Financial Aid

Most of the students that attend college in the 1990's must rely on some type of financial aid to ease the high cost encountered to further their education. Types of financial aid vary as widely as the universities in the United States. Sources of financial aid include federal, state, and local governments, businesses and foundations, community groups, and colleges and universities.

Many of you are probably sitting there wondering where to begin the long process of finding money to go to school. The first thing you should do is fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, (FAFSA). The FAFSA helps determine the amount of "aid" that you are eligible to receive by evaluating the financial information on you, or your parents if you are a dependent, from the previous year. The financial aid you receive will be expressed as:

Financial Aid = Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution.

Once this amount has been determined, then your university will award you with a financial aid package including loans, institutional grants, and student employment.

When considering financial aid, two basic types come to mind, gift and self-help aid.

Two Basic Types of Financial Aid:

1) Gift Aid:

a)Loans. (Money granted to students to use to help cover the cost of going to school that must be repaid with interest. Some student loans may be repaid after graduation, while others require immediate payment.)

b)Scholarships. (Awarded based on the applicants academic merit, although financial is sometimes taken into consideration in determining the award amount.).

c) Fellowships. (Awarded to graduate students based on applicants academic merit.)

2) Self-Help:

a) Loans. (Money repaid with interest.)

b) Student Employment. (Work study programs funded by state and federal governments, assistantships, and regular part-time employment.)

Also, to see some other interesting and informative web sites about financial aid, then please direct yourself to the Links hyperlink at the top of the page.