Students' Questions Answered

Financial aid is much more than filling out paperwork and a check is in the mail. Much of it depends on your family's personal situation. Many, if not all, financial aid offices are available to answer all of your questions free of charge, but for some Upper Darby seniors, we brought the experts to them.

When it comes to financial aid, these Upper Darby seniors tell us their questions are endless. So, they brought questions and we brought experts to answer them.

Senior, Stephanie Frenel, asks, “I know that having a sibling in undergraduate school affects the amount of financial aid you get. Does that also apply with having a sibling in graduate school?”

Melissa Englund, head of Drexel University’s financial aid office says, “If the sibling is still a dependent of the parent, yes, it can assist in the amount of aid they are eligible for.”

Englund says the more children parents have as dependents, the more financial aid they'll need, and schools do take that into consideration.

Senior, Devinson Philippe, asks, “Why can't I submit an application for financial aid before January?”

Bonnie Behm, head of Villanova’s financial aid office says, “The FAFSA form is reflective of your total year’s income from the prior year, so your total income isn't complete until December 31st.”

Behm says if parents aren't able to file their taxes early they can estimate information on their FAFSA form. They just have to be sure if anything changes when their taxes are filed the school is notified.

Senior, Michelle Mitchell, asks, “If my parents are divorced, will they consider both incomes as a benchmark or will they be considered separately for aid?”

Cheryl Browning of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency says, “If parents are divorced and the custodial parent has not remarried, they use the income of the custodial parent. But, if the parent has remarried, they use the income of the biological parent and the stepparent’s income.”

Browning says if parents have joint custody, only the income of the parent who has the child for the majority of the time will be considered.

Frenel asks, “Does attending a school out of state affect the amount of financial aid you get from the state that you live in?”

Englund answers, “That varies from state to state. Some states allow you to use your state funding to go to an out of state school and other states do not.”

Pennsylvania will allow students to use state funding out of state, except for schools in New York, New Jersey and Maryland. But, the amount awarded will be drastically less than if the student went to a Pennsylvania school.

Senior, Casey Boberick, asks, “Will scholarships affect financial aid?”

Behm says, “A scholarship might have an effect on the student’s eligibility if it exceeds their financial need. A school can't exceed the student's financial need, so if their full need has been met, a scholarship might affect it. If you want to use state funding from New Jersey or Delaware for out of state schools you need to contact your state aid office because depending on what kind of funding you receive, you may or may not be able to use it out of state.”

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