I’m planning to go American University and my parents says they are not going to pay for my tuition and theyre only paying for my allowance
Pell Grant depends on income and also number of family members supported in the household. But the Pell maximum amount is 5,750 so that will not pay for that university. The university may give you some funds but will expect your parents to pay a share too. Likely you would also have to take your federal loans, which would be 5,500To see what that would be use the NPC on American’s site to see how the finances would be expected:
http://www.american.edu/financialaid/Net-Price-Calculator-Form.cfm
Are you a Jr or Sr? Many people cannot afford expensive private schools and must look for affordable alternatives.
That income is likely too much for Pell. But even if you qualified for full Pell with a MUCH lower income, you’d only get about $5,700…not much. And, then as income increase, the Pell shrinks. So, even if you barely qualified, you’d only get about $200 bucks…tiny amount.
You need to find affordable schools…you’ve missed a lot of merit deadlines.
Let’s start with some basic questions so that you can get more specific help here. Are you a senior in HS now? Which colleges have you applied to, and where have you been accepted? SAT/ACT scores? Unweighted GPA? Home State? Do you know your intended major and possible career?
Have you calculated what it will cost to attend American University? I’m assuming over $30,000 each year x 4 years means you are needing to come up with at least $120,000 on your own to attend this school. Do you have a trust fund or college savings to pull from? How much “allowance” are your parents willing to give you? Will they pay anything for food and housing, or are you completely on your own to come up with funding?
Would they allow you to stay at home and commute to a local college? That would save a lot of money not having to shell out for food and housing.
You might need to consider taking a gap year after HS to work and save money for college.
There are severe limits on how much you are allowed to borrow each year for college, so unless you are able to earn merit aid, it is going to be difficult for you to afford the traditional college experience.
Are there any colleges that your parents ARE willing to fund? If so, you may want to reconsider those options.
To find out what kinds of federal aid you might qualify, print out the FAFSA formula, and work through it on paper with your parents: http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/090214EFCFormulaGuide1516.pdf This will give all of you a much clearer idea of how the federal aid process works.
You can also run the Net Price Calculator on the American University website. This will give you an estimate of your net costs there.
Hello Thank you for replying - The reason why I’m concerned about the Pell Grant is because I’m applying to the Gates Millennium Scholarship. To be eligible for it, I must qualify for the Pell Grant. I’m really worried that I won’t be eligible because I worked so hard for this scholarship.
I am a Asian/Pacific Islander, currently living in Florida
- I am a senior in High School. When I graduate this May I will have an Associate Degree , over 60 credit hours. American University and George Washington University says they will accept those credits and all the Florida schools have to because of a contract, so I will only need approximately 2 more years to earn my Bachelors in Economics. Intended career- undecided, that's why I love Economics, it gives me a broad range of choices GPA: 3.98 unweighted and 4.62 weighted
- I applied to 13 schools - some I had received notifications but the rest I still have to wait until April
- University of Central Florida-Accepted
- University of South Florida- Accepted
- Flagler College
- New College of Florida
- Georgetown University- Accepted
- American University- Accepted
- The Catholic University of America
- The George Washington University
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Emory University
- Vanderbilt
- University of Tampa
- University of Miami
No trust funds, I wish
I was adopted by my parents and they have already done so much, their health is deteriorating and it’s my turn to help myself. They talked to me and said they can’t afford to pay for my tuition and I understand; they had already done so much for me . I am applying to so many scholarships and hopefully I’ll get some of it. In addition, for some of the private schools I applied to, I did the Net-Price Calculator and based on my income my average aid is 55,000 from Gtown which is pretty much all of the tuition. I can find a way to pay for room and board. Same goes to the other private schools.
I apologize for the lack of info at the beginning. It was 2 am and I was tired. Thanks in advance!
You didn’t answer the question. What is your parent income? Your eligibility for the Pell Grant is largely based on that.
