Fafsa/Finacial Aid/Loans/Etc halp

[Tsuko_Asura]

So, I'm about to enter a period where I won't be able to get by comfortably without getting a second job, which is in turn going to be a serious detriment to my schooling. My tuition is, for the most part, payed for by scholarship(75% Bright Futures, for any Floridians familiar), but it requires that I'm attending full-time. So, I'm forced to either live dangerously close to the edge of financial instability by maintaining full-time schooling with one job, or get a second one, which will ultimately end with me losing my partial tuition coverage.

Enter the question: how the hell does all of this work? I filled out the Fafsa form this evening, but seeing as how my parents do extremely well for themselves and I'm only 21, I'm fairly certain I'm not going to get a dime from it(if my understanding of the system is correct). I know a good portion of students scrape by with student loans or grants, but I genuinely have no idea where to start with all of that, or if I even qualify.

Thoughts?

[Sythe]

Your not going to get anything. Your parents make too much, your under 24, and your still living at home with them.

[Tsuko_Asura]

and your still living at home with them.

Nope. And to my understanding, this doesn't disqualify me for student loans.

Generalized answers from people who don't actually have a firm understanding of what I'm asking, thanks but no thanks ->

[Sythe]

Then there ya go-> http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ Enjoy.

[Tsuko_Asura]

I filled out the Fafsa form

ohay

[miokomioko]

Then there ya go-> http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ Enjoy.

go away.


I think the whole parents' income thing mostly depends on whether or not they still claim you as a dependant. If you are their dependant, their income is obligated to be used to help you out and thus you don't deserve financial aid.

[Heavencloud]

So, I'm about to enter a period where I won't be able to get by comfortably without getting a second job, which is in turn going to be a serious detriment to my schooling. My tuition is, for the most part, payed for by scholarship(75% Bright Futures, for any Floridians familiar), but it requires that I'm attending full-time. So, I'm forced to either live dangerously close to the edge of financial instability by maintaining full-time schooling with one job, or get a second one, which will ultimately end with me losing my partial tuition coverage.

Enter the question: how the hell does all of this work? I filled out the Fafsa form this evening, but seeing as how my parents do extremely well for themselves and I'm only 21, I'm fairly certain I'm not going to get a dime from it(if my understanding of the system is correct). I know a good portion of students scrape by with student loans or grants, but I genuinely have no idea where to start with all of that, or if I even qualify.

Thoughts?

So your parents do "extremely well for themselves," and 75% of your tuition is paid by scholarship... Why not just borrow from your parents instead of going for loans for that last 25% or whatever? Maybe I'm misunderstanding "extremely well" though... However if you're not a dependent you'll probably be able to get some loans at least through FAFSA.

[warc]

Most (all?) student loans through my school are now handled by the Department of Education. I currently owe something like $20,000 at the moment. Filling out the fafsa is a good first step to getting money, but don't leave it at that. Go talk to your school's financial aid department. They are more than willing to help you find scholarships you qualify for, and will answer any questions you have about student loans. My school handles all of my federal financial aid. After submitting the fafsa, my school gets a report from the government letting them know what I qualify for. Most of what I get is student loans, though some of it comes from federal and California state grants. After the school gets the information, they write me a check or two including all my awarded aid including loans grants and scholarships. Private scholarships you apply for will obviously be handled by whoever is offering the money.

Getting student loans as a fulltime student shouldn't be any problem, regardless of financial situation. My parents made around 70k/year consistently, and just from filling out fafsa alone, I qualified for enough loans/scholarships to pay for 90% of my schooling (tuition, fees, books, rent for on-campus apt, food, clothing, etc). I go to school full-time, usually 16 or 17 units a quarter, and no job.

One note about dependant status, even if you aren't living with your parents, you are not able to claim independant status until you are 24 years old or married. I'm 22 and last year I tried to claim independant from my parents' taxes, but was told that I couldn't and had to use parents' tax info for my fafsa. When you fill out the form, I believe its in there.

My school's financial aid department has one general scholarship application that qualifies you for something like 100 different scholarships. Ask your school's dept if they have something similar. The amount of people who take the time to fill one out and write the measly 500 word essay is retardedly low. If you are looking for easy money, check into this. There is money out there available to students that no one ever applies for. Google is your friend.

[Julian]

go away.


I think the whole parents' income thing mostly depends on whether or not they still claim you as a dependant. If you are their dependant, their income is obligated to be used to help you out and thus you don't deserve financial aid.

This, kinda. After your FAFSA stuff is processed, they should be telling you how much money you'll be entitled to, or something similar. Reminds me that I need to fill mine out soon D:

(And how did you not get the full 100% bright futures :<)

[Dolmen]

You can have your parents waived from your FAFSA if you get permission from your state congressman or senator. However, you must be able to prove independence from your parents in the way of providing at least 50% of your support, etc..., the same qualifications as claiming yourself on an income tax return. I'm guessing this case is not you, but I don't know your yearly income, what you pay for, etc...

