Why different FAFSA aid packages between colleges? One has subsidized loans & work-study, other only unsubsidized
I'm completely baffled by the financial aid packages my daughter just received. She applied to 5 colleges and we're comparing offers now. University of Westlake offered her both subsidized AND unsubsidized loans plus a tiny work-study award ($675/yr). But Crestview College only offered unsubsidized loans with no subsidized loans or work-study mentioned anywhere! I thought all schools used the same FAFSA data to determine eligibility? How can she qualify for subsidized loans at one school but not another? Our SAI score is the same for both schools. Is this normal or did Crestview make a mistake? Really worried because subsidized loans would save us thousands in interest while she's in school. Do we need to contact Crestview's financial aid office, or is this just how it works?
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Mei Chen
This is actually very normal! Each college has its own financial aid budget and policies for distributing aid. Your FAFSA information (SAI score) determines your overall eligibility, but colleges have discretion in how they construct their aid packages. Some factors at play: 1. Different schools have different amounts of institutional funds available 2. Schools have different priorities for how they allocate their work-study funds 3. Some schools reserve subsidized loans for students with greater financial need 4. Cost of attendance varies, which affects how much federal aid you can receive I recommend contacting Crestview's financial aid office directly to ask why subsidized loans weren't included. Sometimes they'll adjust packages if you inquire or submit an appeal letter comparing the other offer.
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Jamal Harris
•Thank you! I had no idea schools could pick and choose like that. We'll definitely call Crestview on Monday. The difference in interest on a $20,000 loan over 4 years would be significant if it's unsubsidized vs subsidized.
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Liam Sullivan
The same thing happened to my son last year!!! His top choice only gave unsubsidized but his safety school gave both types plus work study. It's SO CONFUSING when its all supposed to be based on the same FAFSA?!?! We ended up going with the school that gave better aid even tho it wasnt his first choice.
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Jamal Harris
•That's exactly our situation. University of Westlake wasn't her first choice, but now we're wondering if it should be. Did you try appealing the financial aid package at the other school?
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Liam Sullivan
•We tried but they didnt budge. They said something about having used up their subsidized loan budget for the year?? Didn't make sense to me but whatever. The diff was like $12k over 4 years for us so we couldn't ignore it.
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Amara Okafor
Your daughter might not meet Crestview's specific criteria for subsidized loans. Each school uses the FAFSA data but applies their own formulas. Some schools prioritize Pell Grant recipients for subsidized loans, while others have income cutoffs that might be lower than federal guidelines. I've worked with many families who received dramatically different packages from different schools despite identical FAFSA data. For work-study, schools receive a fixed allocation from the federal government. Some schools spread it thinly among many students (hence the small $675 amount), while others give larger amounts to fewer students. Crestview might have already allocated all their work-study funds before reaching your daughter's application in their review process. Definitely reach out to Crestview's financial aid office - they can explain their specific policies.
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CosmicCommander
both my kids got different packages from every single school they applied to lol welcome to the wonderful world of financial aid 😂 its literally different everywhere u go
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Giovanni Colombo
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet - did you check if the Cost of Attendance (COA) is different between these schools? Federal subsidized loan eligibility is limited by your SAI plus other aid received compared to the Cost of Attendance. If Crestview has a lower COA than Westlake, or if they awarded other non-loan aid that wasn't listed in your summary (scholarships, grants), this could explain why there's no subsidized loan offer. The formulas work like this: COA - SAI - Other Aid = Maximum Need-Based Aid (which includes subsidized loans) So if Crestview determined you don't have enough remaining need after other aid, they might only offer unsubsidized loans, which aren't need-based.
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Jamal Harris
•That's a really good point I hadn't considered. Looking back at the letters, Crestview's COA is actually about $5,000 less per year than Westlake's. Could that be enough to make the difference in subsidized loan eligibility?
