How does financial aid work for Law School?
Generally people go for scholarships rather than loans to attend law school. When you apply, they will tell you what they can offer you. You will need to be in the top 5% of the applicant pool and so will need to downgrade your law school to get this but it is well worth doing. My daughter was offered a 95% tuition scholarship at her law school which was also close enough for her to live at home. Makes a massive difference not to start out in life with a huge debt burden.
If you have had your financial aid suspended at one school, can you receive it at another school?
Yes, you can receive it at another school providing you were suspended based on failing to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress. The next school is going to treat you as a clean slate in that respect; however, make sure your old problems that prevented you from being a better student do not follow you to your new school or you will live out a re-run of your former infamy.
I didn't receive financial aid from my current private high school. What should I do?
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Private Schools.They control the purse strings.They set the tuition and fees, and They determine how much of their financial aid to give to you.Better you learn it now when you can return for Free to your local public high school (for which your parents are still paying taxes to support).Because if you attend a Private College and they decide to decrease or eliminate the financial aid the college gives to you as a junior or a senior, what are you going to do? Transfer?????? No, you will go out and borrow money to pay the increased net cost.Private institutions, whether they are schools or colleges, are in the Drivers Seat when it comes to tuition, fees and financial aid that they provide to you.Remember this lesson when evaluating colleges.My youngest son’s college did the same to him. Eliminated $15,000 in their financial aid to him for his senior year….. We scraped the barrel and went in “hock” to pay it…………………… So, neither he nor we (the parents) will be making any donations to that college anytime soon…….. But how many average alumni donate $15,000???? That college got its money.Remember that when applying to colleges.
Can you receive financial aid from a different school if you're on a financial aid suspension from one school?
Regarding Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), at our school (and, I suppose, elsewhere), we look only at the cumulative GPA (cGPA) of classes taken here. So, for example, if a student is meeting their college career Pace of Progression requirement (all college career hours attempted divided into hours passed, which needs to be at least 67%), but hadn’t been meeting another school’s GPA requirement, they’d be eligible at our school (assuming there were no other issues) if, 1) It was their first semester here ever, or 2) If they were currently meeting the cGPA requirement at this school. If the Pace of Progression requirement isn’t being met, then the student is not eligible for aid at any school, unless a SAP appeal has been approved.
Transferring financial aid from one school to another?
In general, financial aid is "non-transferable," meaning you can't call up the old school and ask them to transfer your money to the second school. You will probably be eligible for the same financial aid awards at the new school, though, depending if your financial aid awards at the old school were mostly Federal (Federal Pell Grant, Federal Stafford Loan, etc.) Federal awards will be the same at just about any school, because they're, well, federal. If your financial aid awards were mostly institutional (such as a New York University Grant, Harvard Grant), this means they came from the school's own funding, and will differ from school to school. You can still apply for and receive financial aid from your new school. Simply go back into your FAFSA and add the school code of the new school. A copy of your FAFSA will then be sent to them and they can award you the financial aid they have available there. It is also a good idea to call up your old community college and tell them you would like your aid there to be cancelled because you are attending elsewhere. You cannot have financial aid awards waiting to pay out at more than one school, or else nothing will pay out at either school, so it's a good idea to just get everyone on the same page. Hope this helps, Financial aid advisor, 2 years
Do private colleges give more financial aid? My EFC is 0 and I am wondering what my options are.
Let’s break this down:My EFC is zero.A family with an EFC score of zero is classified as exceptional need.Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution = NeedCOA - EFC = NYou would think that with an EFC of zero your financial aid package would cover the cost of college. Nope! There are five problems with that thinking:EFC used to, pretty much, mean what it says, i.e. the money your family was going to have to come up with for you to go to college. With the rapid inflation of tuition in the past thirty years the Financial Need equation no longer works. EFC is just a number generated by the government.Most schools are not 100% Need-Met. For example in Ohio only two (very expensive liberal arts) schools fill that bill—Oberlin and Kenyon. A common Need-Met percentage is 70%, but you have to check that detail for the schools you are considering.Your financial aid package is likely to be way too heavy with loans. This is extremely risky.COA almost never accounts for all of your expenses. For example I know one family who had to change their plans because of a $2500 health insurance charge.The school may not use the federal government’s calculation of EFC and may determine students’ need by its own formula.It is really important to choose an “affordable” post-secondary education choice.What are my options?Go to the library and get the book, Right College, Right Price. The author lays out a systematic approach to finding an affordable school. Private schools are considered.RiskIf a family has an EFC of zero, they probably have a low adjusted gross income. This brings up an additional issue. The biggest determinant of who graduates college is family income. For example, if your family is in the lowest socio-economic quintile, your chances of graduating are about 9%. It would be much less risky to attend community college.Student LoansBe very careful taking out student loans.The best practice and my preference is the 8% Rule—limiting monthly payments to 8% of the projected monthly salary of your targeted job.For example a beginning high school teacher in my area starts at about $39,000:($39,000/12)X.08=$260 which translates to about $25,000 in student loan debt.Estimate Your Student Loan PaymentsThe Penn State website linked to here uses the 8% Rule.
