what is the MAX a student can get in his FAFSA check?
464626
You do not get a "FAFSA check."  You get a list of loans and grants that you are eligable for.  Actually, your school will tell you what you are eligible for.  It could be nothing...it could be everything.
243889
Did you do the FAFSA form.  I am kind of in the same boat.  I didn't go to school and I worked instead.  Now my FAFSA info will be based on my income of 20,000 even though if i go to school full-time I won't be making any money.  We should keep in touch and encourage each other.  I hate feeling like I have an "impossibbility complex" over something as simple as going to school.  If you can work out something to get through your first year, you will be eligible next year.  Take student loans, it should be worth it.  If you click my name, there is a link on my profile to send me an email.  Feel free!
335793
Not many people are deny for financial aid. You should be ok, the problem that many people have with getting financial aid is when they or their parents have a lot of savings in the bank. When my friends and I were going through filling out FAFSA forms, my friend's parents didn't make a lot of money but they had no mortgage just every day bills and they didn't spend a lot so it went into their savings one of my friends parents had over $85,000 in their savings. She didn't get any financial aid can you understand why? $85,000 11 years paid for college 2 times over.
959045
According to the FAFSA website, you have to have a high school diploma or a GED to qualify for Federal financial aid.
334073
As far as Federal and State financial aid goes, if you are an undergraduate, you can only be considered independent if you are one of the following: \n* 24 or older\n* married\n* have children (or other dependents)\n* are an orphan or ward of the court\n* are a veteran of the US armed forces\n* are pursuing a master's or doctoral degree or\n* have a previous bachelor's degree\n\nNow, whether or not you are independent, you are entitled to Stafford Loan funding, the amounts of which depend on your year in school, as follows:\n*Freshman: $2,625\n* Sophomore: $3,500\n* Juniors and beyond: $5,500\n\nIf you are an INDEPENDENT undergraduate student, you can receive additional Unsubsidized Stafford loan funding, as follows:\n* Freshmen & Sophomores: additional $4,000\n* Juniors and beyond: additional $5,500\n\n[If you are a graduate student, you are eligible for up to $18,500 in Stafford Loan funding (up to $8,500 of which can be subsidized).]\n\nNow, being an independent undergraduate student also means that you do not have to include your parents' income/asset information on your FAFSA.  For most students, this means that their EFC is decreased significantly, making them eligible for additional grant aid (and some loan funds) for which they may have previously been ineligible.  Some funds you may be eligible for:\n* Federal Pell Grant\n* Federal SEO Grant\n* Federal Perkins Loan\n* Federal College Work-Study Program\n* State grants & loans
671605
FAFSA will help you with your school expenses based on your income criteria and other information you provide for them.  FAFSA is an organization which is managed by the Dept. of Education.  You can apply for loans, grants, scholarships, and more.  Whatever your educational needs are, they will be happy to assist you.\n\nYou will be prompted to an application online, where you tell FAFSA what you want.  Included in the application you will report both your husband's and your income, so have your W-2 tax forms ready, and other sources of income.  You will also have a line where you state which school you wish to attend and for which semester.  \n\nEverything will be on the form, and it is easy to fill out.  The system will allow you to correct any mistakes, so don't worry if you think you made a mistake.  Do it to the best of your knowledge, accurately.  If you lie in any part, your application will be denied.  \n\nAt the begining, you will be prompted to choose your login ID and pin number, which later on, you will receive that number in the mail, so DO NOT lose it, FAFSA will NOT have record of it.  Keep it safe, as if you would with your bank ATM pin digits.  \n\nYou should expect to hear from the up to two weeks after you have submitted your application.  It is important, however, that you print out your filled out application, for your records.  Once your application is processed, the school for which you applied financial aid for, will send you a letter stating that they've received your FAFSA application, and may ask you for a few other things before you are approved.  Once you're approved, you're in.\n\nI wish you the very best.
