aaaaaa1

after i fill out the fafsa and bright future, how do i find out how much money i'll be getting? that way i know which college will be the cheapest or if they are about the same.

swimcatsmom

You find out through the schools. The FAFSA data is sent to the schools you list on FAFSA. They use this data to put together a financial aid package for you. You then have to look at the financial aid and total cost of the school and figure out which school is most affordable for you. Certain federal aid such as the Pell (if you are eligible for it) will probably be the same amount at all the schools. Other federal aid such as the SEOG and any institutional (school's own money) aid will vary from school to school.

mom2collegekids

FAFSA is just an application that colleges use to determine how much federal aid you can get.

If your family has a decent income, it's doubtful that you'll qualify for any free money. Schools are under NO OBLIGATION to use FAFSA to make college affordable to you. Most schools do NOT have the money to give students with financial need.

Some people mistakenly think that their EFC number is the most they have to pay. That is not true. That is just a number to determine federal aid (which is small and is mostly loans).

For instance, you could have an EFC of $6k and the school may cost $25k per year to attend (for tuition, room, board, books, misc). So, even though you have $19k in "need," a school may ONLY give you $5500 in a loan and $2500 in work study....no FREE money and a shortfall (gap) of $11k.

Then say you have $4k a year grant from Bright Futures at a Florida school, you would still have a $7k gap.


Since you have Bright Futures, the amount you'll get will depend on your grades. BF must be used in Florida, but it will only pay a small part of tuition at private schools.

Florida Student Scholarship and Grant Programs


Look at the different levels. Find out which BF level you are to determine how much you'll get from BF.

horntail

What does an EFC of 03629 mean?

mom2collegekids

You really should start your own thread.

It means that you'll qualify for a small federal Pell Grant. I'm guessing that the amount will be about $2000 per year. You will likely also get loans in your FA pkg and maybe some work-study.

cptofthehouse

When you get your EFC, you look up what that guarantees you. Unless you are under about $5K in EFC--look up the exact number, you don't get PELL which is the only guaranteed grant. There is a maximum of $5550 a year per student who have zero EFCs each school year. You are also guaranteed $5500 in Stafford loans in your own name, with the possibility of up to $3500 of that being subsidized if you have need as shown by EFC and the cost of your college. That amount goes up a bit as you go through college, but, sigh, college costs go up too, a lot of the time.

There is a chart, is there not for BF amounts? You can look it up or ask your guidance counselor help you on those estimates.

So, the neediest FL students who qualify for the highest BF awards, get state tuition covered plus $11K towards living or commuting expenses but about half of that is in loans. Anything else comes from the schools themselves or outside scholarship sources. If parents do not qualify for federal PLUS, and addiitional $4K becomes available for loan. Schools may also have work study money for living expenses available, but no guarantee and that is earn as you go, not up front money.