<p>Hello, I’ve just been accepted into the Culinary Institute of America! I’m 25, just got married (October 16th, 2010), and am attending school starting April 18th. I’m new to this college thing since I dropped out of high school at age 17 and just got my GED in fall 2010. OK so here’s the problem. I did read a similar post about this but when filling out my 2010-2011 FAFSA I did say that I was currently married HOWEVER it’s asking for my tax info for 2009. Now we weren’t married in 2009 (obviously) so I didn’t put her info on that. This in turn put my earnings of 20k for that year at a EFC of 2121. GREAT, I’m eligible for up to a $3,400 pell grant and “other types” of finacial aid. Now when I filled out my 2011-2012 FAFSA, I DID put my wife and I’s 2010 tax info bringing my EFC to like 6880. NOT ELIGIBLE FOR JACK because we had to combine our incomes to a total of 36k!</p>
<pre><code> Now the traditional Associate’s Degree in Culinary arts is roughly $52k but because I was accepted into the accelerated program it’s only 44k for the 15 month program. that’s $11,000 per semester. Now we both work full time but I will be attending the CIA full time once I start and we will both have to live of 1 or 1 1/2 incomes if I get a part time job. Is there anyway this will pan out? Did I do something wrong in filling my FAFSA out? I know I make enough to LIVE now but why doesn’t the government consider that I WONT BE WORKING FULL TIME AND HAVE TO LIVE OFF CAMPUS!? please help me out Thanks!
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<p>Ask the CIA financial aid people if they make an adjustment for previous full time earnings no longer being available. My DD is in grad school after working full time for a year and there was a form she filled out and submitted</p>
<p>I can understand your disappointment at losing your Pell Grant, but how were you going to come up with the rest of the money even if you were given the grant?</p>
<p>*I’m eligible for up to a $3,400 pell grant *</p>
<p>I’m not sure that you would get that Pell amount for the semester that is starting this spring. I think you would have only gotten a semester’s worth. How many semesters are there in your “school year”? </p>
<p>For instance, someone who is awarded $4000 for Pell and goes to a school with 2 semesters per “school year,” will be given $2000 for each semester. Since you didn’t go to school last fall, I’m not sure that you would get the entire amount. However, others can correct me if I’m wrong.</p>
<p>Your program will cost $44K. Your wife’s income is $16K. Even if ALL of it goes to tuition that leaves $28K. Even if you got a $3.4K PELL Grant and at most $7.5K Stafford loan you would still be $17K short. I don’t see how you can make that work.</p>
<p>I think you need to contact the FA office at whichever CIA school you’re planning on enrolling at. It sounds as if you’re doing a certificate, not a degree, program and if those are the true costs you’re going to need funding well beyond the traditional federal grants/loans. I’m sure this applies to many of their students…they’ll be able to advise you better than most people here. Good luck and please let us know what they say!</p>
It doesn’t matter whether you were married in 2009. It matters whether you were married at the time you filed FAFSA. If you were married at the time you filed the 2010-2011 FAFSA you will have to put both your incomes from 2009 on the 2010-2011 FAFSA.
<p>Can the others comment…even if he is awarded Pell for this current school year (starting school spring semester), will he get the full awarded Pell, or will it get split since he didn’t go to school for the entire 2010-2011 school year?</p>
<p>No, he won’t get the full amount. Pell is split evenly between however many periods there are in the regular school year. You can’t get a whole years worth in one semester even if you only attend for one semester.</p>
<p>That’s what I thought. I don’t think the OP realized that. I think he thought that he was going to get $3400 in Pell grant to go towards this spring’s semester.</p>
<p>Well, if his accelerated program involved summer semester and CIA has a summer trailer, it’s possible he could get the full Pell for 10/11…but once his wife’s income is added it’s unlikely that he’ll be Pell eligible anyway.</p>