Financial Aid

College tuition has gone up over the years, and immediately funding your college experience straight out-of-pocket is highly unlikely during these tough economic times. In order to ensure you can afford your college tuition, it’s important that you take into consideration applying for federal student aid, grants, and even scholarships.

FAFSA

In order to be eligible for all federal and state education grants as an individual student, you are required to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) every year of school. Operated through Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, the FAFSA form is the fundamental qualifying form used for all federal and government-guaranteed commercial lenders’ programs- as well as for many state, regional and private student aid programs. Regardless of your socioeconomic status, Federal Student Aid makes it its mission and is dedicated to helping you receive a postsecondary education. Whether you are seeking to take care of the costs for your four-year or two-year public or private educational institution, or even a career school or trade school, Financial Student Aid will help you traditionally based on your financial needs.

What You Can Use Financial Aid Money For

When you are rewarded money from the government to pay for school, it’s important that you actually use the money for school and not for other reasons. Below is a list of purposes that you should use your federal financial aid on:

Tuition and Fees
Room and Board
Books
Supplies
Transportation

Grants

Grants are one type of financial aid which doesn’t have to be paid back. Sometimes referred to as gift aid, grants will be rewarded to you generally as an undergraduate based on your financial need as reported in your FAFSA.

Available Federal Grant Programs:

Pell Grant – Currently for the 2010-11 award year, starting from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, you can be rewarded up to $5,550.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant – You can be awarded anywhere from $100 to $4,000 from this grant.
Academic Competitiveness Grant - Provides up to $750 for the first year and up to $1,300 for the second year of undergraduate study.
National SMART (Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent) Grant –The SMART Grant will provide up to $4,000 for each of the third and fourth years of undergraduate study.
TEACH Grant – Given to students who intend on teaching in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income communities, it provides up to $4,000 per year.

Loans

When the cost of college is beyond your means, it’s important that you apply for loans to make your college experience a reality. Loans are borrowed money that must be paid back with interest. Depending on the year of school you are in, whether an undergraduate or graduate student, your maximum loan will vary.

Available Federal Loans:

Federal Stafford Loans – This is an excellent loan that allows you to borrow directly from the federal government at participating schools.
- Direct Subsidized Loans – Given to students with financial need, you will not be charged interest for half of the time while you are in school and not during grace periods and deferment periods.
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans – You don’t need to demonstrate financial need with these loans and interest accumulates from the time it’s first paid out. If you don’t pay your interest, you will increase the total amount you will have to pay on a higher principal amount.
Federal Perkins Loans – Given to those who demonstrate the most financial need, Perkins Loans are low-interest (5 percent) loans offered to students attending participating schools. As an undergraduate, you can borrow up to $5,500 for each year and up to $27,500 as an undergraduate. For graduates, $8,000 a year and $60,000 as a graduate including the amount borrowed as an undergraduate.
PLUS Loans – These loans are made to parents so that they can pay the education expenses for their dependent undergraduate students. PLUS Loans can also be offered to graduate and professional students up to their cost of attendance minus their other financial assistance.

Work-Study

Participating in a federal work-study (FWS) program can help you earn money for school by working part-time as an undergraduate or graduate student. Typically you will be paid by the hour and work on campus. You can also work off-campus and will most likely be hired by a private nonprofit organization or a public agency which must serve a public interest. The pay depends on the type of work you are doing and will be at least the current federal minimum wage, but might be higher.