2008 Woodie Awards
Financial aid can get trick for non-trad students
Andrea Vasquez
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
Not every family resembles the Cleavers - Mom, Dad and two rosy-cheeked brothers.
Instead, there may be divorces, remarriages, emancipations and other circumstances that can affect a student's financial aid.
To receive federal financial aid, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Colleges and universities use the FAFSA to determine how much students should expect to pay and how much they can receive in financial aid.
"The university doesn't determine the family's ability to pay, the federal government does," said Craig Munier, the director of scholarships and financial aid at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "It's a uniform method that's applied evenly and equally to every student."
The FAFSA accommodates divorced or widowed parents, but there is still a lot of gray area.
Filling out the application can get tricky if a student's parents have remarried, especially if the prenuptial agreement frees the step-parent from financial responsibility of the student's education.
"That gets muddier all the time," Munier said. "Money is a very personal thing but some of the circumstances surrounding some of the family circumstances are very personal as well."
Special circumstances can also come into play for students outside the traditional college-going age of 18-22 years, or those who are financially independent.
For Nicole Gothier, a freshman general studies major at UNL and single mother, claiming herself as an independent - because of her age and her son - worked to her advantage.
"It (FAFSA) goes off my income and not my mom and dad's," Gothier said. "And since I have a lower income I am eligible for grants and whatnot."
Each year, UNL awards about $8 million in scholarships to new students.
But Gothier's financial aid didn't cover everything.
"Between the grants and the loans I had enough for school and some books, but not enough technically for living expenses," Gothier said. "I lost close to $1,500 because they (the school) were planning on having me do a work study … but now that I have (my son) that's not feasible."
Instead, there may be divorces, remarriages, emancipations and other circumstances that can affect a student's financial aid.
To receive federal financial aid, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Colleges and universities use the FAFSA to determine how much students should expect to pay and how much they can receive in financial aid.
"The university doesn't determine the family's ability to pay, the federal government does," said Craig Munier, the director of scholarships and financial aid at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "It's a uniform method that's applied evenly and equally to every student."
The FAFSA accommodates divorced or widowed parents, but there is still a lot of gray area.
Filling out the application can get tricky if a student's parents have remarried, especially if the prenuptial agreement frees the step-parent from financial responsibility of the student's education.
"That gets muddier all the time," Munier said. "Money is a very personal thing but some of the circumstances surrounding some of the family circumstances are very personal as well."
Special circumstances can also come into play for students outside the traditional college-going age of 18-22 years, or those who are financially independent.
For Nicole Gothier, a freshman general studies major at UNL and single mother, claiming herself as an independent - because of her age and her son - worked to her advantage.
"It (FAFSA) goes off my income and not my mom and dad's," Gothier said. "And since I have a lower income I am eligible for grants and whatnot."
Each year, UNL awards about $8 million in scholarships to new students.
But Gothier's financial aid didn't cover everything.
"Between the grants and the loans I had enough for school and some books, but not enough technically for living expenses," Gothier said. "I lost close to $1,500 because they (the school) were planning on having me do a work study … but now that I have (my son) that's not feasible."
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