Cal Grant Mishap & Fafsa?
So my friend and I, who are the best and most responsible students, forgot to turn in our Cal Grant sheets @ school b/c they were distributed right b4 a break and we completely forgot…. So we just went in today and gave them to our counselors who said that we really screwed up and they are late and they might not be accepted, but we both did our FAFSA on time online so will we not get financial aid this year going to our first yr of college now just b/c we turned in our Cal Grant paper too late?!?!?!?! I can’t remember exactly what was on the paper but it was just allowing our GPA’s to be released….It really didn’t seem that big of a deal but the counselors made it seem like it was and that even though we did our FAFSA we wouldn’t get any money….is this true? please this is a serious question we are both freaking out!!! :[
Britt:
The Cal Grant deadline is absolutely March 2nd, and there are no appeals. If you and/or your friend planned to attend a community college next year, you would be able to take advantage of the much later community college deadline, which is September 2nd, but this later deadline does not apply to students who will attend a 4-year college or university.
Missing the Cal Grant deadline is a potentially serious financial mistake, but it’s not the end of the world as far as financial aid goes. The FAFSA applications that you and your friend submitted will enable your schools to evaluate your eligibility for the separate, Federal Student Aid program. You’ll still be considered for the federal government’s grant programs and work study program, and you’ll still qualify for the opportunity to borrow from the exceptional Stafford lending program. Your school will also use the FAFSA forms (not your Cal Grant applications) to determine whether you qualify for any school-funded aid.
So, yeah, your counselor is right. You’re not going to be able to apply for the Cal Grant next year, which may have cost you somewhere between $1550 and $9700 in “free” money, but only if you qualified on the basis of GPA and financial need. Without access to your personal information, I can’t say if you would have been awarded the Cal Grant, and if so, whether that would have been the Cal Grant A or the Cal Grant B.
You’ll still be considered for the other major forms of available financial aid – aid from the school itself, and aid from the Federal Student Aid program.
I’m sorry for the bad news – good luck!