Financial Aid

futureRN07 · Mar 10, 2005

Could someone explain Financial Aid to me? I know that it works somewhat like a loan... but what exactly does it/doesn't it cover? I don't come from a wealthy family by any means, which Is why I need this, are most who apply accepted? Does it pay your entire tuition?
thanks David

There are different types of financial aid. If you do show financial need then you would probably qualify for a Pell grant which is given by the federal government. This is free and you don't ever have to pay it back. I currently get the maximum amount of pell grant which is $1300 or so a term. There are also usually state grants that you can get that are also free. Then there are loans... Again, if you show financial need you can get a subsidised student loan. This type of loan you don't pay any interest while you are in school and the interest rates are very low. You can also get an unsubsidised loan and this type interest does accrue while you're in school but not a very significant amount. There are also several other types of loans out there but those are just the ones that I have taken out. Hope this info. helps.

VeryPlainJane · Mar 10, 2005

I am using loans. I can't get a pell grant my income it to high. Here is a website about the fed. loan program http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.htm you can take a look around the site for and see how you like it. Also, most schools if not all of them have a Financial Aid dept. go in and ask them how/what programs would be good for you; make sure to bring your or your parents (if your under 21) 2004 tax papers. The good thing about a loan, even though you have to pay them back, you have 6mo from the last day of your last class to start repayment.

Duveed · Mar 10, 2005

Wow, thanks for the help guys this site is GREAT!!! I am still living with my parents, and they are both cooks and don't make much money, we don't go without anything.. but by no means are we wealthy, what does it require to get the Pell Grant?

Also, How much does Nursing school average for the BSN? I wont have to pay room fees or anything, We have a college here in town that has both the ADN and BSN... But I'm thinking now I want to be a CRNA So, if I was to apply and get the financial aid for the university offering the BSN program, would I still be able to get it for a different school that I need to go to for the CRNA part of this, as we don't have any local...

Again, thanks for all your help guys, my email is [email protected] if anyone would like to email me privately.

David

VeryPlainJane · Mar 10, 2005

Around here, Kansas City It's about 60 thousand for a BSN at a four year college. I can't tell you how much you can make to get pell, they have a formula that is over my head, I don't understand it. Thats something that the fina. aid dept. can help you out with it. But, if you don't know which school you want to go to when you apply for your loan you can put down all the colleges you thinking about. They will forward your information to all those schools. When it's time for you to sign your note for the loan the school you picked will do the rest. David you can start the process right not for fall 2005, I have already. It's best to get all your ducks in a row early! If you want to start this fall I would start to get on the ball and narrow down my choices. I'm sure whatever school your going to be enrolling will be opening up their fall enrollment soon and you don't want to be locked out of some classes.

manna, BSN, RN · Mar 10, 2005

Call the school you're planning on attending and find out how much their tuition and fees are (or check their website). For example, my school's charges roughly $2100 per semester in tuition. Assuming you graduate in four years (8 semesters), that adds up to a little over $12,200.00 Books are another big expensive to factor in.

Here's a website with a little calculator that you can perhaps figure out how much financial aid you might qualify for.

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml

You have to punch in things like the number of family members, amount of income, yearly tuition/fees.

It basically works like this... Based on income, number of family members, and cost of tuition/fees, you are given an EFC (estimated family contribution). That's the amount that your family/yourself is expected to contribute to your college costs.

Let's say that per semester your tuition was $2000 and your EFC was $500. That qualifies you for $1500 in federal financial aid (max Pell per semester is around $2000).

That might have been confusing, but hope it helps. Good luck! :)