Hi, there has been sad news at my church that one of our members is unable to qualify for financial aid based on last years W2. Last year she was working full time as an entry level photographer (no degree/few years experience). But as happens in today’s economy, people return to school when their hours get cut. Now her hours are cut and she wants to fill the time by returning to school. But based on last years income, Randolph Community College Financial Aid indicates her income exceeds the level to get a pell grant. However, I did not ask her about how much she made last year, but I went to Salary.com and learned that she could have been making $46,000. Then I went to an EFC calculator at collegeboard.com and both the institutional and the federal efc calculators came back with an EFC of all zeros…I know that’s nothing to base a decision on. She likely needs to continue working with financial aid. They have her information and can help her best. But please throw an estimate out there on yearly income or other details on a W2 that would prevent her from qualifying for financial aid or the pell grant. Thanks.
There is no way to do this without her actual income, family size, etc, and her assets.
Is she married? Does her spouse work if she is married? I’d she a family of one…just herself?
To be honest, with an income of $46,000 a year, her EFC per fafsa would NOT be zero. I’m not sure how you got the numbers you got. To get the full Pell of $5730, the EFC would need to be $0.
Does this community college participate in the Direct Loan program? If this is her first college year, she would be eligible for $5500 in Direct Loans. Has she borrowed before to attend college?
The average salary of any profession tells you nothing about the specific salary for one person in that profession.
Age?
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To be honest, with an income of $46,000 a year, her EFC per fafsa would NOT be zero. I’m not sure how you got the numbers you got. To get the full Pell of $5730, the EFC would need to be $0.
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right.
If she’s a single person, then the expectation would be that a good chunk of the $46k would be going towards COA…why would it not??? What else would most of that money be going towards if not COA?
however, if her hours have been cut for 2015, I don’t know if a FA officer could use Professional Judgement and do any adjusting.
I worked a year out of college as a photographer and I have to say I did not earn much. I think you’ll only get
accurate salary info from asking her.
I believe no matter what she earned she should be eligible for Federal loans. $5500 per year for freshmen and it increases every year. Community college full time in my state is only $4k. If she really wants to go this should be an option.
Some community colleges do no participate in the federal student loan program.
One of my friend’s sons worked two years ago as a photographer and was making $12 an hour plus commissions, which were not very much - perhaps another $200 per month. From late Aug-early Dec he had a lot of hours, but his hours got cut as the Christmas rush was over. He still earned enough to pay his rent, but he ran into problems when he couldn’t afford car repairs.
He soon decided to switch careers, and is in culinary school, but he still works weekends as a photographer.
I think the part of the country makes a difference. In Western MA, a young man can get by under $35K per year, but closer to Boston, no way. Not sure where Randolph is.