What will happen next is this information will be sent to the school, and the school will issue him an Award Letter. This is a detailed list of the amount and kinds of financial aid awarded to him. If his award letter includes any Loans I would highly recommend him not taking them unless he is going to a really expensive school and the Pell doesn’t cover it all.

This money is sent directly to the school. If all (or part) of his tuition, fees, book charges, dorms, have already been paid-then that amount will be deducted and the amount left over will be available to him in the campus bursars office. Okay let me repeat… will be available to him. If you want your money back make sure he knows it… and doesn’t decide to go buy a flat screen or something. Here is a good publication on the types of financial aid and types.

PS Don’t forget to do your taxes asap this year so he can have his FAFSA done on time next year. He probably would have qualified for state grants with this low of an EFC, but you may have missed out because of the late submission.

Good Luck!!

Edit – More info-

Did your son say he was interested in student loans on his fafsa application? I did not know, so I did a sample award letter with and without. Be aware the loan amount may be a little different, but prob not much. Also, the school could put other kinds of fin aid on his award letter as well, but I don’t have access to that info. Keep your fingers crossed and just make sure he applies EARLY EARLY EARLY next year. He missed most of the deadlines for other (free) federal grand aid this year.

#1Son’s *Sample* Award Letter from College (Fall 07) (with NO loan included)

2130.00 Pell Grant (does not have to be paid back)

————

$2130.00 Financial Aid per Semester

So, without loans would be:

$2430.00 tuition minus $823 payment = $1607 still owed to the school

$1607 tuition owed minus $2130 Pell Grant = $523 refunded to him (no you would definitely not get your 1200 back)

***************************************************************************************************************************************

#1Son’s *Sample* Award Letter from College (Fall 07) (with loan included)

2130.00 Pell Grant (does not have to be paid back)

1750.00 Subsidized Student Loan (does have to be paid back)

————

$3880.00 Financial Aid per Semester

So, with loans would be:

$2430.00 tuition minus your $823 payment = $1607 still owed to the school

$1607 tuition owed minus $3880 financial aid = $2273 loan paid to him (will be minimum payments of $50.00 per month when he is out of school.) (yes – you would be able to get your 1200 back)

If you were selected for Verification, then the school made corrections to your FAFSA information based on the Verification Worksheet and tax returns you provided. Going from a 0EFC to a 20EFC is not bad…it just means that instead of your son receiving a Pell Grant of $4310 ($2155/semester) he will receive $4260 ($2130/semester) – only $50 ($25/semester) less.

Even though you had to pay first for Fall semester, you will receive a refund of all aid for Fall that has been awarded to him. For Spring, his tuition and fees (and housing if he lives at school) will be deducted from the aid first; if there is a fee balance then you just pay the remainder, if there is no balance then he will receive a refund for the difference.

For the 0809 school year, the FAFSA will be available after January 1, 2008. Even though it is available at that time, you still have time to complete your taxes before completing the FAFSA. Check with the school to see when the “priority” or “on-time” deadline is. Make sure to have the FAFSA completed before then.

You should talk to a financial aid officer for further information. Good luck!