A few days ago
Edward

What income is poor enough for college financial aid?

Hi, next year I’ll be applying to Georgetown (my dream school), but i noticed that they dont give out any merit based scholarships except for sports (which dosent apply to me). However, Georgetown does offer financial aid. How poor does one have to be to qualify for financial aid?

My dad is a cabinet maker and my mom is a nurse, and together they earn about $100,000 before taxes. I have a brother and a sister that also need to go to college in 2-3 years. We have no college savings, but we do have A LOT of credit card debt.

I know I’m not poor, its just that we can in no way afford Georgetown! If accepted, is it likely that I will get financial aid?

Top 5 Answers
A few days ago
dawncs

Favorite Answer

Mos competitive colleges like Georgetown do not offer merrit scholarships due to its application base. It is not a matter of being poor per say to qualify for financial aid but the individual circumstances of the person applying for it. The financial aid award is based on a percentage of your income and savings (at a higher rate than your parents) along with your parents’ income and savings. It also takes into consideration how many are in your family size, mortgage size, and how many are attending college at the time. There is a more detailed worksheet for a fee which can help bring more help. In addition, I recommend applying for any outside scholarship no matter the amount because it will add up. I will include some free resources to locate tuition money to attend Georgetown.

First, I still recommend completing the FAFSA form even with your parents’ income. It can also bring the work study program (spending money), need based scholarships from Georgetown’s scholarship endowment fund, and student loans. One good thing about schools like Georgetown is that they have a big endowment fund but is dependent on the individual school itself.

Second, check with your high school guidance office if you are a high school senior. They have a list of local scholarships for its students. You have the best chance of getting a scholarship this way.

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

Finally, I recommend joining several free membership scholarship search engines. They offer a customized search based on a survey you complete. There is a scholarship for almost anything out there including wearing duct tape to the prom.

Good luck!

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5 years ago
Anonymous
What income is poor enough for college financial aid?
http://scholarshipfaqs.net

Does student loans or financial aid give you enough to survive college on.? Does financial aid pay for food and housing for poor people? If my family is poor will i get a lot of help from financial aid for college? Can you truly be denied Financial Aid in College?? Financial Aid or Any Help For College?

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5 years ago
?
I would suggest getting a job on top of financial aid. Mine is on campus a low stress. It doesnt hurt my schooling and Im just there enough to make some money on the side. But I also live a pretty good life. If you can get by living a bargain life, then youll probably be fine. Make out a budget and find out how much money you will realistically need and start from there. It also depends on what state you live in and what school you go to….different states/schools offer different financial aid packages.
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A few days ago
Anonymous
Dawns answer was very good. I have a few things to add. Since you are a senior, you need to apply for financial aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov as soon after Jan 1 as you can. The application is based on income and no debt is used to determine eligibility, however…. very important… when you siblings start college, they need to be included in the “number in college” on your and their application.

Don’t get discouraged when you are denied for Federal Pell grants…. your parents make good money and pell is for people who are very poor. You will still qualify for Federal Student Loans (Prob Unsubsidized Stafford Loans and parent PLUS loans)… I’m attaching a book that has the maximum loan amounts and interest rates.

YES you will get financial aid…. just in the forms of loans, and hopefully scholarships… time to get busy!!

Good Luck

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A few days ago
J
I doubt you will get much. If you parents income is $100,000 you will get little to none. Most students only get enough financial aid when their parents make about $20,000 and that is a lot of students that are like that.

Your parents make A LOT a year, so I wouldn’t complain.

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