How to get funding if you make too much money?

[deianira]

Once I become a graduate student in September, my income will obviously be the miserly stipend. But right now my full time job pays a whole lot more than that. Does anyone know how FAFSA and other financial aid agencies treat the salary level? Will I have to wait until the next tax year to qualify for funding, or can I just update the income information once I quit my job?

[Emma2003]

My understanding with the FAFSFA is that they base your eligibility off of your previous years tax return. So Most likely, you're elligibility for federal aid will be based on that. So if you take a significant paycut, you'll have to wait till next year for the loans. There are fellowships, (like the Javitz) that list financial need as one among many considerations, so you might start looking for your own aid sources if you need to supplement. Some banks have offered personal loans to those who have a good income, so that may be a plus for you. Good luck!

[IvyHope]

You're always eligible for loans in graduate school. It might be that you're not eligible for scholarships or fellowships until your second year.

That's one of the unfortunate consequences of going back to school after working a higher-paying (or just paying) job.

[Emma2003]

After having researched it a little more, it looks like Stafford loans for grads have two types, subsidized and unsubsidized. You can only get subsidized loans if you demonstrate financial need. Unsubsidized loans are available to "any elligible grad student" (not sure what that means?) But you will have to make interest payments to any loans you take out. They list current interest rates at being 6.8%.

During undergrad, I applied for and was awarded an aid package based on my family's previous years earnings. This included a mixture of scholarships, private grants, work study and federal loan offers. I would speak with your school's financial advisor. I would think that your elligiblity for unsubsidized Stafford loans might be affected not by your previous years income, but by your current aid package. If you have already received a tuition waiver and a average sized fellowship, I always understood that Stafford loans could only be used for college related expenses, room and board, tuition, books, etc. I think loans for the cost of living beyond aid the school is already supplying, would be more likely to be loans from private institutions.

[timuralp]

Like most things, this depends on the program you're in.Your earnings don't make any difference in the CS programs, since you're funded through an advisor or department and they assume you would be here full-time, i.e. need funding. I didn't fill out the FAFSA for any of the applications and right now I have a scholarship from the graduate school, which was merit based, as I far as I can tell. Don't know what department you're in. Good luck.

[deianira]

thanks everyone!