For this purpose, everything else you posted is just noise. Please send the signal…your parent income.
P.S. The tuition alone cost at Georgetown is NOT $55,000. It is less than that. $55,000 is likely close to the full cost of attendance minus your family contribution.
What did the NPC say was your net cost? And did the aid it outlined include the Pell?
My parents make 66,000$ per year with lots of overtime. My parents income was mentioned in the title. Thanks in advance for you help
The full cost of attendance for Georgetown is $64980 for this year. If the NPC says aid would be $55,000, you would be exoected to pay the remaining costs…about $9000. Some of those costs are personal expenses, and the like…which you have control over. $47,000 is tuition, and $14,000 is room and board. Those are billed direct,y by the university. $61,000…or so.
Also, you say the NPC of Georgtown yields $55,000 in aid. But you say you plan to attend American University.
What does the American University calculator say? Georgetown guarantees to meet full need for all…and is very generous, American does not guarantee to meet full need.
If you plan to attend American, than you need to use the American Net Price Calculator…not the Georgetown one!
$66k is likely too much for a Pell Grant unless you have a large family or siblings in college.
Since much of their income is from over-time, that can also mean that the calculations will be harsh…since some wage-related wrap costs don’t apply to overtime.
You can run the Fafsa4caster and see what the results are…likely it will indicate no Pell.
I’m still undecided between the two, thank you for all your help. I did the net price calculator again and heres the result
Estimated Cost of Attendance
Estimated Total Cost of Attendance $64,940
Tuition & Fees $47,144
Room & Board $14,024
Books & Supplies $1,200
Transportation $650
Personal Expenses $1,922
Estimated Grant/Gift Aid
Estimated Federal Pell Grant $ 5680
Georgetown Scholarship $53,220
Estimated Total Grant/Gift Aid$ 58,900
ESTIMATED NET PRICE $6,040
Estimated Self Help
Student Loan - 3000$
Student Work - $3000
ESTIMATED REMAINING COST $40
Parent Contribution: 0
Student Contribution: 2000
Total: 2000
???
How many are in your family? Do you have siblings in college??
I can’t believe that you’d qualify for full Pell with that income unless family is large and siblings are in college.
There are 4 people in my household. I will be the only one going to college next year. I’m not sure if it’s surely accurate but I just put the information that my parents had given me. My main concern is if I qualify for it. Even if I get 200$ like you said, I’d be happy because then I’d be eligible for the Gates Millennium Scholarship
On a side note, did you apply EA to Georgetown and ED to American? If so, that’s a problem. Also, if ED to American, won’t you need to give your decision to them soon…well before knowing if you receive any outside scholarships like the Gates Millennium?
I just used FAFSA4caster and put in family of 4, one in college, and $66k income…student no income…and the result was NO PELL GRANT.
I suspect that the student may have answered the question about whether he/she had dependents wrong. Many put the wrong answer there, which gives many students a 0 EFC.
@ShelikesCandy
I used the FAFSA4caster and answered that I had no dependents. I changed the assets because my parents did not have 36,000 on their bank account like the FAFSA predicted. I’m hoping that somehow if my parents had many deductions then maybe I’ll be eligible for it. I’m going to fill out the FAFSA soon. Do you know where I could get help filling it out? I organized a binder for my parents with all the info about fafsa, although I dont know if it will be enouh. There will be a workshop at the college in February but I dont want to wait that long. What steps should I take to prepare for it and mind that the 66,000$ was 2013 income. My parents does not do their taxes until March. I dont know why, but that’s what my mom said. Thanks again!
I got into EA for Georgetown, for AU, I’ve been in touch with my Regional Admissions counselor for a year. and no I did not apply to ED for any schools. Only EA
http://www.aota.org/education-careers/find-school.aspx
Did you search for schools in your state that have accredited OT programs? Can you still apply? Do any offer merit for your stats?
I’m sorry wrong thread. Re: #18