816707
It is impossible without more information to know how much financial aid you will get that is need based from both the federal government and the college itself. It is based on your parents' income along with your income. So, it becomes important to apply for scholarships and grants.\n\nI recommend still applying at FAFSA.ed.gov because it can help you tap into need based financial aid at USC and the federal government.\n\nSecond, apply for state college grants. I have included a link to their website. Also, it can help you into work study employment on campus.\n\nThird, if there are college's that offer merrit scholarships if your grades are kept above a certain point. I could not tell if USC was one of them though.\n\nFourth, search Google.com and Yahoo.com for scholarships based on your college major and religion. Sometimes, you can locate scholarships based on this.\n\nFinally, join several free membership scholarship search websites. Most are updated on a regular basis. Work hard on the essays and have someone proofread them before sending them. Even the smallest scholarship means one less loan to repay. Also, there are some that are not income based scholarships.\n\nGood luck!\n\nThird, work on keeping your grades up because
5993
It completely depends upon your income (if independent) and/or the income or your parent or guardian (if you are their dependent).  As far as FAFSA is concerned, becoming independent means that there is no one else besides you that can be held responsible for the costs of your education.  Therefore, you could stand to make out pretty well with government loans if your personal income is less than that of your parents.  \nI was just going through making this decision myself because, although I am financially independent, FAFSA still considers me my parents' dependent because I am not yet 24 (when you turn 24 you become an "Adult Student" in the eyes of FAFSA, whatever that means...).  I would get much more financial aid if I could file independently, but they will not allow me to.
178782
go to www.fafsa.gov and fill out an application
505104
You are eligible to receive financial aid up to your Cost of Attendance, which is a speficic figure set by your school.  Until very recently, schools weren't allowed to include housing (on- or off-campus) costs in the COAs of *part-time* students, which may be why you haven't been eligible before.  If you become full-time, your COA is likely to include a "reasonable" amount for housing, books, transportation, etc. It can include other "necessities," too (at the school's discretion).  If you can live on a budget, your financial aid might be able to cover your bills (it really depends on how much you spend on rent, etc).\n\nKeep in mind that there are limits to the amount of grant aid that you can receive, regardless of whether your school COA is $10,000 or $40,000 -- so you may not be able to cover your entire COA (and get money for rent) with just grants like Pell and SEOG.  However, you will be allowed to borrow loans (Federal or private, depending on your level of Financial Need) to cover your remaining costs.  Chances are that your friend either (1) borrows loans, (2) receives generous instutitional scholarship, (3) doesn't go to a very expensive school, or (4) all of the above.  This would be why he has financial aid left over after his bill has been paid...
871666
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
1161030
It is possible (common, in fact) for students to receive Financial Aid (grants, loans, scholarships) that covers *not only* their tuition but *also* numerous other educational expenses including off-campus housing.  Essentially, your school's Financial Aid Office must establish a "Cost of Attendance" (a.k.a "COA" or "budget") for each and every applicant.  This COA will determine the maximum amount of financial aid that you can receive.  Any COA will at least include tuition + fees -- but most schools also include some additional expenses.  Regulations allow a school to include the following items:\n\n-- tuition & fees\n-- room & board (whether it be on- or off-campus)\n-- a "reasonable amount" for books, supplies (in some cases, a computer), transportation, miscellaneous expenses\n-- dependent care\n-- study abroad expenses\n-- loan fees\n-- employment expenses for co-op study\n\nCOA items are added/removed at the school's discretion, and not all schools will include all of these items. Some schools will allow you to request the addition of any of the above items that apply to you (i.e. if you need a computer, you can ask them to add it and they will do so [or not] at their discretion).\n\nIf you think this might enable you to attend school full-time, begin applying to schools and for financial aid (ideally, simultaneously). Your first step should always be the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  For the fastest processing time, file it online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov (use only the official site from the Dept. of Ed).  Beware of other FAFSA sites; they tend to be scam companies that charge you to file an application that would otherwise be free). If you truly do need assistance with the form, free help is available at your schools, local high schools, libraries, and online (http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/2006_2007/index.html ).\n\nYour school will use your FAFSA results to determine your eligibility for federal aid, state aid and, often, instutitional aid. Among the types of aid that you will be considered for:\n\n* Federal Pell Grant (for the neediest applicants)\n* Federal Stafford Loan \n* Federal SEO Grant (if your school is authorized to administer this type of aid)\n* Federal Perkins Loan (if your school is authorized to administer this type of aid)\n* Federal College Work-Study Program (if your school is authorized to administer this type of aid)\n* State grants/loans (usually for needy students who attend a school in the state in which they reside)\n* Institutional grants/loans (a wide variety of aid awarded based on a wide variety of criteria, including need, merit, scholastic acheivement, community service, etc.).  Check with your schools to see what programs they offer to their applicants.\n* Private scholarship aid: this can come from any number of sources.  For some ideas, try your local library, church, organization/associations near you, your former high school, your future schools' Fin Aid offices, or the internet:\n\nhttp://www.fastweb.com\nhttp://www.srnexpress.com\nhttp://www.scholarships.com\nhttp://www.scholarships101.com\nhttp://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp\nhttp://services.princetonreview.com/default.asp?RUN=%2Fcollege%2Ffinance%2Fscholar%2FscholInterview%2Easp&RCN=auth&RDN=7&ALD=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eprincetonreview%2Ecom\nhttp://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/content/pay_free_money.jsp\n\nNow, generally, grant aid isn't enough to cover all of your tuition costs AND housing/fees/books/food.  As such, you may need to resign yourself to borrowing student loans.   This isn't a horrible option -- in fact, about 2/3 of college students borrow loans to fund some or all of their education.  The average undergraduate leaves school with about $19K in debt.  While they probably aren't happy about it, they manage: in fact, the most recent national default rate was reported as 4.5%, which i
1024756
Fortunately for you, some of the top schools in the country are now promising to offer a LOT of financial aid to low-income students.  Yale, for example, promises incoming undergraduates that they will not expect a family contribution from families making less than $45,000/year.  \n\nThe details for Yale's Financial Aid policies can be found here: http://www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/financial_aid/index.html )\n(Oh, how the students at my school would love if we had the funding to do this)\n\nIn short, if you low-income but are qualified enough to get into the school based on your merit/academics, the school will help you find the funding to attend.  Best of luck!
1124719
Your Expected Family Contribution is the amount that the government has determined you are *able* to pay for college in a given year.  However, it should be emphasized that this is NOT necessarily the amount that you will be *required* to pay -- you might pay less or you might have to pay much, much more.  \n\nTo phrase it another way, having a $42 EFC doesn't mean that all your educational costs (less $42) will be paid for by another source. Many FAFSA applicants mistakenly believe that a very low EFC means that the school or the government will cover the remainder. This, unfortunately, is not the case. Most colleges do not have the means to meet all their students' full need through scholarships, and almost all of the Federal awards have limits that often fall short of tuition costs. \n\nYour low EFC *probably* means that you are eligible for most of the aid that your school has to offer for students in your program, including a Pell grant (if you are an undergrad), a Stafford Loan, a Perkins loan, an SEOG, Work-Study. Depending on where you live, you may also receive some aid from your state.\n\nMany of these funds (except Pell -- the amounts for which are set by a specific table that compares your Cost of Attendance to your EFC) are allotted at the school's discretion. These days, there is never enough SEOG, Perkins, and FWS to go around, so it is uncommon for schools to award students to their maximum eligibility -- even to full-need students.\n\nNonetheless, you should take your EFC as a sign that plenty of people out there feel that you show a good deal of need. Search for need-based (and merit-based, if you have done well in school) scholarships anywhere you can: libraries, your former high school, your future college, clubs/associations near you, and the internet:\n\nhttp://www.finaid.org/scholarships/other.phtml\nhttp://www.fastweb.com\nhttp://www.srnexpress.com\nhttp://www.scholarships.com\nhttp://www.scholarships101.com\nhttp://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp\nhttp://services.princetonreview.com/default.asp?RUN=%2Fcollege%2Ffinance%2Fscholar%2FscholInterview%2Easp&RCN=auth&RDN=7&ALD=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eprincetonreview%2Ecom\nhttp://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/content/pay_free_money.jsp\n\nYou will probably need to cull funding from a number of sources as scholarships (small and large) are very competitive. Please be wary of scholarship scams, not the least of which is the claim that that there are "tons of unclaimed scholarships" just floating around out there. For information on this myth (and other scams), try reading these pages: \n\nhttp://www.finaid.org/scholarships/unclaimedaid.phtml\nhttp://www.finaid.org/scholarships/protecting.phtml\nhttp://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/ouchalrt.htm
365426
Keep in mind that there are limits to the amount of financial aid that you can receive and that these limits are based on your educational costs.  While you can obtain financial aid to cover your housing costs, you might not be eligible for as much as you need.  Are you looking for $40K PLUS tuition costs?  That might not be feasible, but it's worth looking into. You'll have to be prepared to borrow, though.\n\nIf you're talking about returning for undergraduate study, you probably won't receive enough federal financial aid to cover your expenses -- you would need to supplement your aid package with a private educational loan.\n\nIf you are looking to return for graduate study, you'll be eligible for no grant aid but a lot more in federal loan funds.  You can get Stafford Loan funding for up to $18,500 and, as a grad student, you can borrow the remainder in the form of a Federal PLUS loan (sometimes called GradPLUS).\n\nAll you need to do to obtain these loan types is file the FAFSA.  With a family of 5, you'll probably show need, but even if you don't you'll still be eligible.
415688
Married people can still earn Pell Grants.  You have to fill out the FAFSA to be eligible and the form will ask you for your financial information.  Generally, the lower your family income and the smaller your savings, the smaller your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) will be.  Students whose EFC approaches zero are eligible for Pell Grants.  It's hard to pinpoint what income level would make you eligible, because a lot more than just income is taken into consideration.  Rent, however, is not one of those things.\n\nEven if you do not receive a Pell Grant you may be eligible for other need-based federal or state aid, or even need-based assistance from your university.  Filing the FAFSA is always a good idea!
471409
That number means that your Expected Family Contribution is $0 (put another way, this means you are a "full need" student).  \n\nHowever, it should be emphasized that this does not mean that 100% of your schooling will be paid for. Many FAFSA applicants mistakenly believe that a $0 EFC (or very low EFC) means that the school or the government will cover the remainder.  This is not the case.  Most colleges do not have the means to meet all their students' full need through scholarships, and almost all of the Federal awards have limits that often fall short of tuition costs. \n\nHere is a sample financial aid package for a $0 EFC student (this assumes that you are a first-year dependent undergraduate student):\n\n-- $2,626 Stafford Loan\n-- $4,050 Pell Grant\n-- up to $4,000 (max.) Perkins Loan *\n-- up to $4,000 (max.) SEO Grant *\n-- a Federal Work-Study Award (FWS) -- from as low as a few hundred $ up to your unmet need *\n\n* {These funds are allotted at the school's discretion. These days, there is never enough SEOG, Perkins, and FWS to go around, so it is uncommon for schools to award students to their maximum eligibility.  While a student *could* be eligible for a great deal of Work-Study, most schools impose limits of a few thousand at most.}\n\n-- Your home-state may offer additional grants/loans to their residents. These awards are based on financial need, but check the criteria before expecting these funds to be part of your package. \n-- scholarships from your school (amounts very greatly and may not be based on your financial need but, rather, academic performance, etc.)\n\nLook at these awards in light of your tuition costs.  If you are planning on attending a low-cost school, it is possible that your financial need will be met with this package.  However, the average undergraduate student's financial aid package won't meet the cost of a private school education and you will need to seek out private/outside scholarships, appeal for additional scholarship from your school, or borrow a non-federal loan to supplement your aid package.\n\n{Just in case you aren't an undergrad... As a grad student, your $0 EFC would make you eligible for up to $18,500 in Federal Stafford loan funds and up to $6,000 in Perkins loan funds.  Graduate students are not eligible for Pell or SEOG.}