Don’t Fear the FAFSA
December 10, 2013One of the great things about the holidays is that you get to spend time with family members you don’t otherwise see throughout the year. For me, that meant seeing my nephew for the first time since he graduated from high school last summer. I had assumed he had started his freshman year at college this fall, but sadly that was not the case.
My brother-in-law, who I will refer to as “BIL,” said he couldn’t afford to pay for the tuition bill, even at the local community college. I asked BIL if he had filled out the FAFSA, but he had no idea that FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. I was shocked that my nephew also was not aware that he might be eligible for a grant or low interest student loan to go to college, and that none of his high school guidance counselors had ever brought it up.
Always willing to help, I jumped on my laptop right away and brought up the FAFSA4caster, which is an online calculator that forecasts how much federal student aid may be available. BIL was hesitant to share some of the required financial information with me, but we managed to complete the calculator and BIL was amazed that his son could possibly receive $5,645 from the Federal Pell Grant, which would be sufficient to pay for at least a semester of classes at a community college that is only 10 miles from their home. Unfortunately, they had missed the state deadline of March 31, 2013 for financial aid for fall and spring 2013 – 2014 classes.
BIL promised to fill out the application before next March so my nephew can potentially get aid for the 2014 – 2015 school year, but I could tell that he was already stressing about having to fill out the complicated form. I had downloaded the pdf of the FAFSA, and it can look pretty challenging. However, there is an online version that offers a Help & Hints tool to guide you through the questions, and many colleges have a financial aid office that will offer assistance with completing the FAFSA.
So what kind of financial aid is available? Depending on the difference between what the family is expected to contribute (EFC) and the cost of the tuition, the following may be awarded:
Federal Pell Grant – provides need-based grants of up to $5,645 to low-income undergraduate and certain post baccalaureate teacher certification students that do not have to be paid back (FREE MONEY!)
Subsidized Stafford Loan – up to $23,000 in direct student loans in the student’s name, for which the federal government pays the interest that accrues while the borrower is in school
PLUS Loan – federal loans for parents or graduate students with competitive interest rates
Federal Work Study – provides funds for part-time employment to help needy students
In order to receive any of these types of financial aid, it generally all starts with the FAFSA, so don’t let ignorance or fear get in the way of funding college.
So what’s my nephew going to do in the meantime? Well, as his aunt, I couldn’t bear the thought of him wasting yet another semester’s worth of time waiting for BIL to fill out next year’s FAFSA, so we visited the community college campus a few days ago and I signed him up for 2 classes to help get him started, along with a cafeteria card and a bus pass. I was his not-so-secret Santa this holiday season!