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FAFSA help pay for housing?


Hunter's Moon
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I just found out today I have gotten a 4 year scholarship to 27 different colleges in my state. Needless to say, I'll be going to one of those 27 schools.

 

One requirement of the scholarship is to apply for FAFSA.

 

Will FAFSA cover housing costs?

 

Housing is about $8,000 a year no matter where I'm looking. Will they help cover it?

 

Thanks.

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FAFSA determines your parent's expected contribution to college. By filling out the FAFSA materials, you will be eligible for Stafford loans which will cover part of the room and board cost. Everything really depends upon your parent's income, assets, number of siblings, etc. Why don't you and a parent walk though one of the FAFSA calculators available online? You'll get a better idea of what the feds expect you to contribute.

 

Now each college then has its own policies and pool of money to distribute. FAFSA may say that your parent's expected contribution is $0--but the college may not agree!

 

By the way, congratulations on the scholarship!

 

Jane

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just how much money of the scholarship they need to award. As PP said the FAFSA determines how much money the parent is expected to pay out of pocket. The problem is they are not talking about the total amount of the college bill, only the part of the Federal Grant you're might be eligible for. So if the FAFSA says the parent's responsibility is 5,800 then you will not be eligible for a Pell Grant. I know it's a complicated process. If you are elligible for all or part of a Pell Grant then the school can award you less money that will come out of their pocket to cover your scholarship but you'll still get the full scholarship amount. It just affects how much they have to come up with to award the amount they've said you can have. The biggest question you have is housing. In our experience that differs between colleges. Most scholarships will pay for housing but some are only for tuition. You need to check with the school that's awarding the scholarship to see just how much of the actual costs of going there it covers.

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just how much money of the scholarship they need to award. As PP said the FAFSA determines how much money the parent is expected to pay out of pocket. The problem is they are not talking about the total amount of the college bill, only the part of the Federal Grant you're might be eligible for. So if the FAFSA says the parent's responsibility is 5,800 then you will not be eligible for a Pell Grant. I know it's a complicated process. If you are elligible for all or part of a Pell Grant then the school can award you less money that will come out of their pocket to cover your scholarship but you'll still get the full scholarship amount. It just affects how much they have to come up with to award the amount they've said you can have. The biggest question you have is housing. In our experience that differs between colleges. Most scholarships will pay for housing but some are only for tuition. You need to check with the school that's awarding the scholarship to see just how much of the actual costs of going there it covers.

 

The Scholarship I am getting only covers 8 semesters of undergrad courses. Room & board and books are not part of the scholarship.

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Stephanie,

 

Just a note -- if you happen to be referring to the John & Abigail Adams scholarship, it covers only tuition and not fees.

 

Unfortunately, the state legislature/college system has been playing games for years over tuition & fees. The tuition paid by college students at state schools goes directly to the state gov't, and then they pay the colleges some money as a part of the state budgeting process. So the actual campus where the student is enrolled doesn't see the tuition money directly.

 

However, the fees charged by each campus go directly to that campus. So over the years, the colleges haven't increased tuition a whole lot, but they have increased fees to the point that the fees are now a lot more than the tuition.

 

For example, at the flagship state U, UMass Amherst, the in-state tuition for one year is $1714, while the fees for one year are $10,018. Here's a link to the summary of charges per semester:

 

http://umass.edu/bursar/files/full-time%20ugrad.pdf

 

If you ask me, the whole thing is quite deceiving. Students are told that they are receiving a full-tuition scholarship, and the fact is that it only overs 15% of the total yearly tuition & fees. The politicians get to say that they are awarding huge number of full-tuition scholarships, when the students get just a pittance.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble if you were referring to the John & Abigail Adams scholarship, but I guess it's better that you know the truth now rather than later.

 

Brenda

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Stephanie,

 

Just a note -- if you happen to be referring to the John & Abigail Adams scholarship, it covers only tuition and not fees.

 

Unfortunately, the state legislature/college system has been playing games for years over tuition & fees. The tuition paid by college students at state schools goes directly to the state gov't, and then they pay the colleges some money as a part of the state budgeting process. So the actual campus where the student is enrolled doesn't see the tuition money directly.