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Giovanni Colombo
•Absolutely! That $5,000 difference in COA could definitely explain why she didn't qualify for subsidized loans at Crestview. If your SAI is in the right range, that difference could completely eliminate her subsidized loan eligibility at the cheaper school while still qualifying at the more expensive one. It's one of the counterintuitive aspects of financial aid - sometimes more expensive schools can offer better need-based aid options precisely because they cost more.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
my daughter got 6 different financial aid offers from 6 different schools using the same exact FAFSA info. one gave her a full ride scholarship, another gave her absolutely nothing but loans. it's not fair but thats how it works!
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Dylan Cooper
Look, the whole FAFSA system is garbage. They make it seem like there's some magical formula but really each school just does whatever they want. We went through this last year and wasted HOURS on the phone with financial aid offices trying to understand why one school offered $X and another offered $Y. If you want to actually reach someone at the financial aid office without the usual 2+ hour wait times, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get a callback from them. Saved me from listening to that horrible hold music all day. There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Seriously, just call Crestview directly and ask them to explain their package. Sometimes they'll suddenly "find" additional aid once you start asking questions.
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Jamal Harris
•Thanks for the tip about Claimyr. I've been dreading making these calls because I tried calling about a FAFSA verification issue earlier this year and was on hold for over an hour before getting disconnected. Will definitely look into this.
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Sofia Ramirez
Can I ask what your daughter's SAI score is? That might help explain the discrepancy. If your SAI is near the threshold for subsidized loan eligibility, it could explain why one school offered it and another didn't. Each school sets slightly different cutoffs. I also wanted to mention that you should prioritize the subsidized loans over unsubsidized if possible. The government pays the interest while your daughter is in school with subsidized loans, which can save thousands. With current interest rates around 5.5%, that's significant savings over 4 years.
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Jamal Harris
•Our SAI is 13,245. I'm not sure if that's considered close to a threshold or not. And yes, we're definitely prioritizing the subsidized loans! The interest savings would be huge over the course of her education.
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Sofia Ramirez
•That SAI is right around what I would consider a threshold area for subsidized loans at many schools. Some schools might cut off subsidized loans at 12,000 while others might go up to 15,000 or higher. This explains the difference in your packages. Another option: ask Crestview if they'll match Westlake's subsidized loan offer. Sometimes they'll adjust packages for students they really want to enroll, especially if you can show them the competing offer letter.
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Liam Sullivan
has anyone else noticed that the work study amounts are getting ridiculously low?? $675 a year is like what, 2 hours of work per week?? how is that even helpful
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Amara Okafor
•You're right about the amounts getting smaller. Many schools are spreading their federal work-study allocation among more students, resulting in those tiny awards. The $675 award likely means about 2 hours per week at minimum wage. The strategy is that once a student is in the work-study program, departments can often increase their hours beyond the initial award if funds are available later in the year. It's basically getting a foot in the door for campus employment.
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Jamal Harris
Update: We called Crestview's financial aid office this morning. They explained that their institutional policy is to only offer subsidized loans to students with SAIs below 12,000, and since ours is 13,245, we didn't qualify. They said their work-study funds had already been allocated to students with greater financial need. So mystery solved! We're now weighing whether the interest savings at Westlake (about $4,500 over 4 years) is worth choosing it over Crestview, which my daughter preferred academically. Thanks everyone for your help!
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Mei Chen
•Thanks for updating us! This confirms what many of us suspected - different institutional policies for the same federal programs. For your decision, consider asking Crestview if they offer any merit scholarships your daughter might qualify for. Sometimes those can offset the difference in loan types. Also, remember that a student can accept partial loan amounts - she doesn't have to take the full unsubsidized loan offered if you can cover some costs another way.
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Dylan Cooper
•Typical bureaucratic nonsense. "Sorry, you missed our arbitrary cutoff by $1,245 so no interest-free loans for you!" I'd still push back and see if they'll make an exception. Sometimes they have discretionary funds they don't tell you about unless you specifically ask. Good luck!
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