Community college students: Have you ever been considered over qualified for financial aid?

I've been going to a community college on and off for the past 3 or 4 years (finally graduating!!!!!) and I noticed my first full time semester here I was offered not a cent of financial aid and I broke the bank paying for everything and my first full time year at the community college I was only offered a tiny sum of a pell grant and had to get the extra money from another source based on my financial need to (no .loans from this school thank god, lol) but still we(my family) seemed to have been overqualified at my local community college. But I got scholarships, grants, and loans (I still owe) from my year at a 4-year-college so I know I'm not "overqualified" for financial aid all together. LOL

Community college students: Have you ever been considered over qualified for financial aid?graphics for myspace

I think perhaps, if you got a Pell Grant, you weren't *overqualified* as much as your school's costs were quite low. Financial aid, and especially grant money, is usually offered based on a percentage of financial need (cost of attendance as determined by the college minus Expected Family Contribution--EFC--equals need). Because most grant funds available to the college is a set allocation of funds (they get a certain amount of money to award as grants) the financial aid office sets up a formula to award it as fairly as possible. The more able you are to contribute to your own education (a higher EFC) the more likely you are to get a smaller percentage of grant money. Pell eligible students are generally quite needy and get a larger percentage of grants because they are less able to help themselves. Middle EFC students (those over the Pell limits to about 6,000 to 7,000) may qualify for non-federal (state) grants or institutional funds at a community college and probably some work or loan funds. Higher EFC students generally qualify only for loans.

Yes, I know, no one wants to have loans, and all grants is a great thing, but it is a careful balance on the other side of the desk to give as many students as possible who have no resources enough money to go to school and give some to those better able to help themselves some as well. You have no idea how badly those of us who sit on my side of the equation feel when we run out of what we call discretionary grant money knowing how many more students will need that help and knowing that the piggy bank is empty. We do feel the pain of students who shouldn't have to borrow, but must because there are so many students with so much eligibility for aid and not enough grant dollars for them all.

Let me offer my congratulations on completing your degree. It does please me to know you have stayed the course and finished your program. Good luck and best wishes. I'll be thinking about you at commencement time.

Community college students: Have you ever been considered over qualified for financial aid?myspace tweaks myspace.com

Because its a community college thats why you are overqualified. Check if your school has AMS program. Its through Sallie Mae and basically what you do is pay 1/4th of the bill upfront with the $35.00 fee that they charge. Every month of school, you have to pay 1/4 th of what ever is left, usually for 3 months. At least like that you are not borrowing and don't have to pay for it all at once.

I think their website is MYTUITION.com