How Many Years Can You Get Financial Aid for College? Find Out With DoNotPay’s Help

iEditorial Note: These blog posts represent the opinion of DoNotPay’s Writers, but each person’s situation and circumstances vary greatly. As a result, you should make sure to do your own independent research. Because everyone is unique, our self-help tools are never guaranteed to help with any specific situation. DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law. DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help.

How Many Years Can You Get Financial Aid for College? DoNotPay Has the Answer!

Attending college is stressful enough on its own, and on top of that, you need to worry about paying for your tuition and other expenses that tag along. The good news is that you can apply for financial aid and relieve some of that anxiety!

How many years can you get financial aid, though? DoNotPay has an answer! We will explain the limits of receiving this aid and assist you in sending an appeal letter if the school refuses your application once you !

How Many Times Can You Apply for Financial Aid?

It is necessary to apply for financial aid each school year, but the total number depends on the type of aid you’re receiving.

The amount you will be able to get also varies depending on the school you are attending. Check out what some of the most popular universities offer:

Purdue University Financial AidHarvard University Financial AidYale University Financial Aid
University of California, Berkeley Financial AidMIT Financial AidStanford University Financial Aid
Princeton University Financial AidCornell University Financial AidColumbia University Financial Aid
University of California, Los Angeles Financial AidNew York University Financial AidUniversity of California, Davis Financial Aid
Rutgers University Financial AidUniversity of California, San Diego Financial AidUniversity of California, Santa Cruz Financial Aid

For How Long Can You Receive Financial Aid for College?

The time during which you can receive financial aid for college is not unlimited. The exact period it will be available to you depends on the type of aid you are receiving. There are four forms of financial aid available to students in the U.S.:

  1. Grants
  2. Student loans
  3. Scholarships
  4. Work-study jobs

For How Long Can You Keep Receiving Grants?

Grants are a federal student aid option that you don’t need to repay. There are several popular grants that students apply for. You can see the period you can receive help from them in the table below:

GrantPeriod Available
Pell GrantsSix years (12 semesters)
Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) GrantsFour years
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)Six years (12 semesters)
Iraq and Afghanistan Service GrantsSix years (12 semesters)

For How Long Can You Keep Receiving Student Loans?

Students can get direct subsidized loans for 150% of the published length of the program. The limit is measured in academic years and based on the program you are a part of. If you are attending a four-year school, the loan will take care of your expenses for around six years.

There is a way to prolong the period—you will need to switch your current program for another one that has a longer eligibility limit.

For direct unsubsidized or Direct PLUS loans, you don’t have to worry about a time limit for receiving the aid because there is none.

For How Long Can You Keep Receiving Scholarships?

The founder and the type of scholarship (private, school-based, niche, etc.) will decide for how long you can keep receiving scholarships. You will need to get the exact information about the availability period from the organization funding it.

For How Long Can You Have a Work-Study Job?

The federal government is also in charge of funding work-study programs. There is no certainty that one such program will be a part of your financial aid each year. The availability period of this option will depend on the school you attend.

What Requirements Do You Need To Meet To Get Federal Financial Aid?

To be eligible for federal financial aid, you need to meet the following criteria:

  • Have significant financial need
  • Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen
  • Have a Social Security number
  • Be registered with Selective Service (men)
  • Have a recognized certificate or a high school diploma
  • Be a part of or accepted for enrollment as a student in an eligible degree
  • Proceed to have good academic progress in school
  • Sign the certification statement on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form claiming that you:
    • Don’t owe money on a federal grant or student loan
    • Are going to use financial assistance only for education

Some schools require additional documentation—the CSS profile and/or IDOC—to help them determine who can apply for the financial aid programs offered. These documents are more detailed and contain a lot of questions compared to FAFSA.

It is still possible not to be granted financial aid or not to get a satisfying amount of money to help you go through the process. There is no need to stress—you can file an appeal and get more money with DoNotPay’s help!

Use DoNotPay To Create a Financial Aid Appeal Letter

It doesn't matter what the school that denied your application or made a lousy offer for financial aid is—DoNotPay can create an appeal letter for you! You can also save time by letting our app generate appeal letters to all the schools you applied for. The procedure is simple and consists of four steps:

  1. Type Appeal for More Financial Aid in the search bar
  2. Include the amount of financial aid other schools offered you if you have multiple options
  3. Provide relevant info about your family’s current financial status

DoNotPay will make sure to create your letter as soon as possible and send it to the school’s financial aid office on your behalf!

DoNotPay also knows:

Work Smarter, Not Harder!

Although there are certain tasks that are a pain but can’t be avoided, such as paying your property taxes, you don’t have to do them the hard way. There is always a way to make the overbearing bureaucratic procedures a bit easier. DoNotPay can find a loophole and help you cut through the red tape!

Reducing your property taxes is only one in the sea of tasks our app will make super easy to do! You can also use DoNotPay to:

Explore DoNotPay’s Other Neat Features

DoNotPay offers a plethora of useful products to make your day-to-day life easier and enjoyable! Consult the list below to see what you can do using our app:

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