<p>Question: If i have been un-employed for a while and am still un-employed once i get into the School of my choosing, will me having pretty much absolutely no income look bad or hurt me at all concerning getting the Gov. assistance/aid??? I would love to work and wouldn’t even mind working a job on the school campus or something along those lines, but would it happen to hold me back at all having close to NO income?? sorry if this is a stupid question, i just don’t know = \ … any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!</p>
<p>I am 23 last year october, I do currently live at home but my family cannot afford to contribute to my college, only some money for books, which will end also as soon as i move into my friends house next year when i turn 24, my family has an income of 75,000 a year before taxes. when i move my friends family will be providing me with shelter and food for about 200$ a month. which i will hopefully make by getting a job on campus at the school i want to go to… so im just making sure before i go to this school… that when i turn 24, i will get the maximum ammount of aid i can get because my EFC will be 0 and i have very very very little assets or money to my name… basically i just want to make sure i get the Cal grant/pel grant/and ATLEAST some how 9,000 a year for the school. i would have no problem taking out the rest in loans… i have great credit.</p>
<p>Sorry, i will be 24 This year, so i should file my fafsa as independent? or do they automatically recognize the fact i will be 24 this year and then tell me i am no longer dependent? Also, what entails being independent? I know i will need to be cut off from my parents health/car/ whatever else insurance, But if i still live at home will that effect my EFC? even though I would be independent??? Or do i need to move out, or start paying rent to my parents or something along those lines?</p>
<p>When you file FAFSA it will ask you a series of dependency questions. Question 46 is:</p>
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<p>If you were born before January 1, 1987 (which you were if you turn 24 this year) then you answer yes. That will make you independent for FAFSA purposes. You do not do anything else.</p>
<p>However if you have 0 income a school is likely to want to know how you are supporting yourself.</p>
<p>Hey, just wanted to say first of all, you have been an amazing help thus far!
Regarding the “splitting off” from the parents thing though, exactly how could i go about getting more Gov. Aid then? Do you have any tips that would help me out? I have no problem moving in with a friend, breaking away from my parents insurance and such, besides the fact i would be independent, there must be something that will qualify me for the most aid i can possibly obtain? Because im not getting anything right now from my parents, i will do anything to get whatever i can well… get! </p>
<p>And for the whole “They will want to know how im supporting myself” thing, i basically eat my parents food and do side work designing clothing/cards/logos for friends to make very little money and use part of my current student loan i have for gas. But i live very conservatively i guess you could say.
So any and all input from you about my situation would be much appreciated… very appreciated! thank you again very much.</p>
<p>*so im just making sure before i go to this school… that when i turn 24, i will get the maximum ammount of aid i can get because my EFC will be 0 and i have very very very little assets or money to my name… </p>
<p>basically i just want to make sure i get the Cal grant/pel grant/and AT LEAST some how 9,000 a year for the school. i would have no problem taking out the rest in loans… i have great credit. *</p>
<p>Have you applied to any Calif public schools? If so, which ones?</p>
<p>Your govt aid is based on your EFC. Splitting off from your parents is not relevant to the process at all. You will be independent based on your age, not your living situation. After that your federal aid is all based on your EFC. You will be eligible for higher loans that a dependent student, but otherwise the aid you will be eligible for is the same as a dependent student with the same EFC.</p>
<p>swimcat, in this situation, if a 24 year old were still getting financial assistance to live from parents (ie: living at home), and parents chipped in something toward tuition for an undergraduate degree in addition to living expenses, how would this effect the efc of a younger sibling in college, assuming the 24 year old was in school at least half time (since the older child has an efc of 0 if unemployed)? I do not want to get off track, so if you know, you could send me a PM. I am just curious as to how that works. Thanks.</p>
<p>Attended Riverside Community College from 2006-2007 (obtaining a 2.4 GPA with a total of 18 units)
Chaffey Community College from 2007-2008 (obtaining 18 units with a 2.5 GPA)
California State University San Bernardino from 2009-2010 (obtaining 12 units with about a 3.0 GPA)
(yes i was very indecisive but i now want to go to my dream school instead of these crappy JC’s and state schools since i have experienced the difference)
I plan on transfering in my Transcripts from CSUSB and Chaffey together as one for atleast 24 units, having all my bad grades dropped and the good ones carried over. being put around a 3.0 GPA probably.</p>
<p>Also, swimcatsmom “splitting off from your parents is not relevant to the process at all” i see what your talking about, but wont splitting off from them get me a lower EFC??? thus giving me more grant money? because i wont be around them or with them for them to give me money at all or even be factored into the EFC… i want them out of the picture so i can get more grant money, isnt that how it works??</p>
<p>Once you are independent by FAFSA rules (24 years old in your case) your parents income and assets are not reported on FAFSA. That is what the independent classification on FAFSA means. It does not actually matter whether you are independent in real life - for FAFSA you are considered independent. Even if you still live with them you are independent for FAFSA because you can answer yes to the question about your age. </p>
<p>As I have said before, your EFC will be based on your own income and assets. Ifyour EFC is 0 you are eligible for $5550 in Pell grants (the same as a dependent student with a 0 EFC would be eligible for). You may be eligible for SEOG grants depending on how your school awards them. And you will be eligible for higher Stafford loans than a dependent student. ($9500 for a freshman independent student compared to $5500 for a freshman dependent student). I don’t know how calgrants work.</p>
<p>You can’t generally cherry pick which grades you will or will not transfer. Not at schools I am familiar with anyway.</p>
<p>northeastmom - I’m not sure to be honest. I know with grad students it seems to be up to the school of the sibling whether they will allow the grad student to be included as one in college on the siblings FAFSA. So I am guessing it might be the same in the situation where an older undergrad student is still being supported by the parents. But I am tired and not thinking too straight so probably should stop posting before I start typing drivel.</p>
<p>but i now want to go to my dream school instead of these crappy JC’s and state schools since i have experienced the difference</p>
<p>What does that mean? What does it mean that you’ve “experienced the difference”? </p>
<p>Have you attended a college other than a CC or a state U? If not, what difference have you experienced? Or am I misunderstanding the quote.</p>
<p>I plan on transfering in my Transcripts from CSUSB and Chaffey together as one for at least 24 units, **having all my bad grades dropped **and the good ones carried over. being put around a 3.0 GPA probably.</p>
<p>oops…I missed that. Your schools are going to transfer all your grades; they aren’t going to drop your bad grades. What is your overall GPA with all grades included?</p>
<p>I’m also concerned because you seem to think that you’re going to get enough free money to attend a private university. That’s very unlikely.</p>
<p>dont mind the quote, ive spent alot of time at the university im transfering to and know a few of the professors personally, ive been around the campus alot, helped out with activities, and have been able to sit in for a class because i know the head of that department and showed me the program and what his class is like. the over all quality is better, completely… so i have “experienced” the difference in college quality…</p>
<p>and yes, my grades actually do transfer if they are above C’s so i start fresh. your over all GPA doesnt transfer with you, only your grades that are C or better transfer with you, in effect transfering some sort of GPA over with you, just not the one that had D’s or F’s in it, because we all know that D’s and F’s arent passing, so they dont transfer because you dont even get credit for the units taken with those grades.</p>
<p>and by no means do i expect to get enough free money to cover the private school, i do expect to get close to half, with a pel grant of up to 5550, plus the possibility of the Cal Grant, if i get atleast 8,000 to 9,000 a year, i have no problem pulling out loans for the rest. Which i actually stated previously in one of my prior posts i believe <em>excuse me if i am mistaken</em> But thank you for your help!</p>