Why is my AGI so low?

Paying for College
1

<p>I mean my family’s gross annual income is around 8k, but on the tax return, it says my agi is ~.7k (which is closer to my family’s monthly income). What do I put on my FAFSA?</p>

2

<p>You put the AGI.</p>

<p>Is some of the income social security? Untaxed social security income would not be in the AGI.</p>

3

<p>Yup, SSI.
Wait, the FAFSA only says I’m eligible for the Pell. They didn’t forget about the ACG, FSEOG, etc., right?</p>

4

<p>You put the AGI. Untaxed SSI is not reported on FAFSA.</p>

5

<p>I just changed it from ~8k to ~.7k.</p>

6

<p>FYI, the ACG will not be available next year. It and the SMART grant cease to exist after the 2010-2011 school year.</p>

7

<p>NOOOOOOOOOOOO! </p>

<p>That explains why I only saw it on the 2010-2011 FAFSA (I filled that out by accident, and then colleges contacted me telling me to file the right FAFSA).</p>

8

<p>Wait, where are you getting this info from (not that I don’t believe you, but I want to read more about it)?</p>

9

<p>bork, programs like the Byrd scholarship, ACG, SMART, etc. are authorized by Congress for a certain time period. In order to be extended, Congress must reauthorize them. Due to the low utilization rate of ACG and SMART (meaning these programs never actually distributed the full amount of their annual budgets), Congress did not act to renew these two and they will expire at the end of the 10/11 academic year. The Pell grant program has been expanded, both by making more people eligible and by increasing benefits, and that seems to be the direction federal aid is heading. They are also considering ending the interest subsidies on loans, such as the Perkins program. You can probably find more information on finaid.org or the USDoE website.</p>

10

<p>^ Thanks.
10char</p>

11

<p>The ACG and SMART were always due to sunset at the end of 2010-2011. When the last budgets were set they opted not to change that so both grants are unfunded and will cease to exist.</p>

12

<p>I feel like we should have a moment of silence for both programs! Seriously, it was encouraging to see an incentive for Pell-eligible students to keep their grades high, make steady progress toward a degree, and to study in needed fields.</p>