How does financial aid work?

How does financial aid work?

• I am transferring to a university in the spring semester and it costs a lot more than the community college that I am attending right now.I am receiving financial aid at this school. I found out that financial aid transfers. Does the amount of financial aid depends on the schools?

• Answer:

  The amount of aid that you are eligible to receive depends on several variables, but the most important are your financial circumstances and the cost of attendance at your school. You tell the government about your financial circumstances when you complete the FAFSA each year. The information that you provide is used to calculate your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC score, and that EFC score is sent to whatever school or schools you ask the Department of Education to send it to. When the financial aid office at your school receives that EFC, they compare it to the Cost of Attendance at that particular school. Cost of Attendance is a financial aid term that estimates what it will cost an average student to attend school at this particular university or college. There are actually several Cost of Attendance estimates at each school, because the cost of attendance may vary significantly if you live on campus, live off-campus on your own, or live off-campus with family. To estimate Cost of Attendance, each school considers the average cost of tuition, college fees, books, room and board, and miscellaneous educational expenses, including an allowance for transportation and a computer. Because the Cost of Attendance differs from school to school, when you change schools, your financial aid is completely recalculated. The new financial aid office will start with the same EFC score (because you only get one EFC for the entire academic year), but they'll calculate your financial aid "need" based on the new school's Cost of Attendance. When your new school receives your EFC, they will evaluate your aid, and prepare an "aid offer letter", letting you know what forms of aid you qualify for - and in what amounts. Financial aid is available to all students who attend an institution that participates in the federal aid program. To remain eligible to continue receiving aid, you must satisfy your school's Satisfactory Academic Progress standard. You must maintain an overall GPA of 2.0, you must pass a certain percentage of your classes, and you must move, expediently, through the degree program. If it takes you more than 150% of the "expected" time to complete your degree, your financial aid eligibility will end. So long as you continue to satisfy the SAP standards, you can apply for aid every year (you must fill out a new FAFSA form every spring). Some forms of aid automatically end when you complete your first bachelor's degree - other forms of aid can continue even beyond that. There is a lifetime maximum to the amount that can be borrowed from the Stafford loan program. If you should continue on to graduate school, you will gain eligibility for even more aid, to help pay for your additional education. Good luck to you - I hope this information helped.