Need some help with a financial aid question?

kelsmom
Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:49:41 +0000

Go to [Home - FAFSA on the Web-Federal Student Aid](http://www.fafsa.gov). Look at your Student Aid Report. If the EFC is 000, and if there is no notation that you are eligible for a Pell grant, look at the answers to all questions regarding your degree type. Any answers that incorrectly classify you as either having a bachelors degree already or currently pursuing a graduate degree will make you ineligible for Pell. Of course, fixing that by correcting the answers will solve that problem. If your SAR indicates that you are eligible for a Pell grant but you did not get one from the school, here are possible reasons:

You did not register for Selective Service, if you are male. If you are female, you did not indicate gender; therefore, you are required to submit proof of gender to the school in order to satisfy the Selective Service requirement.

Your social security number and/or name do not match what is on file with your school - meaning your financial aid file did not match with a current student. Schools get a ton of FAFSAs for students who never apply or do not complete admissions applications — those FAFSAs that do not match a “good” student file just sit there, waiting for someone to match up with.

You were selected for verification and never completed your verification requirements. In this case, the school cannot award you aid until your verification is complete.

Call the financial aid office and ask what is going on. Only they can really help you.