Basic Information:
Every year college tuition is raised around the state and around the country. Paying for a
college education can be a shared responsibility between: (1) the STUDENT-from savings,
scholarships, summer and/or part time employment, and loans; (2) the PARENTS-contributing
from their assets and income; and (3) the COLLEGE-from financial aid offered to the
student.
If you and your parents need financial help for you to attend the vocational school,
college, or university of your choice, there may be several ways for you to receive
assistance. Aid comes in the form of LOANS, GRANTS,
SCHOLARSHIPS and WORK STUDY.
 | Loans: Must be repaid by the student and/or
parents. Many loans have a very low interest rate, repayment usually does not begin until
9 months after graduation, and you have several years to repay. |
| Grants: Do not have to be repaid by the
student. Grants are almost always based upon need, and no other qualifications are
necessary. |
| Scholarships: Do not have to be repaid by the
student. These may be based upon financial need, special talent, grades, SAT or ACT test
scores, intended major, or a combination of any of the above. Scholarships are announced
through the daily bulletin, the Career Center Bulletin is posted in the hall by the Career
Center and in the hall. This bulletin lists all of the up-coming scholarships that have
applications on file in the Career Center. The student should check the Career
Center weekly to see if she/he is eligible to apply for any new scholarships. Many
other scholarships are available from a variety of sources. Investigate the SCHOLARSHIP section of this website. |
| Work Study: Students usually work on campus
for a set hourly wage. The student works a specific number of hours to earn a specified
amount each quarter. The amount each student is eligible to earn is determined by the
college financial aid counselor. |
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Financial Aid Packages
If aid is awarded by a vocational school, college or university, it is awarded as a
Financial Aid Package, which usually includes a grant, loan, and work study. Sometimes,
colleges and universities will award special talent financial aid. In most cases,
financial aid is given on the basis of need only. Pick up your copy of
information booklets describing these programs in detail from the Career Center.
Scholarship Help:
http://www.scholarshiphelp.org
has a detailed explanation about how colleges award financial aid packages.
Go to the College Cost Facts section.
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The FAFSA Form
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is available in the
Career Center OR if you have access to the internet, you can complete your
application on-line by going to this website: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.
The FAFSA is required by the Department of Education before any federal
financial aid is awarded. The form is a way to measure a family’s ability to meet the
financial responsibility of having a child attend a vocational school, college or
university. Amount considerations are income, assets, indebtedness, family size, parental
age, and number of children already in college.
One of the last pieces of information required on the FAFSA
form is for you to list the Federal School Code for the colleges that you are planning to
attend. You can locate the 6 digit number by going to this website: Federal School Codes
or ask the career counselor who has a directory of this information.
Approximately 85% of college funding assistance is obtained by submitting a completed
FAFSA. You can submit the FAFSA no sooner than January 1st of your senior year. You should
submit the form no later than January 31st to assure that you meet all college or
university deadlines. Always check with the schools, some
require that you fill out their institutional Financial Aid Form as well as the FAFSA.
Many private schools will require you to also fill out the CSS/Financial
Aid Profile form.
If you have questions or would like assistance filling out financial aid forms PLEASE
stop by the Counseling Center.
Four to six weeks after you send in your FAFSA form you should receive a Student Aid
Report (SAR). This report must be checked for errors. Then:
If there is a mistake in the report.....
If at any point in this process you or your parents need assistance PLEASE call or stop
by the Counseling Center.
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CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Form
PROFILE is a program of the College Scholarship Service (CSS) the
financial aid division of the College Board. Many colleges, universities, graduate
and professional schools, and scholarship programs use the information collected on the
PROFILE form to help award nonfederal student aid funds. This form is
available in the career center or if you have access to the internet students may fill it
out on-line: http://www.collegeboard.org
This is not a free application. There is a nonrefundable registration fee
plus an additional charge for each school or program to which you want your information
sent.
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Financial Aid Websites
Here are a few helpful websites dealing with Financial Aid:
