Federal Student Aid (2024)

FAQs

How to get $30,000 in aid? ›

You could be eligible for as much as $30,000 of aid

In order to receive their share of these funds, students should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Many students mistakenly believe that they do not qualify for federal aid.

Request a Reevaluation of Your Circ*mstances

Sometimes a family's finances are not accurately reflected on the FAFSA^® form because of changes that have occurred, such as job loss/reduction, divorce or separation, or other special circ*mstances.

Once your FAFSA form or correction has been processed, you can get a copy of your SAR by logging in to fafsa.gov using your FSA ID and selecting the “View SAR” option near the middle of the “My FAFSA” page.

Contact your school's financial aid office to find out if you're eligible for additional student aid. Learn about aid eligibility. Learn more about options if you didn't receive enough financial aid. Remember to borrow only what you need to pay your educational expenses.

$57,500 for undergraduates-No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $138,500 for graduate or professional students-No more than $65,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. The graduate aggregate limit includes all federal loans received for undergraduate study.

Your college will subtract your EFC from your COA to determine your financial need. For example, if your COA is $20,000 and your EFC is $8,000, your financial need is $12,000. This means you are eligible for a maximum of $12,000 in need-based aid. However, colleges don't have to meet 100% of your financial need.

There is no set income limit for eligibility to qualify for financial aid through. You'll need to fill out the FAFSA every year to see what you qualify for at your college. It's important to make sure you fill out the FAFSA as quickly as possible once it opens for the following school year.

If your FAFSA form is complete and fully processed, your estimated federal student aid and SAI will display under the “Eligibility Overview” tab of your online FAFSA Submission Summary. Before completing the FAFSA form, use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to estimate your SAI.

How to know if FAFSA is approved? ›

After you submit your FAFSA form online, you can check its status immediately by going to fafsa.gov and logging in with your FSA ID (account username and password). (Note: Only the student can check the status.)

You can also check the status of your FAFSA form by contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. To check on the status of financial aid being disbursed (paid out) to you or your account, check with your school's financial aid office.

However, some of the available money is handed out on a first come, first serve basis. So, it's a good idea to file your application sooner than later to help pay for your education. A new, updated version of the FAFSA was recently launched for the 2024-2025 academic year. Here's how the form works.

For instance, you might no longer meet one of the basic eligibility criteria, or you might have changed majors and no longer be enrolled in a program that makes you eligible to receive a specific type of funding (for instance, a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education [TEACH] Grant).

In most cases, your child's school will give you your loan money by crediting it to your child's school account to pay tuition, fees, room, board, and other authorized charges. If there is money left over, the school will pay it to you.

The maximum amount of money you can get from a Pell Grant is: $7,395 (2023–24). The amount granted depends on your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), cost of attendance, your status as a full-time or part-time student, and your plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.