 

However, the fees charged by each campus go directly to that campus. So over the years, the colleges haven't increased tuition a whole lot, but they have increased fees to the point that the fees are now a lot more than the tuition.

 

For example, at the flagship state U, UMass Amherst, the in-state tuition for one year is $1714, while the fees for one year are $10,018. Here's a link to the summary of charges per semester:

 

http://umass.edu/bursar/files/full-time%20ugrad.pdf

 

If you ask me, the whole thing is quite deceiving. Students are told that they are receiving a full-tuition scholarship, and the fact is that it only overs 15% of the total yearly tuition & fees. The politicians get to say that they are awarding huge number of full-tuition scholarships, when the students get just a pittance.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble if you were referring to the John & Abigail Adams scholarship, but I guess it's better that you know the truth now rather than later.

 

Brenda

 

Wow. I kept reading the scholarship info over and over and over and never put 2 and 2 together. I guess I just really wanted it to mean I got a full scholarship.

 

I appreciate you telling me. If not, I would have went on for days believing it and then it would have hurt more.

 

Thank you.

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Wow. I kept reading the scholarship info over and over and over and never put 2 and 2 together. I guess I just really wanted it to mean I got a full scholarship.

 

I appreciate you telling me. If not, I would have went on for days believing it and then it would have hurt more.

 

Thank you.

 

:grouphug: I'm so sorry. You are obviously deserving.

 

Barb

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Wow. I kept reading the scholarship info over and over and over and never put 2 and 2 together. I guess I just really wanted it to mean I got a full scholarship.

 

I appreciate you telling me. If not, I would have went on for days believing it and then it would have hurt more.

 

Thank you.

 

Oh no. I am so sorry. I was so excited for you on your other thread about it, and my heart sank when I read Brenda's post.

 

Hang in there.

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Oh no. I am so sorry. I was so excited for you on your other thread about it, and my heart sank when I read Brenda's post.

 

Hang in there.

 

Thank you. I appreciate it.

 

I just read the link that Brenda posted. What in the world is a "curriculum fee" anyway?? And service fee?? Stephanie, I'm really mad on your behalf! What an imbalance between tuition and the fees!!!!

 

I know, me and my mom were just gawking at the computer in disbelief. Lol. The things they get you for.

 

Stephanie I'm sorry that the scholarship is so deceiving' date=' but I have no doubt that you will receive wonderful scholarship offers which are genuine. Keep up your good work and study well for the standardized tests. Individual schools will be able to give you a much better scholarship than that. :grouphug:[/quote']

 

Thank you. You're all so sweet.

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Stephanie

 

I just hear about this after I posted to you on the other board.

 

I can remember someone in MA getting that MCAS scholarship, and then turned down another scholarship for another school thinking the MCAS one was a much better deal. Then found out it only covered tuition and books, but not all the fees, which were HUGE. They lost out on the other scholarship. It was a tragedy.

 

That family was livid because they had been decieved.

 

You are well deserving of a full ride to the state college in that list. It is to bad that our system keeps decieving students on the conditions of it.

 

I am really sorry.

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The Mass. system is absolutely horrible. I'm so sorry BUT I'm glad that you know the truth now, in September, rather than in May!

 

I think this explains why my son's friend from Massachusetts found that it would be cheaper to attend any of the private LACs which accepted him (and offered grants and scholarships) than attend UMass-Amherst.

 

To the OP: do not rule out private colleges! I'll stick to my first piece of advice. Sit down with a parent and run some numbers through a free online FAFSA calculator. You will have a clearer idea of expected costs.

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I think this explains why my son's friend from Massachusetts found that it would be cheaper to attend any of the private LACs which accepted him (and offered grants and scholarships) than attend UMass-Amherst.

 

To the OP: do not rule out private colleges! I'll stick to my first piece of advice. Sit down with a parent and run some numbers through a free online FAFSA calculator. You will have a clearer idea of expected costs.

 

Yeah. I'm a bit more relaxed that I didn't actually get a full scholarship because the program I wanted is only at 2 colleges on the list. Now I can apply to more.

 

Thank you everyone for the support!

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My own Alma Mater is so ridiculous with the fees that I truly expect them to institute "a fee for the right to breathe our air" fee next year.

