Financial Aid
What types of Financial Aid are available?
The U.S. Department of Education awards about $150 billion a year in grants,
work-study funds, and low-interest loans to more than 14 million students.
Federal student aid covers such expenses as tuition and fees, room
and board, books and supplies, and transportation. Aid also can help pay
for other related expenses, such as a computer and dependent care. Thousands of
schools across the country participate in the federal student aid programs;
ask the schools you’re interested in whether they do!
Types of federal aid available:
*Grants—financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid
*Loans— borrowed money for college or career school; you must repay your loans, with interest
*Work-Study—a work program through which you earn money to help you pay for school
*Scholarships - Money you can receive from private and public sources. Most scholarships have specific requirements for students to apply. Check with your counselor (and below) for information on scholarship opportunities.
Additional resources:
Use FAFSA4caster to get an estimate of how much
aid you FAFSA 4Caster might receive from the U.S. Department of Education.
Apply for federal student aid using the FAFSA
(FAFSASM). And remember, the first F in “FAFSA” stands for “free”--you shouldn’t pay to fill out the FAFSA!
General Search Engines--Resources for College, Financial Aid, & Scholarships
Fast Web
CashCourse
Common Knowledge
Scholarship America
MeritAid
BrokeScholar
KnowHow2Go
A Smarter Way to Student
Scholarship Academy
UNCF
Scholarships4School
CollegeNet
CollegeView
Student Scholarship Search
Youtube.com can be a great resource for leaning about lots of things. Click on this site to view a series of videos to help you learn more about the Financial Aid process: Youtube - How to apply for Financial Aid.