The Financial Aid Process
PREPARATION
Before applying for any financial aid, you will need to understand the real cost of
attending college:
$$$
Sticker Price Net Price
is the published cost of tuition and fees is what you will actually pay after you
along with room and board receive scholarships and grants
Sometimes the sticker price will make a school look out of reach but when you look at
the net price, it’s attainable!
FAFSA
The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Schools use your FAFSA to
evaluate your financial need and determine how much federal student aid you are
eligible to receive. Many states and colleges also use the FAFSA to determine your
eligibility for grants, scholarships and other forms of aid.
Start File Submit
FAFSA
fafsa.gov SAI
Oct
The FAFSA is available each Complete the FAFSA online at After submitting your FAFSA,
October to file for the next school fafsa.gov. You should complete you'll receive a Submission
year. It’s a good idea to fill it out as it for each year that you are in Summary with your Student Aid
early as possible as some aid is college. Index (SAI), which is used by
awarded on a first come, first schools to assess your eligibility
served basis. for aid.
GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS
Grants and scholarships are a type of financial aid award that you do not have to pay back
Scholarships
are usually merit-based. They can be based on your academic performance,
athletic performance, or your choice of major
Grants
are usually based on a student’s financial need
$
Federal Work-Study
provides part-time jobs for students with financial need to earn money to
help pay for educational expenses
LOANS
Student loans are money given to you to pay for college expenses that you are expected
to pay back with interest. There are different types of loans:
Federal Student Loans
Loans issued by the federal government to help pay for college
Subsidized Direct Loans
The federal government pays the interest while you are in school
Unsubsidized Direct Loans
Interest accrues while you are in school and gets added to your
loan balance when you start making payments
Direct PLUS Loans
Similar to an unsubsidized loan but they are given
to those pursuing graduate and doctoral degrees
or to parents of undergraduate students
Private Loans
Loans offered by a private lender to cover the cost of college that are
not subject to the same rules as Federal Student Loans. You may need
to have good credit and have a cosigner. Private loans often do not
have benefits like income-driven repayment and loan forgiveness
programs that Federal loans have.
FINANCIAL AID PACKAGES
You will receive a financial aid offer letter from each school that you are accepted to. It
will include:
Estimated Types of Net
Cost Financial Aid Price
an estimated cost that A list of grants, scholarships What college will cost after
includes tuition, room and and loans that you are you subtract scholarships
board, fees as well as eligible for and grants from the
books, transportation, estimated cost of attendance
and supplies
If you receive award letters from multiple schools, you should compare them to see
which one is best for you.
REPAYMENT
When you are no longer going to school, you will typically have a six month grace
period before you will be required to start repaying your loans. Here are some things
to consider:
Payment Options Consolidation
You should reach out to your loan servicer If you have multiple federal loans, you can
to discuss the best repayment plan. There combine them into one bigger loan to
are standard plans with a fixed payment simplify your monthly payment. Be sure to
schedule and income-driven plans where weigh the pros and cons of consolidation
your payment will depend on your as you may lose some of the borrower
discretionary income. benefits associated with your current loans.
