I know it’s frustrating. Everyone always hears all kinds of stories of people going to school totally free, not having to work, not having to borrow…… prob 1 out of thousands and thousands of people. Chalk it up to an urban legend.

The gentleman at the Fin aid office is trying to help you. He’s trying to see if you qualify for something usually called “Unusual Circumstances”, where a person had a high income last year, but had to quit their job (usually to take care of a sick parent, spouse or child and there are several other instances a person might apply for this condition, ie high medical bills). So thier income last year was higher than it is currently. Provide all the documentation he asks for and let them know your circumstances. Written form is best. Don’t give up on this… many people do this and succeed in qualifying for assistance.

You never said exactly what your EFC was, but that number is used to determine the Pell grant (free money), the Pell amount would be the SAME at any school you go to, private, public, ivy league, better, whatever, but the loans, scholarships, and state grants will probably be different from school to school. Higher the cost, the more loan amounts you will be offered, of course.

If indeed you do only qualify for loans, consider going just part time so you can afford it and not have to take out loans. However, an education is the best investment in yourself and well worth the money spent.

Good Luck!!!

If you apply for a better college you will get more financial aid. There is an equation FAFSA uses where they subract the your estimated family contribution from the full college tuition, including books, fees, and room and board.

So if you applyed to Harvard and Georgia Tech, assuming you get into Harvard, you would bet more money to go to Harvard than you would to go to Georgia Tech.

Also, there are ways to up your financial aid, one by filling out your FAFSA form and mailing it in before January 1st regardless of what college you’re considering applying to say the financial aid deadline is. Two, where it tells you to list what other colleges you are considerinf on your financial aid for, don’t leave it blank. Put down every rival of that particular college you can think of, because then the colleges will compete for you and you will get more aid. Three, sign up for work/study, because whatever the finacial aid won’t pay for, the work/study most likely will. And finally, fill out every scholarship form you can find, I had a friend just fill out a bunch of scholarships hoping he might get a few extra bucks, and he wound up getting money back for college because he was the only person who took the time to actually fill out the form.

Hope this helps out, I too am looking for a little bit of financial aid because I will be going to college next year.

Oh and one more thing, don’t be afraid to take out a federal student loan, they have very low (almost no) interest rates and it would not be a problem to pay it off, and I know of a lot of people who used their student loan to buy their first car or house because the interest was so low.

The amount of Financial Aid awarded is based on the cost of the school.

The first item awarded in a financial aid package is typically a $2000 loan. So, if you go to Harvard, you “might” get some grants, but first you’ll get a loan and college work study.

Get the proof about mom. Just have her doctor’s office write a note and submit along with a copy of your 1040 that hopefully lists her as your dependent.

This should allow you to receive additional monetary awards to help with living expenses.

Good luck!

you could apply to a university type school and would get more aid, but you are still not going to get 100% and will still need to come up with money, so it may not be an advantage. it is not bad to take out loans, and even if you have no credit you will still get government student loans. opening up a bank account will take 5 minutes, it is not difficult at all. are you planning to not work AT ALL during school? if so, you should reconsider. you will not be able to find a school that is willing to just give away all the money you need to support yourself and pay school expenses. get a job and go to school, it will be worth the sacrifice in a few years. many many students work and go to school and the community colleges are very flexible in terms of schedule. your other option is to stay at your 11/hr job and see where you are in 4 or 5 yrs.

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