swindoll

I'll be a freshman starting this summer, but I was wondering how generous UF is when it comes to giving a financial aid to the sophomores and juniors? What makes you qualified for a better fin. aid? What kind of grades or EC?

Thank you!

aforautumn

the only thing that changes based on your credits is how much the federal government will offer in loans.

swindoll

So even if I'll have very good grades, there's still no chance for me to receive MORE financial aid? (By fin. aid I do not mean loans, but grants and scholarships.)

Thanks.

zebes

There are departmental scholarships available, but I think most of them don't come into play until you get into your major, which for some isn't until the junior year. A lot of those are tied to need-based, but there are some that are totally merit aid (no needs requirement). You would probably have to check in your particular department to see what's available. D applied for one this past year, and she has a 3.9 engineering GPA and research experience and didn't receive one. So, they are very competitive, as you might imagine. (She was applying solely for merit scholarships not tied to need, which are fewer in number).

zebes

aforautumn

i should also note that they aren't given automatically by the finaid office. they're not really any different than if you apply to scholarships on like fastweb, or anywhere else that offers them. you have to apply, write essays, and sometimes go through selection processes.

PrettyPeridot

I think what most people are familiar with is the federal grants like the pell grant. Atleast for everyone I know this is usually a big chunk, if not the entire aid, that is given by fin aid (excluding loans). The amount of money you receive depends on your financial situation/income. The less money you or your parents make, the more aid you should receive. This also depends on how many credits you're taking. There's a minimum amount of credits needed to even receive aid. Also you need to pass (I forget) 60-something or 70-something percent of all credits attempted each year. Withdrawls count as attempts. If you fall under this percentage you don't get grants (not sure if you're even offered loans) for the following year. Oh, and I don't think fin aid cares about your ECs.