2 questions about college financial aid... help please?

Question:The first concern is that they denied me of any grants, because of the fact that I made more than $16000 last year... (actually something like $19000, but everybody knows this is not not a lot of money). I "QUIT" that job because they were working me on average 52hrs a week. The college I am attending right now is about an hours drive from where I live. (there was no way I could attend full-time classes, drive to and from, study and work those hours,) I would never sleep. Well anyways now I make like $120/wk... and they won't give me any grants because of the amount I made last year? I quit my "great paying job" to attend school and further myself.

The second issue is that after this I took out additional loans (more than what I was approved for) to be able to pay for the classes... I got a letter in the mail today, and the additional amount that I requested wasn't included in the letter... I was told that I could request upto $4000/yr on top of what I was approved for.
Help... THX



Answers:
The question is, what school are you attending that don't work with situations like this? If it is a tech college or community college, you will run into this because they have their own financial aid offices they go through. A 4 year college doesn't pick and choose who they want to represent them.
Another thing is if you still live with your parents and they can claim you, or you had to put them down on your admission forms, that is the reason why you were turned down. As for the extra money, Sallie Mae does such a thing but it is classified a personal loan.
Pell Grants are suppose to pick up the slack of the tuition. That is how they do it now, for some odd reason. I have just started going back to college this spring, so I have this all fresh in my head.
To answer your first question, financial aid is ALWAYS based on the previous year's income. However, if you talk to a financial aid officer at your school, they may be able to help you out.

To answer your second question, you cannot take out more loans than what you were approved for. I'm not sure where you got that information. Financial aid offices create a budget for the students at their school which includes tuition, room and board (regardless of if the student lives on campus), books, fees, and spending money. This is the maximum amount you can receive in any sort of financial aid including loans.

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