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Lakai Newman, 19, is a sophomore at Emory University, a private university in Atlanta, Ga. The annual cost is more than $ 40,000. “As far as my financial situation and for my parents’, it (was) necessary for me to have financial aid in order to attend,” he says.
According to new research, almost 2 million low- and moderate-income college students eligible for federal financial aid failed to apply. “I think probably the number one reason is that there is the assumption, ‘We don’t qualify. We’re not eligible,’” explains John Sisk, assistant director of financial aid and admissions at Emory University.
The truth is, says Sisk, some type of financial aid is available for every student who applies, whether it’s work-study or grants or loans.
The first step to accessing the money is filling out an application. “It’s four pages long, and that sometimes stops people right there. ‘I’m not going to waste my time; we’re not gonna get anything,’” says Sisk. “Well, I know what happens if you don’t apply, let me find out what happens if you do.”
Experts say apply early, and don’t assume you won’t qualify. While many millions of dollars are available, Mr. Sisk says, if you don’t apply “certainly, those monies do go untapped, you could say. They’re certainly not loaned out; they’re not given out.”
“You hear it everyday,” says Lakai. “A lot of money just goes wasted because students neglect to apply.”
Even though Lakai comes from a middle class family, he still qualified for work-study, a federal loan and a grant from his school. And now that the financial challenge has been met, he can focus on another challenge. “I’m in hopes of going on to med school and becoming a plastic surgeon,” he says.
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By Amye Walters
CWK Network, Inc.
About 9 million college students will receive some type of federal assistance this year, and about 75 percent of all undergraduates whose parents’ incomes are less than $30,000 filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is the first step in obtaining federal, state and university monies.
Some students who don’t submit the FAFSA do receive grants from outside sources. Almost one-quarter of all students who did not file a FAFSA for the 1999–2000 academic year received some form of assistance such as employer assistance (9 percent), institutional non–need-based aid (5 percent) or private grants or loans (4 percent). A smaller fraction obtained money from other sources: veterans’ and military benefits, vocational rehabilitation grants, and tuition waivers for college and university staff or their dependents.
The Pell Grant is the nation’s single largest grant program. Pell Grant eligibility is calculated by subtracting the expected family contribution from the maximum Pell Grant award. The difference is then adjusted based on the student’s total price of attendance and attendance status. This determines eligibility and the grant amount. Few students whose family income exceeds $40,000 (considered the two lowest income brackets) receive Pell grants, but students without Pell Grants can get other federal aid like subsidized student loans.
The federal student aid programs award funds to eligible students regardless of the date of their application, but that is not the case for many state and institutional aid programs, which distribute most or all available funds to students who apply by a set deadline. In most states, that deadline is April 1. However, FAFSA applicants who submit their form late in the year risk receiving less aid.
- Half of enrolled undergraduates failed to complete a FAFSA.
- A study by the American Council on Education concludes 850,000 students not filing the FAFSA would have been eligible for a Pell Grant.
- Sixteen percent of non-applicants attending full time, 13 percent of half-time non-applicants and 11 percent of less-than-half-time non-applicants may have been eligible to receive Pell Grants.
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By Amye Walters
CWK Network, Inc.
Dependent students who are age 24 or younger, unmarried, have no children and are not veterans are considered dependents. All other students are considered independent. Parental income and assets are considered when assessing the aid eligibility of dependent students, but are not considered for independent students. In 1999–2000, 49 percent of undergraduates were independent.
All federal grants and loans — and state and institutional grants — are available to students who attend half time. Less-than-half-time students generally take only one course per term. Even less-than-half-time students can qualify for Pell Grants and some other federal programs.
Low-price community colleges enroll 40 percent of all undergraduates and enroll almost 3-in-5 students who do not apply for aid. Dependent and independent community college students in the two lowest income brackets accounted for almost 1 million non-applicants. Despite the low tuition at community colleges, these students likely would have benefited from receiving financial aid.
The most common responses students gave for not filing a FAFSA were: the family and/or student could afford to pay (41 percent), family income was too high to qualify (24 percent) or they missed the application deadline (9 percent). Low-income students were fairly likely to say that they did not apply for aid because they or their family could afford to pay (28 percent of dependent students and 39 percent of independent students). Consider the following:
- The government has worked to simplify the FAFSA form, but it still runs four pages and several worksheets.
- Your child can look to the Financial Aid Department at his or her college or university. Someone within that department can help with filing the FAFSA.
- Even students who receive other forms of aid can benefit from filing a FAFSA.
- One of every five dependent low-income students and one of every four independent low-income students failed to take advantage of most government and institutional financial aid programs because they did not submit a FAFSA.
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