How much will a college cost for you?

• The sticker price vs the net price

• Know Your Student Aid Index (SAI)

  • What’s the SAI? 

  • SAI Calculator

• What is a Net Price Calculator?

• 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

CLICK HERE for the 25-26 FAFSA application when it opens. *YOU NEED TO COMPLETE THE 25-26 FAFSA (not the 24-25).  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. 

• FAFSA is the main form that students submit to be considered for federal financial aid (grants, loans, work study). Students fill out the FAFSA during their senior year. They reapply after October 1 every year to be considered for financial aid for the following school year. 

  • • CLICK HERE for more information and resources.

    • CLICK HERE for upcoming completion events.

• FSAID - An FSA ID is a username and password that gives you access to Federal Student Aid’s online systems and can serve as your legal signature. Students and one of their parents must create an FSAID once that will then be used to sign the FAFSA each year.

  • • CLICK HERE to create an FSAID in advance or create one as part of the FAFSA application process.

• CLICK HERE for information on what happens after you submit the FAFSA.

• If you are not eligible to submit a FAFSA, you can submit an Alternate Application for Illinois Financial Aid

• This application requires similar information as the FAFSA

• CLICK HERE for an information packet on the Alternative Application

• If you are not planning on completing a FAFSA, you will need to complete the waiver to opt out.

• 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.

• Some colleges meet 100% of student’s financial need for undocumented 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 RMHS CCC are recorded in this spreadsheet.

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

• Use online scholarships searches such as College Board or Fast Web.

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