 

I am so sorry, this must be such a rotten bummer. We got caught in that same boat with dd....lots of tuition scholarships, nothing that would cover room and board. Our FASFA based income was too big to qualify for help and not big enough to pay $10,000 a year for her to live on campus. You might check into off base housing. I think you can use a Stafford student loan to pay your legitimate off campus housing costs and if you get a couple of responsible roommates, it might be doable. Many times a small apartment that includes some utilities and careful budgeting of food and commuting costs is still quite a bit cheaper than dorm life. Especially those dorms that require the $1000.00 per year activities planning fees in addition to huge room and board bills.

 

Is it a requirement that you live on campus in order to receive the tuition scholarships? Some colleges do this, others do not have enough dorm space and do not....dorms are money makers.

 

Faith

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My own Alma Mater is so ridiculous with the fees that I truly expect them to institute "a fee for the right to breathe our air" fee next year.

 

I am so sorry, this must be such a rotten bummer. We got caught in that same boat with dd....lots of tuition scholarships, nothing that would cover room and board. Our FASFA based income was too big to qualify for help and not big enough to pay $10,000 a year for her to live on campus. You might check into off base housing. I think you can use a Stafford student loan to pay your legitimate off campus housing costs and if you get a couple of responsible roommates, it might be doable. Many times a small apartment that includes some utilities and careful budgeting of food and commuting costs is still quite a bit cheaper than dorm life. Especially those dorms that require the $1000.00 per year activities planning fees in addition to huge room and board bills.

 

Is it a requirement that you live on campus in order to receive the tuition scholarships? Some colleges do this, others do not have enough dorm space and do not....dorms are money makers.

 

Faith

 

No, it is not a requirement.

 

The colleges that have the program I was looking for are about an hour away. I mean, I could drive there. Me and my father were talking about that. But since it only covers tuition and not tuition AND fees, I'll be applying to those college, but others that have that program in my area as well that aren't covered by the scholarship.

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Yeah. I'm a bit more relaxed that I didn't actually get a full scholarship because the program I wanted is only at 2 colleges on the list. Now I can apply to more.

 

:hurray::hurray::hurray:

 

My own Alma Mater is so ridiculous with the fees that I truly expect them to institute "a fee for the right to breathe our air" fee next year.

 

:lol:

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Yes. The fees are ridiculous, and the entire bait and trap of what has happened with that scholarship makes me ill. It was not much more for my oldest to attend private college after scholarships, tution-wise. (He also recieved this MA 'scholarship'). If one lives at home, 10k is quite a deal, of course. (Can you believe that 10k seems cheap???)

 

However, by filling out the FASFA you may find you qualify for quite a bit of financial aid. Make sure that gets done. It's a pain to do, but you may find you're eligible for more than you think.

 

(Not to sound like a nag or anything...;)).

Edited by LibraryLover
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However, by filling out the FASFA you may find you qualify for quite a bit of financial aid. Make sure that gets done. It's a pain to do, but you may find you're eligible for more than you think.

 

 

 

#1--get those PINs early! One for you & one for the parents. File them where you can find them next year!!!

 

#2--On the up side, once you have your tax return (do them EARLY!!!) you just plug the number in from the line they tell you. I had the help section up on a 2nd page so I could search by FAFSA question #. Also, you just have to go in and edit for the next year--not start from scratch.

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Federal financial aid, like grants and Stafford loans, can be put towards educational expenses including housing and living expenses. In order to get federal financial aid, you must fill out the FAFSA. The FAFSA itself does not cover anything - it only gives the school a figure to help them figure out how much and what kinds of aid you qualify for.

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Stephanie. . .thought I'd share this story with you.

 

"Back in the day", I went to UMass Amherst. I received a Chancellor's Scholarship - which was for full tuition and fees and room & board (or so I thought)

 

Turns out, the acting music dept. head MESSED UP our letters of acceptance! The scholarship was supposed to be only for full tuition, room, & board. A good friend of mine fought - and won - for the scholarship to be honored as it was presented to her.

 

Anyways - this has nothing to do with you, but it brought back memories.

 

Good luck as you continue your search!

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