My financial aid grant was approximately 75% of tuition (before considering any federal loans).
I filed a FAFSA, and some direct paperwork required by the University. The paperwork amounted to less than 10 pages each year. I am not including the paper count of tax documents from my family.
There were several financial aid officers, but I worked closely with one. At every step of the process she was available to answer questions. I made several mistakes in my paperwork, even one after submission. My aid officer helped me with each issue.
My father passed away when I was in school. After I reported this to my University through my financial aid officer, they immediately waived all remaining tuition requirements (excluding those covered by federal loan grants). I did not pay a dime after that.
My family made about $60k a year, before my father's passing. $30k after. We own a house. I think we were middle class, but I am not sure how that is defined.
Whether this anecdote is a true reflection of the wider system or not - this made me smile. Thanks for sharing :)
I have been exposed to a similar situation (though not from a US university, I was lucky enough to attend a private school in the UK. The tuition fees are roughly comparable): My best friend's Dad worked as a Vet until he had a heart attack. He lived, but couldn't work for a long time.
The school waived the final year of fees for my friend (~$52,000) - to my knowledge they have never requested it since.
My financial aid grant was approximately 75% of tuition (before considering any federal loans).
I filed a FAFSA, and some direct paperwork required by the University. The paperwork amounted to less than 10 pages each year. I am not including the paper count of tax documents from my family.
There were several financial aid officers, but I worked closely with one. At every step of the process she was available to answer questions. I made several mistakes in my paperwork, even one after submission. My aid officer helped me with each issue.
My father passed away when I was in school. After I reported this to my University through my financial aid officer, they immediately waived all remaining tuition requirements (excluding those covered by federal loan grants). I did not pay a dime after that.
My family made about $60k a year, before my father's passing. $30k after. We own a house. I think we were middle class, but I am not sure how that is defined.
I got my aid officer a cake every year.