What you can do is apply for a Stafford loan. I'm sure you will not qualify for the subsidized loan, but the unsubsidized loan with you as a dependent gives you $2,000 per year. You have the choice of paying the interest every month while in school (do it), or having it added to principal. Otherwise you can apply for private loans that yield a higher interest rate, but give you access to a lot more money. Your parents should be able to qualify for them easily with a lower interest rate than you would probably get, so it might be best to see if they could help you out in this scenario.

Links:
Stafford Loans - http://www.staffordloan.com/stafford...udent-loan.php
SallieMae - https://www.salliemae.com/student-loans/
Simple Tuition - http://www.simpletuition.com/student_loans_home - I'm not sure how good they are, but they offer different options and information.

[Cream Soda]

Nigga, why didn't you just talk to me.

basically, you feed them a bullshit story to where you don't have a way to contact EITHER of your parents (let's say you live with an uncle or something. They wouldn't even go off of that, so no worries there, it's parents onry). You will need 2 signatures to verify your story (notarized) and you will be moved from dependent to independent. At that point, they'll go based off your income and not your parents.

[aduidarnenye]

I would recommend not going for any kind of loans if possible, even if it means going to school for a couple of extra years. Student loans are horrible.

[Fodder]

Barring the Cream Soda method, you're sorta hosed. They won't give you a Pell grant or subsidized Stafford loan for reasons stated previously, and they may require mom and pop to cosign for the unsubsidized Stafford loan. I don't recall if there are income limitations for Stafford loans, but the site will say either way. If your parent will cosign, you'd likely be good to go for Stafford. Try to avoid private student loans, they are just too expensive. Will your parents not help you with tuition or securing a Stafford loan? Have you asked them? The financial aid office at your school is also worthy of a visit. We don't know your background, progress in school, GPA etc. so you might consider looking into a research fellowship, part time job at the school, TA, w/e they may have available where they waive tuition in return for your service, which is generally pretty minimal effort.

Barring all that, during a tight period when I was in college I ate ramen noodles for fourish months followed by soft pretzels for another, then thankfully Burger King had $1 Whopper month. I also rented a room for $50 a week during this period and didn't drive anywhere unless I had to. The old lady I was renting from took pity on me from time to time and would toss a pork chop or something my way too. How much can you tighten your belt? Do what you gotta do to tough it out, but don't stop school. Once you do it's that much harder to get back into it.
I haven't eaten that packaged fake ramen shit for about 12 yrs now. Ughh..

[kuronosan]

If you're not 25, you won't get anything. They will still count your parents as part of your income whether you are dependent on them or not. The only way to bypass this would be to write a letter to your congressman and various other bodies in order to appeal the rule and apply for an exception.

Those are very few and far between and honestly are not worth the effort. If your parents are so well off, why not ask them for money? About the only thing you'll be able to do is apply for a direct loan through Sallie Mae or other loan offices and have your parents cosign.

You won't be getting grants, though, so you can forget not having to pay any of it back.

[Cream Soda]

If you're not 25, you won't get anything. They will still count your parents as part of your income whether you are dependent on them or not. The only way to bypass this would be to write a letter to your congressman and various other bodies in order to appeal the rule and apply for an exception.

This is wrong. I'm 22 and using the method I previously posted, I've gotten the maximum amount for pell grant for the past 2 years. And the first year I got it, I already paid out of pocket for the first semester (filled this out right before the second semester) and not only did I get my portion for the second semester, they also gave me my portion for first semester to go with it.

[Tsuko_Asura]

As lovely as that sounds, it also sounds extremely illegal.

[Cleverness]

I assume it's only illegal if it's not true, which it is in Cream Soda's case iirc. But yea, you filled out the FAFSA, your school should get the info in a few days and you might qualify for some grants but if your parents make alot then it might not be for much. They'll most definitely offer you some subsidized or unsubsidized loans, depending on how far along you are and this being your first loan(assuming) you can probably afford it depending on how much exactly that 25% tuition comes out too.

[isladar]

This might not apply to you now, if you're not receiving any grants, but it will if you want to receive grants in the future:

Fill out your FAFSA as soon as you have your W-2 in hand. Do not wait on that. The money available goes incredibly quickly, and if you just filled out your FAFSA now for 2009-2010, there would be no money for you.

[Tsuko_Asura]

Noted.

[kuronosan]

This is wrong. I'm 22 and using the method I previously posted, I've gotten the maximum amount for pell grant for the past 2 years. And the first year I got it, I already paid out of pocket for the first semester (filled this out right before the second semester) and not only did I get my portion for the second semester, they also gave me my portion for first semester to go with it.

Don't listen to Cream Soda. He's a prime example of stupid fucking people who are cheap, ghetto, and love to take advantage of the system (Re: I steal my neighbor's internet because they won't lock their shit up and I don't wanna pay for my own).

Using his method you can go to jail if you're audited and found out. Do it legit, or don't do it at all.