There’s no problem with the FAFSA. If anything it would be the other way around, on the FAFSA they didn’t even ask for AGI. Income on the FAFSA was put down correctly as well as all other investments/assests. Numbers were the same on both the only difference being on the CSS there was an AGI of 26k, and on the FAFSA they didn’t ask for AGI. And the AGI is correct it was taken straight from the 1040.
Please also contact the Oberlin financial aid office, it doesn’t sound like you’ve done that yet?
A family with an income of $150,000 per year, even if they have a number of legitimate deductions, would not normally have an SAI of 0 and qualify for an Pell grant.
Getting from a getting from an income of $150,000 per year to an AGI of $26,000 per year is extraordinary. That indicates some kind of exceptional circumstances, maybe owning a business that has significant deductions or something?
I wonder – and maybe it isn’t helpful – if it has something to do with the fact that you are living out of the US? Do you not have to claim all your income on your US taxes or something? I’m not an expert! But the FAFSA only pulls from your US taxes, so if you have significant income that is outside of your US taxes, that could be a factor?
Anyway, you should still definitely talk to the financial aid person at Holy Cross! I just don’t think it’s helpful to say that the per year cost is more than your parents have saved. Because that’s true for many people. How much you have saved is less relevant than yearly income.
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We do have to report all income outside of US on the FAFSA, and it was. We don’t own any business (to my knowledge). so I’m confused. I’m not sure about the full story about where all these numbers came from. I don’t think it’s a glitch because my estimated SAI was also 0, so clearly the numbers going into their system seem it to be that.
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All income has to be reported because of dual taxation. The U.S. subjects dual citizens to taxes in and outside the U.S. if they make a certain amount, which we don’t, hence 0 dollars in U.S. federal taxes paid.
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We won’t be able to get to the bottom of this. You have to speak/email with the FA staff at HC and Oberlin.
Tell them your FAFSA SAI shows zero, and ask how can that be so different from the CSS information…have them walk you thru the pieces step by step, there are no dumb questions, but you have to understand why the difference.
I do agree that getting from $150K income to $26K AGI makes me think something is amiss and maybe was not reported on FAFSA, but was reported via all the info and docs collected from CSS Profile. Make sure they also have you as a US citizen as well.
I’m sorry you have to handle this on your own.
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Emphasizing what was said above. Do not mention the savings at all. Only mention annual income.
Think about it from a third-party’s perspective… why are savings so low? For legitimate reasons or because this family prioritized expensive vacations and designer clothes over college savings? (I’m not saying that is your case. Just illustrating the point.)
So the annual income will be much more meaningful and helpful to your cause.
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But thing is that I read the FAFSA and it does have all our income, nothing is missing. And my mom verified that everything on it was correct.
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So what would I use? The AGI?
I think you need to start with two questions:
Is the letter I received inclusive of all aid - merit and need. Or just merit?
If they say, need is not yet included - the follow up is - when will it come?
I would call - and not email. These are simple questions and so much gets lost in written communication. And it already has - hence you don’t have the answer yet.
And it really is that simple.
But regardless, you are missing the bigger issue. You want to study chemical engineering - so Holy Cross and Oberlin are not relevant anyway.
Here are all the ChemE ABET affiliated programs. The cheapest and where you can still get in ($20K and less) are in the South - but you don’t want to be South. I don’t know how expensive schools like Idaho, Wyoming and Washington State cost (after merit) or if you can even apply, but in my mind, you’re chasing something that’s not relevant - and you need to plan for - how will I study what I want? There’s no point in attending a college to study something other than you want to study - something I never understood about your initial list.
I hate to be so direct - but you are running out of time here - but you are not yet out of time to find an affordable and very solid ChemE program.
| School Name | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| Auburn University | Auburn | Alabama |
| The University of Alabama in Huntsville | Huntsville | Alabama |
| University of South Alabama | Mobile | Alabama |
| The University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa | Alabama |
| Tuskegee University | Tuskegee | Alabama |
| Arizona State University | Tempe | Arizona |
| The University of Arizona | Tucson | Arizona |
| University of Arkansas | Fayetteville | Arkansas |
| University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley | California |
| University of California, Davis | Davis | California |
| University of California, Davis | Davis | California |
| University of California, Irvine | Irvine | California |
| University of California, San Diego | La Jolla | California |
| California State University, Long Beach | Long Beach | California |
| University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles | California |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | California |
| California State Polytechnic University, Pomona | Pomona | California |
| California Baptist University | Riverside | California |
| University of California, Riverside | Riverside | California |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | California |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | California |
| University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Colorado |
| University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Colorado |
| Colorado State University | Fort Collins | Colorado |
| Colorado School of Mines | Golden | Colorado |
| Yale University | New Haven | Connecticut |
| University of Connecticut | Storrs | Connecticut |
| University of New Haven | West Haven | Connecticut |
| University of Delaware | Newark | Delaware |
| Howard University | Washington | District of Columbia |
| University of Florida | Gainesville | Florida |
| Florida Institute of Technology | Melbourne | Florida |
| Florida A&M University - Florida State University | Tallahassee | Florida |
| University of South Florida | Tampa | Florida |
| University of Georgia | Athens | Georgia |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta | Georgia |
| University of Idaho | Moscow | Idaho |
| University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Illinois |
| The University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago | Illinois |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago | Illinois |
| Northwestern University | Evanston | Illinois |
| Trine University | Angola | Indiana |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Indiana |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Terre Haute | Indiana |
| Purdue University at West Lafayette | West Lafayette | Indiana |
| Iowa State University of Science and Technology | Ames | Iowa |
| The University of Iowa | Iowa City | Iowa |
| Benedictine College | Atchison | Kansas |
| The University of Kansas | Lawrence | Kansas |
| Kansas State University | Manhattan | Kansas |
| University of Kentucky (Extended Campus-Paducah) | Lexington | Kentucky |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Kentucky |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Kentucky |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Kentucky |
| Louisiana State University and A&M College | Baton Rouge | Louisiana |
| University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Lafayette | Louisiana |
| Tulane University | New Orleans | Louisiana |
| Louisiana Tech University | Ruston | Louisiana |
| University of Maine | Orono | Maine |
| The Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore | Maryland |
| University of Maryland Baltimore County | Baltimore | Maryland |
| University of Maryland College Park | College Park | Maryland |
| University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst | Massachusetts |
| Northeastern University | Boston | Massachusetts |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge | Massachusetts |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge | Massachusetts |
| University of Massachusetts Lowell | Lowell | Massachusetts |
| University of Massachusetts Lowell | Lowell | Massachusetts |
| Tufts University | Medford | Massachusetts |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester | Massachusetts |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor | Michigan |
| Wayne State University | Detroit | Michigan |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing | Michigan |
| Kettering University | Flint | Michigan |
| Michigan Technological University | Houghton | Michigan |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Michigan |
| University of Minnesota Duluth | Duluth | Minnesota |
| University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | Minneapolis | Minnesota |
| Mississippi State University | Mississippi State | Mississippi |
| University of Mississippi | University | Mississippi |
| University of Missouri - Columbia | Columbia | Missouri |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | Rolla | Missouri |
| Washington University | Saint Louis | Missouri |
| Montana State University - Bozeman | Bozeman | Montana |
| University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln | Nebraska |
| University of Nevada, Reno | Reno | Nevada |
| University of New Hampshire | Manchester | New Hampshire |
| Rowan University | Glassboro | New Jersey |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | Hoboken | New Jersey |
| Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | New Brunswick | New Jersey |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | Newark | New Jersey |
| Princeton University | Princeton | New Jersey |
| University of New Mexico | Albuquerque | New Mexico |
| New Mexico State University | Las Cruces | New Mexico |
| New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | Socorro | New Mexico |
| New York University Tandon School of Engineering | Brooklyn | New York |
| University at Buffalo, The State University of New York | Buffalo | New York |
| Cornell University | Ithaca | New York |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | New York | New York |
| The Cooper Union | New York | New York |
| City University of New York, City College | New York | New York |
| Clarkson University | Potsdam | New York |
| Manhattan College | Riverdale | New York |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester | New York |
| University of Rochester | Rochester | New York |
| Stony Brook University | Stony Brook | New York |
| State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry | Syracuse | New York |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse | New York |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy | New York |
| United States Military Academy | West Point | New York |
| North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University | Greensboro | North Carolina |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | North Carolina |
| University of North Dakota | Grand Forks | North Dakota |
| The University of Akron | Akron | Ohio |
| Ohio University | Athens | Ohio |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Ohio |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland | Ohio |
| Cleveland State University | Cleveland | Ohio |
| The Ohio State University | Columbus | Ohio |
| University of Dayton | Dayton | Ohio |
| Miami University | Oxford | Ohio |
| The University of Toledo | Toledo | Ohio |
| Youngstown State University | Youngstown | Ohio |
| University of Oklahoma | Norman | Oklahoma |
| Oklahoma State University | Stillwater | Oklahoma |
| The University of Tulsa | Tulsa | Oklahoma |
| Oregon State University | Corvallis | Oregon |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem | Pennsylvania |
| Widener University | Chester | Pennsylvania |
| Lafayette College | Easton | Pennsylvania |
| University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown | Johnstown | Pennsylvania |
| Bucknell University | Lewisburg | Pennsylvania |
| Drexel University | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania |
| Pennsylvania State University | University Park | Pennsylvania |
| Villanova University | Villanova | Pennsylvania |
| University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Campus | Mayaguez | Puerto Rico |
| Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico | San Juan | Puerto Rico |
| The University of Rhode Island | Kingston | Rhode Island |
| Brown University | Providence | Rhode Island |
| Clemson University | Clemson | South Carolina |
| University of South Carolina | Columbia | South Carolina |
| South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | Rapid City | South Dakota |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | Chattanooga | Tennessee |
| Tennessee Technological University | Cookeville | Tennessee |
| University of Tennessee Knoxville | Knoxville | Tennessee |
| Christian Brothers University | Memphis | Tennessee |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | Tennessee |
| University of Texas at Austin | Austin | Texas |
| Lamar University | Beaumont | Texas |
| Texas A&M University | College Station | Texas |
| University of Houston | Houston | Texas |
| Rice University | Houston | Texas |
| Texas A&M University - Kingsville | Kingsville | Texas |
| Texas Tech University | Lubbock | Texas |
| Prairie View A&M University | Prairie View | Texas |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio | Texas |
| University of Texas at Tyler | Tyler | Texas |
| Brigham Young University | Provo | Utah |
| The University of Utah | Salt Lake City | Utah |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg | Virginia |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville | Virginia |
| Hampton University | Hampton | Virginia |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond | Virginia |
| Washington State University | Pullman | Washington |
| University of Washington | Seattle | Washington |
| West Virginia University Institute of Technology | Beckley | West Virginia |
| West Virginia University | Morgantown | West Virginia |
| University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison | Wisconsin |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | Stevens Point | Wisconsin |
| University of Wyoming | Laramie | Wyoming |
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But you can’t see the 2022 tax return that FAFSA pulled in, right?
