• Net price calculators are available on a college’s or university’s website and allow prospective students to enter information about themselves to find out what students like them paid to attend the institution in the previous year, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account.

• Click Here to use a tool that will take you directly to a college’s Net Price Calculator

The FAFSA is the main form that students submit to be considered for federal financial aid (grants, loans, work study). Students fill out the FAFSA after October 1 during their senior year. They reapply after October 1 every year to be considered for financial aid for the following school year. For 2024-25, the FAFSA will have a delayed opening of December 1.

• CLICK HERE for the FAFSA application.  Note: the student must be a citizen or permanent resident to submit a FAFSA but can file the Alternate Application for Illinois Financial Aid if ineligible to submit a FAFSA. 

• CLICK HERE for US Dept. of Education videos and infographics explaining all parts of the FAFSA.

FSA ID - An FSA ID is a username and password that you will use to electronically sign the FAFSA. Students and at least one of their parents must create an FSAID once that will then be used to sign the FAFSA each year.  If a parent is ineligible to obtain an FSA ID to electronically sign the FAFSA, a signature page can be printed and mailed in.

• CLICK HERE to create an FSAID in advance of the FAFSA application process.

FAFSA: New Graduation Requirement

Beginning with the 2020-21 school year, submission of the FAFSA is required in order to receive a diploma from a public high school in Illinois. 

The FAFSA graduation requirement can be met by one of the following:

• Submit a FAFSA (only students who are citizens or permanent residents are eligible to submit a FAFSA)

• Submit the Alternate Application for Illinois Financial Aid (for students ineligible to submit a FAFSA - available beginning December 1, 2024).

• Complete a FAFSA Nonparticipation Form (available beginning December 1, 2024. Scroll down to the very last tile).

Prospect will be given a list of seniors who have submitted a FAFSA or Alternative Application to monitor completion of this graduation requirement. 

Students who are not eligible to submit a FAFSA may submit an Alternate Application for Illinois Financial Aid

• Alternative Application Users Guide

• Ayuda Financiera

• You might see a note on your Student Aid Report (SAR) saying you’ve been selected for verification; or your school might contact you to inform you that you’ve been selected.

• Verification is the process your school uses to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you’re selected for verification, your school will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported.

• About 30% of all FAFSAs are selected for verification- don't assume you're being accused of doing anything wrong. If your FAFSA was selected for verification, you may be asked to provide an IRS Tax Transcript and complete a verification worksheet.

• To request an IRS Tax Transcript, CLICK HERE.

Colleges Meeting 100% of the Student’s Financial Need: A college or university that promises to make sure every penny of an accepted student's demonstrated financial need is covered through grants, work-study, scholarship, and in some cases, federal student loans.

• Colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for US citizens and permanent residents

• Colleges that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for undocumented and DACA students

Students should look for scholarships in the following ways:

• Check the Admissions and Financial Aid webpages of the colleges you are considering. Look for automatic merit scholarships or others that may require an application.

• All local scholarships received by the PHS PSC are listed here. 

• Ask your parents to check whether their employer offers scholarships to children of their employees. 

• Use online scholarships searches such as College Board (Big Future) or Fast Web.

Remember, scholarships are meant to be free money given to the student. Avoid scams; beware of anything that guarantees money, costs money to search, or asks for personal financial information.