I want to study at two US schools simultaneously. Is it possible to obtain federal grants from one school and federal loans from another? Does the government have some process for applying for aid in FAFSA when a student is studying at two institutions?
Yes, it is possible, as long as you meet other eligibility criteria. You cannot get grants at two schools, but you could get grants at one and loans at the other, grants and loans at one and loans at the other, or just loans at both. You are subject, however, to the annual loan limits and your aggregate borrowing limits. You would just fill out the FAFSA for both schools, and you would need to contact the financial aid offices at both. If you intend to receive grants at one and loans at the other, that's probably the easiest. You would just tell the offices which one to award. If you are splitting loans, you would need to stay in contact with both, and you might need to swap some paperwork. The best thing to do is to contact one of the schools and start from there.
not the OP, but that's good to know. For some reason when I attended 2 schools in 08 I was not allowed to do this, I'll have to look into it better for my oldest son when he starts next year.
It may be that the school didn't want to fool with it. It is a somewhat complex process, and it's highly possible that the financial aid representative had never worked with that situation before. See below: (Federal Student Aid Handbook, 3-102, http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1011FSAHbkVol3Ch6.pdf) As you can see, this requires a high level of institutional cooperation. I worked in financial aid a few years ago, and I never had a student make this kind of request, but we were aware of the possibility.
Interesting, at COSC I ran my Financial Aid through them and via a consortium agreement I took classes at Colorado State Pueblo. SO COSC was handling all aid, approving all courses, and sending CCSU-Pueblo a check for my attendence there. This changed a little over the summer, but the only issue was that COSC sent me all the funds less what I owed COSC and I paid CSU-Pueblo directly. There are definitely ways to do it at any rate.
I do no think that this is possible as you are depriving the rights of another to get aid for education.
