Michelle answers:

Https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/before003.htm

FAFSA. Free application for federal student aid.http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

What is federal student aid: It includes grants, work study and loans. Filling out the FAFSA you are applying for all the federal aid listed on this page, plus others certain states and colleges have individually: click the different federal aid programs on the left http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/grants.jsp

When FAFSA? Jan 1 of the year you will need it.You have the option on the FAFSA to do an estimate FAFSA using the previous years taxes and send it through. Just choose will file. Then ASAP when you can you do the taxes for that year and go on the FAFSA home page under #3 where it says make corrections and put in the actual tax information. For example, my daughter was attending Fall 2010. On Jan 1 we did the FAFSA as an estimate using our 2008 taxes, then as soon as we got or W2s and did our taxes for 2009 we made the corrections on the FAFSA. Why file an estimate: Because colleges are all given so much grant/work study money and its given to students first come, first serve, even if you qualify if you file later, it may be gone. So file early!

How much do you get: Federal aid is offered given to students based on their financial need. Your financial need is determined based on the questions you are asked on the FAFSA which will be about income, amount in banks, property owned, stocks and the like, as well as questions about your current home situation, how many, how many in college at the same time etc. These questions will determine your financial need. They use all the info to determine your EFC, estimated family contribution. They use a formula using all of your answers to determine your financial need, the lower the EFC the more financial aid help you need. If you have a 0 that does mean you dont pay anything but it does mean you have great need for financial aid help. This EFC amount is subtracted from the cost of the attendance (also called school budget) and the result of this is your financial need. COA/student budget is tuition, books, travel personal expenses, housing, fees. You can get an estimate here: http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/F4CApp/index/index.jsf Even if you do not qualify for federal grants or work study you may qualify for federal loans which most all students have. This EFC and recap of your FAFSA will be put in a report called SAR, student aid report. You get an email this is ready in a week or two if you did it online and a link in that email to view your SAR..

The only way you will know what federal aid you qualify for is the colleges you listed on the FAFSA will be sent your SAR and a financial aid award created for you based on your financial need. Each college award will be different, as the cost of attendance is different, colleges have their own aid to offer, and when you apply makes a difference in what aid they have available to offer. You need to look at all the offers. If your federal aid grants, work study and federal loans do not cover your cost of attendance you will need to get a private loan to cover the rest like from a bank or lender, so it may be smarter to pick a cheaper college where you need the least loans. Rule of thumb, your total college loans for your education should not exceed your first year salary in the degree you are pursuing.

How do you get your aid once you accept it: It gets deposited into your college account, usually by semester not all at once on certain disbursement dates your school has where everyone will get their money disbursed on a certain day. We applied Jan 1 2010, school started 9-1, our semester federal aid was disbursed 8-25. The colleges takes out their charges for housing, meals, tuition, and fees. We did have money left over and if you do you get a refund either a check or card system depending on the school, and we got that a week after school started by card system. Use that refund if any for books, materials etc.

Helpful sites:
All questions FAFSA, financial aid: http://www.finaid.org/
http://www.gocollege.com/financial-aid/student-loans/benefits-of-loans.html
Click BEGIN THE PRESENTATION: http://www.nextstudent.com/financial-aid-tutorial/financial-aid-tutorial.asp#
http://www.knowhow2go.org/
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/timeline.jsp?tab=applying
http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/student_guide/2009-2010/english/typesofFSA_grants.htm

Michelle answers:

FAFSA is not a grant. It’s a form. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s used to apply for financial aid from the US government. Once you submit the FAFSA, the govt will send your info to your school, and your US government financial aid will be calculated. It might include certain types of grants, such as the Pell Grant, as well as student loans. You still have time to fill out the FAFSA for the fall, but you want to do that as quickly as you can.

The Cal Grant is a grant given by the state of California. It is run separate from US financial aid. The deadline for the fall was back in March, and you’ve missed it: http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=1177

The BOGFW is a type of financial aid. You can get multiple types of aid.

Michelle answers:

For financial aid purposes it doesn’t matter how many schools you put down. Listing them just gets your information sent to the schools financial aid office. If you know for SURE you are going to go to one, you only need to list that one. However, if you don’t have the cash in hand to PAY for that one college and want to do some shopping around to see which school you can attend with the least amount of student loans, you might consider leaving your options open by listing all four.

You’d be amazed at how many kids are absolutely positive they are going to go to one school, and when it comes time to pay the bill the kids and the parents choke and things change.

They show up at the local community college, trying to get fin aid and the school has NO record of their fafsa info because they didn’t list them. It delays everything and the student winds up starting school without financial aid.

If I were you, id put as many schools as you are considering and then a few local backups.

Michelle answers:

There is no place in the FAFSA to include that kind of information. I recommend you complete and submit the FAFSA for the 2012-13 school year. Then, after your school has processed your financial aid eligibility and notified you of the financial aid they can offer you, you talk (by phone or in-person) with an adviser in the school Financial Aid Office and explain the current financial situation for your family and your mother’s medical bills this year. The school may have some additional funds (school-based funds) that can be added to your financial aid award.

Be prepared in your mind that you may not be able to afford to enroll in college/university this coming school year. Or, that you will need to apply to and enroll at your local community college for the 2012-13 school year and take classes that can transfer to the school you want to attend to earn a Bachelor’s degree.

The other option, is to take no college/univ. Classes during the 2012-13 school year, work at a full-time paying job or several part-time paying jobs, living with the parents to keep your living expenses down, and saving as much of your earnings to use in the 2013-14 school year. Others have done just that, lived to tell about it, and graduated from college/univ. With a degree, eventually.

I am sorry you and your parents are going through this difficult time right now.

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Best wishes