Financial Aid Myths

This is my 6th year with ICAN, and now that I have had the experience of doing hundreds of FAFSA appointments and also financial aid presentations, there are a number of myths I keep hearing that people are deceived into believing. Part of it is the hope to get more free money, and part of it is that people really don’t understand the financial aid process. Here are some of those myths.

  1. “My brother’s roommate’s cousin said…” People hear things and automatically because they hear it from someone they know think it must be true. Unless you hear something from a recognized financial aid professional, don’t trust that information. Many people think they are experts and they are not. Having a child go to college or completing one FAFSA does not make you an expert.
  2. “If you go to a more expensive college, you will get a bigger Pell Grant.” That is not true. The Pell Grant does not change college to college. The Pell Grant is based on the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the FAFSA. EFC does not change college to college. It is based on student income and assets along with parent income and assets if the student is a dependent student. There might be more institutional aid at some more expensive colleges – that might be true. But the Pell Grant is a federal program through the federal government. Institutional grants/scholarships are from the college institutional funds.
  3. “If your parents don’t claim you as a dependent on their taxes, that will make you independent and you will get all kinds of money.” Not true. Dependency on the FAFSA is based on the 13 dependency questions and not whether the student is claimed as a dependent. See this link: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/dependency#dependent-or-independent
  4. “If you move out of your parents’ house after you graduate from high school, you will be independent and you will get all kinds of money.” Not true. Where you live does not affect your dependent status. It’s the dependency questions on the FAFSA that does that. See link above in #3.
  5. “These poor people get as much money as they want off the FAFSA.” Not true. The maximum Pell Grant for the 2019-20 college year is $6195. This is for those people who are very impoverished. Higher EFCs result in lower Pell Grants. 
There are several others. But these are some of the most common. Bottom line: if you hear something, you need to evaluate the source. Do your research. A lot of those myths can be dispelled at www.studentaid.ed.gov which is the website for Federal Student Aid the federal agency that oversees the FAFSA and federal financial aid programs.


Steve - ICAN Council Bluffs Center