Michelle answers:

Well, as far as I know, or at least at my college, the FAFSA is the only application because it applies you for the Pell Grant, Cal Grant (if your a CA resident and its before the deadline), the SEOG, and anything else out there.

I did use a couple different websites to help search for scholarships and other grants.

Www.collegeboard.com (there’s also lots of other good stuff there)

and www.fastweb.com

Good luck and hope that helps! Feel free to email if you have any more q’s!

Michelle answers:

You want to include on your FAFSA only the school codes for school in which you plan to possibly attend at any time during the given academic year.

So, for example, if you are completing the 08-09 FAFSA, only includes school codes for those school in which you may possibly attend during that academic year. If you know that you most certainly will not transfer till next school year or later, then there is no need to include those schools on your FAFSA right now.

When you include a school code on your FAFSA you are asking the Federal Student Aid Central Processing Center to send all your information to that particular school. If you do not plan to attend that school at any point during that academic year, then it is futile for that school to be sent your information.

If you think that there is possibility that you might attend a school during the given academic year, no matter how slim that chance may be, go ahead and include that code. It is much easier for that school to already have your FAFSA information early than to try and add it on at the last minute. If you include a particular school on your FAFSA because you thought you might actually attend during that academic year, but then you end up not attending, it’s no big deal. Your FAFSA file will never be completed at that school, therefore there are no negative consequences.

Michelle answers:

Are you questioning your EFC or how it relates to your eligibility?

$8,088 sounds right based on the information that you provided here (obviously, there is much more to it than just income and # in household). If you think the computer system calculated your EFC incorrectly and would like to calculate your EFC *by hand* to double-check it, the forumla isn’t a secret — it’s available online here:
http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcinformation/attachments/0607EFCFormulaGuideDecFinal.pdf

If you’re questioning whether an $8,088 EFC should make your son eligible for grant aid… Well, unless you’re prepared to undertake a massive political campaign, you probably don’t want to dispute the FAFSA formula. And disputing a school’s institutional financial aid awarding process certainly won’t get you their good side.

There are some types of aid that the Financial Aid Office has limited power to adjust, even on appeal. Pell Grants, for example are only available to families with EFCs of $3,850 or lower, which means that your income would have to decrease A LOT before you became eligible.

An EFC of $8,088 probably puts you on the cusp of eligibility for other types of aid. For example, there is a certain class of funding known as “Campus-Based Aid” that includes the Federal SEO Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, and Federal College Work-Study Program. Unlike other federal aid programs where the student’s eligibility is predetermined, the *school* is given the authority to allocate campus-based aid. Of course, they do have to offer SEOG to Pell-eligible students first but, after that, they are allowed to extend eligbility to other needy students. It may be the case that your $8,088 EFC “doesn’t make you needy enough” to obtain SEOG at that particular school. That said, most schools DO have an “appeals” process in place by which you can request an adjustment to the aid package that you have been offered. Your school may be able to adjust your EFC slightly if you submit documentation that your FAFSA results do not accurately reflect your ability to pay for your son’s education. Before appealing, you might want to read this http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=An60Y1ygNbIzPLI6yry6YUzsy6IX?qid=1006051820271 or this http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/negotiation.phtml Remember that even if they can’t adjust your federal aid package, your appeal may increase your eligibility for scholarships or grants from the college itself.

Keep in mind also that loans are still considered “Financial Aid” and that no applicant should expect a financial aid package comprised completely of grant aid. Even families with $0 EFCs should expect to receive “self-help” financial aid (i.e. Loans or Work-Study).

Michelle answers:

I think your question can best be answered as such: filing a FAFSA every year allows you to apply for the types of aid that are available at the school in which you are attending. You are required to file one for every year in which you wish to receive aid whether at a community college or four year university. The BOGG award (which only covers tuition expenses) is only available at the community college level. This is not to say that you will not be eligible for other types of aid (Federal Grants and Loans, as well as State Grants), but again, you must file the FAFSA in order to be considered for these funds.