What To Do After Being Denied FAFSA Funds
After you have completed the FAFSA application and gone through that process, there is still a chance that it can be denied for a variety of reasons. You may feel like you are fully deserving of funds and that you have done all you could to be approved for college funding, but sometimes it has more to do with technical or funding issues more than your own needs or finances. Your next step is to contact the proper FAFSA department and ask for an explanation. After you have exhausted FAFSA as a viable funding source, ask the FAFSA representative if there are any other sources that are available through the government.
If you have been working with a professional financial aid consultant, it would be wise at this point to speak with them again and discuss your options. After you have confirmed that aid has been denied and that you are still in need of assistance, there are a few programs that you should explore. The most popular alternative to the FAFSA approval is the federal PLUS loan, also known as the direct PLUS loan. This is a loan that is taken out by the parents of dependent undergraduate students. This loan is similar to a mortgage or car loan because it is based on the credit and approval of the parents and is not restricted to parents based on their assets. Financial need is not determined or taken into account.
These are low interest loans that are specialized for education only, and any financial aid or scholarship funding will need to be reported so that it can be deducted from the overall loan. Using these specialized loans, parents can fund their child’s entire education without breaking the bank. Payments tend to be low and manageable, and many graduates are able to take over the payments once they are practicing in the field of their major.
Next, the Stafford or direct loan from the government should be investigated. These loans are referred to as in-student deferred, and this means that they are not payable while a student is attending college half-time or better. Because these loans are backed completely by the national government, interest rates are well below the going notional rate on any other type of college funding. Most receive the monies from a third party entity, such as Sallie Mae or Chase. These are ideal loans for those students whose major will ensure a better than average wage once they have graduated.
Even if you have received limited scholarship money, financial aid, and loan funds for higher education, you might still want to do a detailed search for merit-based funds in your area. Many small scholarship committees hide themselves and try to award money quietly, mainly because they are small groups and cannot afford to help very many students each year. If you make yourself and your needs known to them, however, you stand as good a chance as any of landing more than a few extra dollars toward your schooling. You will only know if you try, but be wary of scholarship finding services who ask for money from you.
