FAFSA awarded $1500 to each of my sons - is this all the aid they qualify for?

That $1500 is probably just their Pell Grant amount, not their total financial aid package. You need to check their full award letters from State University, which should break down all forms of aid they qualify for (grants, work-study, loans, etc.). The FAFSA itself doesn't award money - it just determines eligibility that schools use to create financial aid packages. Each school will offer different amounts based on their own funding and policies.

same happened w/ my daughter last year!! the $1500 was just her pell grant amount. she got way more from the school directly after they processed everything. check ur email or the school's student portal

The $1500 per student sounds like the Federal Pell Grant portion only. With your household income of $52,000 supporting three people, your sons should qualify for more than just that. Each university has different timelines, but you should receive complete financial aid award letters that include: 1. Federal grants (like the Pell Grant you're seeing) 2. State grants (varies by state) 3. Institutional grants/scholarships (from the university itself) 4. Work-study opportunities 5. Federal student loan eligibility If you haven't received the full package about 3-4 weeks after the FAFSA was processed, I'd recommend contacting State University's financial aid office directly. This early in the cycle, they might still be finalizing packages.

$1500 is definitely not enough for college these days lol. My kid got that too at first but then we got an email from the school with the ACTUAL aid package which was like $9000 in grants plus loans. Check ur spam folder maybe?

I went through this exact same thing last year! That $1500 is driving you crazy because it seems so low, right? Trust me, I literally called the financial aid office in tears thinking we couldn't afford college. Turns out that was just the federal Pell Grant amount, and the university hadn't processed their institutional aid yet. My daughter ended up getting another $7,500 in grants from the university plus work-study. The frustrating part is how POORLY the system communicates this! They should clearly explain that the initial FAFSA result is ONLY showing federal grant eligibility, not your total package. It's ridiculous that parents have to figure this out through trial and error or forums like this.

When I was trying to reach the financial aid office about my son's aid package last year, I kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Someone recommended Claimyr (claimyr.com) which helped me actually get through to a human at Federal Student Aid to explain what was going on with his Pell Grant amount. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Totally worth it to get clear answers instead of guessing what the $1500 actually meant in his overall aid package.

One other important thing to understand: the $1500 Pell Grant is per semester, not the annual amount. So they'll actually receive $3000 for the year in Pell Grants alone. Given your household income of $52,000 supporting three people, that aligns with the expected Pell amount. The university will determine additional need-based and merit-based aid to add to this federal component.

my kids got different amounts even tho we have the same income... weird how fafsa works sometimes

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with State University's financial aid office. You all were right! The $1500 (which is actually $3000/year total) is just the Pell Grant portion. They're still finalizing institutional aid packages and expect to send them out in the next 7-10 days. The counselor estimated my sons will each receive approximately $6,000-$8,000 in additional university grants based on our information, plus work-study eligibility. What a relief! Thanks everyone for helping me understand this confusing process!