Also, there is some chance your SAI is incorrect because, well, this whole fiasco has calculated SAI incorrectly for some and everyone affected hasn’t had their FAFSA re-processed and SAI updated.
Again, you need to have the FA staffs walk you thru how they are calculating your package (maybe they don’t include need based aid yet, for example.)
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I respectfully disagree. This is a student navigating financial aid with limited support. There could be questions and requests for information before the meeting that may involve parental assistance. Much can be lost in a phone call when one party is inexperienced in these matters. I’d want everything in writing as well so there is documentation.
I do hope a parent can join OP for the meeting.
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You need to streamline it a bit wrt savings and have a little intro.
"Dear Mr/Ms (+ Exact name of your FA rep - upthread I gave you the link with their emails)
My name is … … and I was admitted to HC for Fall 2024. I was awarded the Faber scholarship, for which I am very grateful. I am navigating this process on my own and I have many questions. In advance, thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
… …
If you feel confident enough, you can also call your FA rep. Prepare all information ahead of time.
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Well, my question is, why would they give me a merit scholarship for students needing financial aid if they thought I wasn’t low-income? Or if they thought something was wrong? Also, if they felt the numbers were off, even someone with an income of 130k or whatever it is typically wouldn’t receive 0 dollars in need-based aid. TBH, guys, I’m just so done with this whole process. I’ve had it up to here with it.
Also, my financial aid counselor has been super unhelpful so far. I think I’ve asked directly about 3 or 4 times about need-based vs merit based on my letter, and the best response I’ve gotten so far is, “The Faber scholarship is a merit-based award with a financial need component.”
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They depend on the federal agency that administers federal aid. The former calculation system and EFC was changed to a new system, new calculation, and what is now called SAI. And that Technical transition has been an **EPIC FAIL **. Colleges do not have all the information, it keeps getting pulled or changed, etc.
Send the email (above) both to HC and Oberlin (switching HC and Oberlin when cited - common mistake 
).
Check your portals one last time then step away and do something fun.
Hopefully you’ll hear back within a week (please let us know!) In the meantime, after you sent the email, distract yourself or you’ll go 
. (As you can read in the article I posted upthread, you’re not alone in this misery.)
Are you on Spring Break? Is there a film, concert, game, event you have been looking forward to?
I understand - but this isn’t to have an entire discussion on financial aid - to which, I agree, they need to set up an appointment for a deep dive.
This is simply to find out - do I have all my aid - or is need aid still coming?
It’s unlikely they’ll do a deep dive on the spot - so a deep dive will be done by appointment, and yes hopefully a parent is there for a zoom meeing.
The student has used email in the last day or two - and is more confused than ever.
At this point, it’s a simple - do I have the need aid? If not, then they can ask when it will come and they can breathe easy.
If it is everything, then they need to set an appointment.
That’s why I believe they need to call - the question is quite simple but so far, they are more confused than before - and that’s because of emailing.
Just like in business - messaging, etc. has taken the place of face to face conversations or in this case a phone call - and things get unnecessarily muddled as they have here.
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They know you’re lower/middle income but until they get the federal info they don’t know whether your family makes 25k, 50k, or 75k for instance. So they may have a sense you qualify for aid without knowing how much.
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I think you are getting ahead of yourself.
No one is going to, on the spot, do a deep dive of your finances. You’ll need to set up an appointment for that - which is great - because then you can be prepared.
At this point, you don’t know if your aid is complete or if more is coming. That’s the basic question that you still don’t have an answer - and it’s a very easy question to ask and a very easy question for them to answer. And it changes the dynamic of the next conversation.
In my mind, that’s all you need to find out - and that’s why I’m saying to call.
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I don’t have a financial aid counselor assigned to me for Oberlin. There’s an option to set up an appointment. Should I do that and explain the situation during the appointment?
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