Financial Aid

• Getting Started: Best Practices
• Student Aid and Where It Comes From
• Targeted Aid for Specific Groups
• Interested in Public Service?
• Repaying Your Loans

Getting Started: Best Practices TOP

• Start gathering information early.
• Free information is readily available from:
  • High school counselors, college and career school financial aid offices (where you plan to attend)
  • Local and college libraries
  • Federal Student Aid (U.S. Department of Education)
  • Other Internet sites (search terms student financial aid OR assistance )
• Ask questions: counselors may know if you have exceptional circumstances that affect your eligibility.
• Keep copies of all forms and correspondence: you must reapply for aid each year .
• Parents: start saving early.
  • FinAid: for Parents
  • College Savings Plan Network (state "Section 529" plans)
  • Tax incentives for higher education expenses
• Good overviews:
  • About Financial Aid
  • FinAid: The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid
  • Mapping Your Future
• Beware of scholarship scams -- don't pay for free information!
  • Department of Education
  • Federal Trade Commission

Student Aid and Where It Comes From TOP

Basic assistance categories:

• Financial need-based: Remember that students and their parents are responsible for paying what they can -- financial aid is a supplement, not a substitute, for family resources.
• Non need-based
  Factors include academic excellence, ethnic background, or organization membership. Corporations may also offer assistance to employees and children.

Completing the FAFSA

• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form necessary to complete in order to get financial aid for college, career school, or graduate school.
• Application is available October 1st with varying deadlines by state or institution.

Federal Student Aid:

• Provides nearly 70% of student aid under Loans, grants and work-study programs.
• Available to all need-based applicants; some loans and competitive scholarships for non need-based.
• Free information from the U.S. Department of Education:
  • Student Aid on the Web
  • Financial Aid Resource Publications

Loans are the most common federal aid and must be repaid when you graduate or leave college:

• Stafford Loans
• Federal PLUS Loans for parents and graduate students, not need-based.
• Perkins Loans for need-based undergraduates, through participating schools.

Scholarships/grants are mostly need-based and require no repayment:

• Pell Grants
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants ( FSEOG )
• "Congressional" scholarships :
  • Named for Member of Congress or other prominent individual (such as the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program , Fulbright U.S. Student Program)
  • Merit-based and highly competitive.
  • Members of Congress do not play a role in selecting recipients.

Work study programs allow you to earn money while in school:

• Federal Work Study Program: college campus jobs
• USA Jobs: Welcome Students and Recent Graduates: jobs with the federal government
• If you have questions that are not covered by the U.S. Department of Education Web site, please call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243.

States offer residents a variety of scholarships, loans, and tuition exemptions.

• Check with your state higher education agency and guarantee agency.
• Consider prepaid tuition and college savings ("Section 529") plans: College Savings Plans Network.
• Search your Internet browser under terms such as "student financial aid" or "student financial assistance" AND your state.
  

Colleges and universities provide some 20 percent of aid, mostly need-based.
Check university web sites and the institution's financial aid office when you apply for admission.
Private foundations, corporations, and organizations offer scholarships or grants:

• FastWeb
• Free Scholarship Search
• Grants for Individuals

Targeted Aid for Special Groups TOP

• Grants for Minorities : Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Latinos, Native Americans, and Other Ethnic Groups
• African Americans: Scholarships
• Students with Disabilities: Financial Aid for Students with Disabilities
• Foreign students: Financial Aid for International Students
• Hispanic Americans: Scholarships
• Financial Aid for Law School: Law School Admission Council
• Medical students: Association of American Medical Colleges
• Native Americans: American Indian College Fund
• Study abroad (for U.S. and non- U.S. citizens): International Financial Aid
• Veterans: Education Benefits

Interested in Public Service? TOP

Federal assistance programs seek to encourage people to work in geographic areas or professions where there's a particular need (such as doctors in underserved areas); encourage underrepresented groups to enter a particular profession; and provide aid in exchange for services provided (such as military service).

• AmeriCorps Education Award
  • Volunteers who complete one year of service receive an education award for current higher education expenses or to repay student loans.
• Army Tuition Assistance
  • Additional benefits for Army personnel.
• Bureau of Health Workforce
  • Scholarships and loans to needy health profession students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Indian Health Service
  • Scholarships for American Indian/Alaskan Native health profession students and loan repayment for persons working in IHS facilities.
• Military academies: students pay no tuition or fees, and receive a salary while you are attending
  • U.S. Air Force Academy
  • U.S. Coast Guard Academy
  • U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
  • U.S. Military Academy
  • U.S. Naval Academy
• National Health Service Corps
  • Scholarships and loan repayment for health profession students who agree to work in underserved areas.
• Nursing Scholarships
  • Offered in exchange for two years of service in areas with critical nursing shortages.
• Reserve Officers Training Corps ( ROTC ): For students who want to be commissioned as officers after graduating from college.
  • U.S. Air Force ROTC
  • U.S. Army ROTC
  • U.S. Navy ROTC
• USA Jobs: Welcome Students and Recent Graduates
  • Employment, internships, cooperative education, scholarships, grants, and fellowships with federal agencies.

Repaying Your Loans TOP

After college, the federal government has ways to help you repay your loans.

• Eligibility depends upon the type of loan, when it was made, and whether it's in default. Check with your loan officer to find out if you qualify.
• Loan Consolidation: combine your federal loans into a single loan with one monthly payment.

Sometimes loans may be canceled in exchange for public service.

• Teachers: Cancellation/Deferment Options
• Health professions: National Health Service Corps
• Law school graduates: Student Loan Repayment and Forgiveness
• Federal employees: Federal Student Loan Repayment Program
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Student debt repayment assistant