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Posts Tagged ‘Financial aid’

Financial aid can help you attend a more expensive school, rather than settling for the best you can afford. There are many types of financial aid available for those willing to fill out the necessary forms.

1. Apply between January 1 and June 30. Check with the individual schools where you are applying; some have deadlines as early as January.

2. Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which you can obtain from the Office of Post-Secondary Education. It includes a Student Aid Report, which helps determine your expected family contribution.

3. Use a No. 2 pencil or black ink to complete the application.

4. Be prepared to give general information such as your name, address, social security number, citizenship status, marital status and type of degree you earned in high school.

5. Be prepared to give financial information such as total family income, number of people in the household and number of people in college. Round numbers to the nearest whole dollar amount.

6. List six schools you are interested in attending. You can change them if you find that the schools don’t provide the financial support you need.

7. Sign and date the application form.

8. Photocopy every sheet of the application for your records.

9. Wait for the results of your application, including the amount of financial aid you can expect to receive. It will be sent to you and to the schools you have applied to.

Paying for an Education

College is not cheap. Regardless of what school you wish to attend or the amount of tuition it costs, paying for school often involves student loans or some type of financial aid for most people. But many people can get into college without paying a dime.

Financial aid can come in many different forms. Don’t let money be the only obstacle that keeps you from getting into school. An education may cost money, but it doesn’t have to be yours.

Financial aid as a Loan

Usually financial aid in the form of loans starts with your school. Go to the registrar office and fill out the forms. Those forms ask about your personal income and the incomes of your parents or sponsors if you are dependent upon them.

Once those forms are complete and submitted to the school, the school sends the information up to the government’s Department of Education and, in most cases, they approve a student loan. The loan is disbursed straight to your school and you make a fairly flexible plan to pay it back at a low interest rate.

Grants

Grants are another way to get financial aid for college. Grants are just as they imply in the name–a grant. You don’t have to pay it back. Even the government gets into the business of grants. Depending on your financial status and personal situations, you might qualify for a Pell Grant that can be applied to the cost of your college tuition.

Depending on what you study, you could also qualify for another government grant. That process often involves writing a grant proposal to the government explaining exactly what your study plan is and approximately how much money you would need to complete it.

Scholarships as Financial aid

A scholarship is the most popular way to get financial aid because it essentially is free money to attend school. There are thousands of scholarships available for students; they just usually come with specific requirements or stipulations.

For example, one school offers scholarships for people that are left-handed. Other scholarships can be targeted to a specific population, like military veterans or descendants of Civil War soldiers. It requires time on your part to search available scholarships to find the right scholarship for you. Read the rest of this entry »

One common misconception is that young people who marry are no longer eligible for financial aid. In fact, some couples may benefit from getting married because their combined incomes will be lower than their parents’.

To qualify for financial aid as a married person, you must provide different information than you would if you were single.

Basics of Financial Aid

Before understanding how marriage will affect your eligibility for financial aid, you should understand the types of aid and sources of aid that are available. Generally, the question involves federal government aid.

The federal government provides several grant programs, including the Pell Grant, the TEACH grant and the ACG grant. These funds do not have to be paid back.

Through the government, you can also receive Stafford loans and work study funds. Of all these options, only the Stafford loan can be obtained regardless of your income level.

Determining EFC

Decisions about your qualifications for federal financial aid are based on your EFC (Estimated Family Contribution). Basically, when you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the income information you provide will determine how much your family should be able to pay toward your college education.

If you are a dependent student, your parents’ income must be provided and used to determine your EFC. If you are an independent student, you do not have to include your parents’ finances. In most cases, the EFC is going to be lower without your parents’ incomes. Unfortunately, being recognized as an independent student is not that easy.

Dependent Vs. Independent

Just because you are away from home, you are not automatically considered independent by the government’s standards for financial aid. Most college students do not live with their parents while in school but still receive financial support from those families.

To be classified as truly independent, you must meet specific criteria such as having your own dependent, being at least 24 years old or being married. If you are legally married, you only have to claim the finances of you and your spouse. From this perspective, being married will often help you lower your EFC and receive more financial aid. Read the rest of this entry »

After you apply for financial aid, take the time to choose the right program.

1. Apply for dependent student aid if you’re going to college straight from high school. Dependent student aid is determined by parents’ financial background.

2. Opt for independent student aid if you’re married, born before January 1, 1975, are a veteran, are in a professional or graduate program, or have legal dependents.

3. Apply for a Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) if you have a low expected family contribution rate.

4. Consider the Federal Work Study Program (FWS) to use part-time work to help pay for tuition and gain experience before leaving school.

5. Look into student loans to receive low-interest rates and a variety of repayment options.

6. Opt for private loans to avoid filling out federal forms or to cover expenses that federal loans don’t cover.

7. Remember that parent loans can supplement student loan packages.