Financial Aid

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · May 24, 2007

first thing you need to do is fill out your fasfa online. after you put in all your info from your last years tax return it calculates your efc which is estimated family contribution. on the form it has a area to put your colleges on . make sure you put the school you will be attending and it will automatically send the school a copy. you will also receive a copy after you fill it out and you will be able to see your efc. the lower the efc the more aid your gonna get. now if you have ever filled out a fasfa before you are going to need your pin number and it gives you a option to get your pin via e-mail. this process at one time took weeks through the regular mail now they do it by the e-mail they have on file. if you have changed e-mail you may need to get on the phone with them. after all the pin mess it is fairly simple. there is also another scholarship that you may qualify for if your efc is 0 or very very low and that is the hrsa. this pays only for rn school , books . necessary supplies and offers a stipend . it was well over a thousand a month last year...good luck to you but you need to get your info done or you may miss out on fa for the fall...one more thing any time i have taken out loans through the school i have had to have my fasfa filled out first..just a note.

MB37 · May 24, 2007

I haven't taken out loans before, but now that NS has started I applied for aid for fall. Our EFC is higher than the estimated cost of attendance at my school - it's almost exactly what I made last year, although I'm cutting my hours severely or quitting, and is just about half of my husband's pre-tax income. They don't even look at ours until after July 1, so I can't ask anyone at school yet. I don't really know where they get their numbers...I have a previous degree, so I knew I wasn't getting grants, but I just assumed we would get loans...can someone who has experience with this give me a quick explanation of how it works? If my EFC is too high, do I just have to get private loans? (of course I'll wait until my school looks at my app, but I'd rather know what to plan for sooner) Thanks so much!

Cherish · May 25, 2007

If you are going to reduce your work or if anything medically happens, divorce/seperation, death in family, unemployment, etc. Call financial aid. I just did that because my EFC (estimated financial contribution-that would be YOUR contribution) for this year is high but I have NOT been employed since Sept 06. FAFSA does not look into account of things that happen during the year and only compares your income from the last tax year that is why you MUST contact your FA office.

They have forms to fill out like verification worksheet, a copy of W2, copy of tax papers, and estimated income table for the year 2007. They will ask you to provide a letter from your employer stating a reduced amount of hours that you will work this year. I was on unemployment so I provided my state unemployments office letter saying that I was on unemployment and that my benefits were exhausted and I am still unemployed. The financial aid is currently reworking my FA and said it is VERY likely that I will qualify for Pell, Perkins loans (can be forgiven for healthcare workers unlike the Stafford), and another college grant now compared to before. I DO NOT and WILL NOT take out private loans if I don't have too.

I think a lot of people forget that financial aid will work with you and if you are not satisified with your award letter and have extenuating circumstances that happen that they WILL work with you. All you need to do is call them up and tell them what the situation is, they can only help you if they are notified about the circumstance.

IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · May 25, 2007

The lower the EFC is the more you will likely get in financial aid.

If you don't get enough the next step would be to get loans.

There are some common places such as...

http://www.salliemae.com

http://www.teri.org

Or you can go to your local banks and see what they have to offer.

You should be able to get a 6 month deferred payment on the loans...I actually got 9 months through Teri (will be using them again for the coming year).

The EFC is pointless for you...except to know that if it's 0 you will get more money then me. I'm thinking about talking to the financial aid office at my school because my number is high but we have a lot of debt (medical and past single mom life) and kids with medical issues and that stuff just doesn't show on the forms.

MB37 · May 25, 2007

Thanks, I just can't talk to my school until after July 1. I guess I'll just have to wait until then, and then make an appointment right away. I'd much rather have government loans than private, and I really just need enough to cover tuition and books.

angelinab · May 29, 2007

If your EFC is 0, your tuition, books, etc should be covered and you should be getting back money that can be used toward living expenses. Depending on the school you are attending, they may offer childcare and grants that will cover childcare expenses. I see you are from Chicago, and I attend an IL school that gives me a grant for childcare. Also, I know that with perkins loans, you may not have to pay them back if you work as an RN for so many years. Check with your schools financial aid office of maybe the fafsa site.