Getting the funding needed for college is often the biggest deciding factor for many college students.

What I’m here to do is to help you understand two factors that can help you get more funding for college. So let’s look into a couple of critical secrets.

(I’m not a Financial Aid Advisor, this is just based on my experience, as a college student, and college advisor.)

Two of the biggest factors regarding attaining more Federal Funding are:

1. Being an Independent Student.

An Independent student is seen as having a greater need, and therefore they need more funding. So the next question is of course, who qualifies as an independent student?

A student who falls into one of the following categories typically:

• Age 24 or older
• Married
• Single Parent
• Enlisted in the Military

These are qualifications taken into consideration when you’re applying for college funding. To find out if you qualify for more Financial Aid Funding; schedule an appointment with your Financial Aid Advisor, and ask them to help you understand what you qualify for.

In addition to being an Independent Student, the other thing is:

           2. Transfer credit

Did you know that the amount of transfer credit that you bring into a college makes a difference on how much Financial Aid you qualify for?

It’s true, but the transfer credit you have has to be significant. Typically this means that you are a Junior, or are entering your third year of college. The amount can change but it’s been 58 credits or more as transfer credit.

So if you have a culmination of credits from a few different schools and you are looking to complete a degree, ask your Admissions Advisor if there is a degree program and path that allows for more transfer credits than another.

This of course also depends on what classes you have that apply towards your current bachelor’s degree.

So for example if you were not pursuing a particular degree, but just taking classes to take classes, or just for fun, then you may have difficulty getting credits that equal 58 credits or more to be considered a Junior, the amount necessary to be considered a junior.

However, if you are pursuing a particular associate degree, even if it’s just a general transfer degree you’ll be more likely to transfer more credits into another college, than if you’ve just taken random classes here and there. So be sure to speak to your Advisor.

Now you don’t need to be a transfer student for this to work; you can simply have enough accumulated credits, either at the college(s) you’ve attended or at one particular college or university you’ve been attending and planning to attain your bachelors degree from, it doesn’t matter the rule stays the same.

You need to have 58 or more credits applicable towards a bachelors degree to qualify for more Financial Aid.

As you enter your Junior year your Financial Aid Advisor can walk you through what your new award amount is or will be, typically your funding goes up as you get closer to graduation.

I bet you’re wondering why this happens? Well it looks like we’re on the same page so that’s good to know.

Answer: This is because statistically there is a higher likely hood that a student will graduate if they’re going into their Junior Year vs. their Freshman year. If you think back over to the people that you know who have graduated college, I betcha you can come up with a number that have left college and once or twice before finishing their degree. The statistics are what the Financial Aid are awarding funding on.

Thus FAFSA awards more funding for students who are more likely to graduate.

Stay tuned for more College Secrets…

 

Sophie

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