricular activities?).

Keep in mind that the only grant aid your EFC *entitles* you to is a Pell Grant. Any other offers you receive were made at the discretion of your school. Unfortunately, most schools do not have the means to meet their student's full unmet need (i.e. the entire difference between your educational costs and your EFC). It's very possible that $14,560 was a lot of money for that school -- so, while you're requesting more money, make sure you express your appreciation for the original offer. Telling them that you're "disappointed" in their offer won't get you very far.

Now, every Financial Aid Office is different but, in general, I don't like to hear people appealing because they "don't want loans." Is there anyone who actually *wants* loans instead of grants? Of course not -- but they take them because student loans are a fact of life. 2/3 of 4-year college students borrow loans to fund their education and, the average student among them graduates with about $19,000 in debt. It's great that you want to keep your debt levels down but remember that, statistically, the person reading your appeal probably has plenty of debt and might not have much sympathy if that's your only reason for appeal.

Answer 3

Well the problem with your situation is that your tuition is based on being an out-of-state student. Here at the college where I work the tuition is almost doubled and most students even with full aid have to pay a large balance.

My recommendation is to go talk to your admissions office and see what are the requirements to be considered an instate resident. The financial aid office should have also taken into account while doing your award package that your cost of attendance is for an out of state student (Aid is based on unmet need). You might want to check with them on that to make sure they calculated your package correctly.

Here are some grants to look into:
Federal Pell
Federal SEOG (Supplemental Eduation Opportunity Grant)
ACG (Academic Competivness Grant)
SMART
Federal Workstudy
and state grants

Answer 4

You will have to talk to your Financial Aid Office about scholarship opportunities available through private sources. Otherwise you will need to take out students loans to cover the balance of your tuition. Yes, you will be in debt when you get out of school, but your salary will be high enough that you can afford the monthly payments. That is the ONLY reason I am taking out loans right now...because I know the money will be there when I graduate.

Answer 5

You could try to request for additional money for the out of state school (usually schools have not awarded all of their scholarships yet), or go to an instate school with the tuition will be cheaper; to avoid debt to your eye balls. In addition, more aid will be giving to students who state in their home state.

Answer 6

I would go to either in state college or use this website to check for more scholarship at fastweb.com. They have great options there.