<p>I don't qualify for FAFSA and I come from a single-parent home. And alot of these financial aid programs basically only look at your income and base it off that and don't really understand my situation or expenses. I have one sibling and both of us are now in college and my mother is struggling to put us both through college. Does anyone know of any grants or scholarships that I can possibly attain? And I'm African-American so maybe there may be some ethnic scholarships or something? Please let me know if you have any ideas.</p>
<p>I believe so-called merit aid is based off of your grades and accomplishments.</p>
<p>You could try googling scholarships...there are some really random ones that will give you money for having particular last nights, being a certain ethnicity, or even being left handed! From what I've seen, Fastweb is pretty good for finding scholarships.</p>
<p>I second the merit-based scholarship idea. But don't dismiss need-based aid a priori. You might still qualify for institutional grants even if you don't qualify for federal grants - especially while your mother is supporting two children in college. </p>
<p>Did you reapply for need-based aid when your sibling enrolled in college? Many colleges will reduce your expected family contribution for each kid while multiple children are in college.</p>
<p>Your phrase "I don't quality for FAFSA" does not make a lot of sense. Every family CAN fill out the FAFSA. And you can use online calculators to see what your family's EFC (expected financial contribution) is for college. You will need your mom's cooperation for this, of course, as she probably has all the financial information you need. With two kids in college, there might be some need based aid and/or low interest loans available to you.</p>
<p>It gets trickier if the school you or your sibling attends is not a FAFSA only school. Some schools, especially private schools, require a form called CSS/Financial Aid Profile (they are sometimes called "Profile School"). The profile form asks more questions about your family's finances than the FAFSA, and requires a non-custodial parent to provide asset information (and if the non-custodial parent has remarried, the marital assets are also considered). That can be a problem, especially if your dad either won't fill out the form or won't make a financial contribution to your education. If your dad is completely out of your life, sometimes schools will waive this requirement for the Profile form.</p>
<p>It sounds like you might already be enrolled in college. If you are not yet in college and have good grades/GPA, you may want to look at colleges that offer merit aid. You can usually tell by going to the school's financial aid website. But you need test scores and grades in at least the top 1/3 (1/4 is better) of the school's admitted pool of students to expect much there. And often those scholarships are focused on incoming freshman, so that might not fit in your case.</p>
<p>As I understand it - you can fill out the FAFSA and even if you don't qualify for financial aid, you can apply and receive low interest Stafford Loans. If you are both already in college - talk to your departments, school, etc about scholarships that are awarded to current students.</p>
<p>My parents make a combined income of over 100k, and 1) I was able to fill out the FAFSA with no problems, 2) My EFC was less than the cost of attendance of my college, 3) My school estimated my EFC to be even less than the FAFSA EFC. An the best part is that I'm the only one in my family in college.</p>