Myra Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 A friend just dropped this bombshell on me.....she said that homeschooling students (esp in NY) can't receive federal grants/loans and state grants/loans (or even any financial aid) without a high school diploma or a GED. Is this true? My son will be a senior next year and we are planning on getting a superintendent's high school eqivalency paper so he can attend a NY state school. He is also applying to Unniv of VT and Unniv of NH. Where can I go to find the definitive answer - no second guessing!?? Help! Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I'd call the university you're interested in attending and ask them what they require! I hope you find that you don't have to go that route.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I can say in PA it isn't true. My oldest qualifies for federal and state grants. For the state grant we need a piece of paper our school sends us every year stating he had successfully completed his schooling (meaning those who skip their senior year evaluations and portfolios would give this up), but the federal grant/loans did not require even that. They just required a request from the college he attends and was based off our FAFSA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace is Sufficient Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 We didn't qualify for need-based aid, but my son with a 'mommy diploma' got financial aid offers at every school he applied to: private schools in Ohio and PA, and public schools in Ohio, KY, PA, and MI. HTH Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starwarsmomma Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 In texas it's definately not true. Just spoke with family member who works in the financial aid office of a major nearby college. She verified in Texas a homeschool diploma is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl B in VA Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Whether or not she is, ask her to find that in writing and show you. I doubt she will be able to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Buckin' Longhorn Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 We're in Texas. That certainly is not true. My son receives financial aid and all he has is a Mommy Diploma. If I remember correctly, there's even a designation of "homeschool" on the FASFA. I sure would request to see that information in writing. I just can't believe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 We just moved to NY. I've spoken to a couple private colleges about this. I've been told that homeschoolers can NOT get NY state aid (need based) without a diploma/GED or the superintendent's letter. They can get federal grants/loans. I think the terms to research here are ATB (ability to benefit) and TAP (not sure what it stands for, but remember that being mentioned.) HTH The "superintendent's letter" sounds just like what we need for PA. Here, it's easy to get as long as you've been following the homeschool laws up to and including senior year. Our school sends them out to us each year. Those who miss out will be those who opt to not do an evaluation and turn in a portfolio that last year. But that's PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 she said that homeschooling students (esp in NY) can't receive federal grants/loans and state grants/loans (or even any financial aid) without a high school diploma or a GED. Not true. Students whose parents complete the FAFSA can get federal grants and loans. It doesn't matter if they are hsed or not, and they don't need to take the GED because they will have a high school diploma issued by whatever method each state allows. States have differing policies on what they require for a student to get state grants, and I am not in NY, so I don't know about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 NY is super asinine about this. You need to show Ability To Benefit (ATB) before eligibility. There are several different ways to do this. Here is a useful FAQ. http://www.hesc.com/content.nsf/SFC/Frequently_Asked_Questions_Ability_to_Benefit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Thanks everyone - esp for the link! I'm sure this year will fly and I'll get through it ....just in time to start my second child whose a sophomore this Fall! Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maura in NY Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 if you have a cooperative district, is the letter from the superintendent. It helps to point out the verbiage from the regs that shows they aren't actually attesting to the quality of your child's education, just to the fact that you have completed all the paperwork as required by the state. Our second choice would have been the 24 credits option, had we needed it. By the way, this requirement only applies to public schools in NY, and some of the SUNYs and CUNYs are more open-minded than others. My son was accepted to SUNY Geneseo, and his financial aid package was packed with federal loans -- and no-one had questioned his obviously homemade transcript, with all but 3 "mommy grades", or asked us how we were going to prove his "ability to benefit." It never got to that point because he chose an out of state school, but given my on-going communication with the school, I don't think there would have been any problem. Peace, Maura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 For what it's worth, the college (it varies by college, and I don't know WHICH ny state college you mean) will usually accept Accuplacer/Compass/whatever they use for placement scores as ATB. So as long as he places into college-level work, he should be okay on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 A friend just dropped this bombshell on me.....she said that homeschooling students (esp in NY) can't receive federal grants/loans and state grants/loans (or even any financial aid) without a high school diploma or a GED. Is this true? My son will be a senior next year and we are planning on getting a superintendent's high school eqivalency paper so he can attend a NY state school. He is also applying to Unniv of VT and Unniv of NH. Where can I go to find the definitive answer - no second guessing!?? Help! Myra Not true for service academies. Also not true for Va Tech or Seattle Pacific University (where I have young family friends attending). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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