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just wanted to say hang in there!! the financial aid system is SO hard to navigate especially for single parents. i was in your exact situation 2 years ago and eventually got it sorted out. you WILL get your pell grant!! sending positive vibes your way!
Thank you! That means a lot right now. It's so stressful trying to go back to school while supporting kids on your own. I'm glad to hear you got through it successfully!
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with my community college's financial aid office and they were amazing! They could see my full FAFSA information on their end, including my SAI (which is 0)! The advisor said this means I qualify for the maximum Pell Grant amount. She explained that there's a known issue with the studentaid.gov website not displaying SAI values for some applicants, but the schools can still see it and process aid packages. She said I don't need to do anything else and they'll be sending my official aid package in about 2 weeks. Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions! Such a relief to know this was just a display issue and not something wrong with my application.
That's GREAT news! So glad you got it sorted out! I'm going to call my school tomorrow too. Thanks for updating us!
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THE FINANCIAL AID SYSTEM IS RIGGED!!! Even with a so-called "good" SAI score, they STILL make middle-class families take out MASSIVE LOANS!!! My nephew had -1200 SAI and is still drowning in debt!!! The whole system is designed to trap students in debt!!
That's discouraging to hear. Did your nephew apply to a mix of schools? I'm wondering if certain types of colleges might offer better aid packages than others.
He only applied to expensive private schools and ONE state university (which was still $$$$). Should have checked community college options first!!! These schools promise "financial aid" but half of it is LOANS they expect you to pay back WITH INTEREST!!! Read the fine print on EVERYTHING!!!
Just to provide some balance here - while a negative SAI doesn't guarantee a free education, it does put your daughter in the strongest possible position for financial aid. Many selective private colleges actually provide better aid packages than state schools for low-income families. I'd recommend: 1. Apply to a mix of schools, including some known for generous aid 2. Use each school's specific net price calculator 3. Appeal your financial aid offers if they don't seem adequate 4. Consider schools with "no-loan" policies for lower-income students With your SAI, your daughter has excellent potential for significant grant aid at many institutions.
Thank you for the balanced perspective. Do you have any recommendations for how to find out which schools have "no-loan" policies? That sounds like something we should definitely look into.
Absolutely! Search for "no-loan colleges" or "colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated need" online. Schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, and several others have policies to meet full need without loans for families below certain income thresholds. Some cover all students, while others focus on families below specific income levels (often $65,000-$100,000). The College Board website also has a filter for schools that meet high percentages of demonstrated need.
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just wanted to add that my twins both had negative SAIs too and some schools treated them differently!! one private school gave AMAZING aid but another calculated something different. so definately check with each school. also CONGRATS!!! the new FAFSA was a nightmare for us but worth it when we saw that negative number lol
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Current law student here again - just to clarify something important: There are NO Stafford Loans anymore for graduate students. The program was renamed years ago. What he qualifies for is: 1. Direct Unsubsidized Loans (up to $20,500/year) 2. Grad PLUS Loans (up to the remaining cost of attendance) Both become available to apply for once the school processes his FAFSA and generates a financial aid package. Some schools do this earlier than others, but typically you can complete the process by early summer. The reason for the June timeline is probably related to the award year cycle. For environmental law specifically, look into the school's clinic options and summer funding for environmental internships. My school has specific grants for students working in that field.
To address your original question about it being "in his name only" - ALL graduate student federal loans are in the student's name only. Parents are not co-signers or responsible parties for Direct Unsubsidized or Grad PLUS loans. The only parent loan option is Parent PLUS, but that's for undergrads only. This is different from private loans, which often require co-signers for students with limited credit history. The federal route should give you exactly what you're looking for - full responsibility on your son without impacting your retirement plans.
That's perfect! I was concerned we might need to co-sign something, which we really can't do at this point in our financial lives. This forum has been incredibly helpful - I feel like we have a much clearer direction now than after talking with the financial aid office.
Amara Okonkwo
my cousins best friend went to nyu for free with some scholarship thing and hes not even that smart lol. the whole system is just about who you know and having the right connections. my loans are even worse than yours and i dont even work in my field so at least you got that going for you
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Yuki Watanabe
•I'm sorry to hear you're in an even tougher situation. That's a good point about at least working in my field - I do love teaching despite the financial strain. I hope you find some relief for your loans too.
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Carmen Sanchez
After reading through all the comments, I wanted to add one more thing: document EVERYTHING in your interaction with loan servicers. Keep records of all phone calls (date, time, who you spoke with), save all emails, and take screenshots of important account information. I've seen too many teachers get burned when servicers make mistakes in tracking qualifying PSLF payments or misapply payments. Having detailed records saved my colleague nearly $40K when she had to prove she had made qualifying payments that weren't being counted properly. And on a personal note - your frustration is completely justified. The system IS unfair. But please don't let that stop you from taking advantage of every program available to you now. The SAVE plan plus PSLF could potentially save you tens of thousands of dollars.
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Yuki Watanabe
•That's excellent advice about documentation. I've already experienced some issues with payment tracking, so I'll start keeping better records. I've scheduled a call with Federal Student Aid for next week to go over all my options. Thank you all for the helpful advice and for letting me vent. It helps knowing I'm not alone in this struggle.
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