Will I receive a financial aid refund every semester?
There are a lot of factors that contribute to whether or not your financial aid will fully cover your bill and/or give a refund any/each semester, including not only your financial aid package but also how many credits you’re taking. For example, if you’re 15 credits Fall semester and receive a refund, you should not expect to also receive one Spring semester if you’re 18 credits in the Spring.All schools work a little differently with their financial aid packages as well. For example, some schools prorate (reduce) university aid for students who take fewer than a certain number of credits, even if those students are still considered full-time by federal standards. If you go below full time, even federal aid may be reduced.In order to figure out whether you’re getting a refund / how much of a refund you’ll be getting, add together your tuition/fees for the number of credits you’re taking and your room & board charges if you’re living on campus. Then subtract the financial aid you get each semester. This will give you an idea of any bill you’ll owe or refund you’ll receive.Keep in mind that the FAFSA has to be resubmitted each year, and numbers on the FAFSA could impact future aid. Additionally, many schools’ awarding parameters change on a yearly basis, so university aid you received one year may not be available to you a different year.
Should I get any financial aid with my EFC and college costs?
You would not be eligible for federal grants with and EFC of 8865, but you would be eligible for some loans. You would receive the same federal aid at all colleges, but it would go further at one that costs less. However, many schools also use the EFC when determining state and institutional grants that the school awards out of their own resources. Often a school with a higher tuition will award you more from these sources because you will have more "need" Need is the cost of attendance - your EFC -any other sources of aid such as scholarships. Although your EFC is too high for federal grants, it is still pretty low when viewed in terms of need at a school with a high tuition. So, you might get more aid there. Your best bet is to apply at both schools and compare the financial aid packages they offer you. If you feel that the education you will get for your money is comparable, pick the one that gives you the best value.
Does guardians income affect in receiving financial aid (FAFSA)?
As far as Federal Student Aid is concerned, your situation is a little complicated. If your brother is dependent and his parents are living, he is *required* to put his parents income information on the FAFSA, regardless of where they live. If they have no income, that's fine -- just put $0. However, if he does not complete the section that asks for parent information, his FAFSA will be rejected until he fills in ALL of the required fields. Federal Student Aid regulations do not recognize "grandparents, legal guardians, and foster parents" as parents when it comes to the FAFSA. It may sound weird or unfair, I know, but, unfortunately, the regulations that govern Federal Aid have not quite caught up with the wide variety of living situations that exist in these days. In order for you to be considered your brother's guardian as far as financial aid goes, you would *literally* have to adopt him. But don't go that far... As it stands right now, your brother should be able to obtain Federal Student Aid by doing one of the following: (a) Entering his parents' information on the FAFSA -- income, assets, name, date of birth... all of it. (b) Going to his school's Financial Aid Office to ask what documentation they need to classify him as an independent student. Schools make these changes *at their discretion*, so in order for the Dependency Appeal to be processed and approved, he should be able to explain how he supports himself without the aid of his parents. (Your school may also be willing to approve a Dependency Appeal simply on the grounds that your parents live outside the U.S., so he should just be honest when he asks.) Don't worry: Being considered independent often makes a student eligible for MORE money, not less.
Do Masters students get financial aid?
In the STEM field, one should Never pay for a Masters degree, it should be Free.Either attend a research university that values your research capability and gives you Free tuition and a stipend towards living expenses for all of the research that you will perform, OrGet a job, work hard and very well for several years and have your employer Pay for your Masters, part-time, at a near-by good college. Indeed, I have two friends who are having their PhDs paid for in that manner (full time by their employer).Neither I, nor Anyone that I personally know in engineering, ever paid for a graduate degree. Indeed, my nephew got his Masters in aerospace engineering paid for as a graduate student and then got his employer (several years later) to pay for his MBA.Free is the Only way for graduate degrees.