Financial Aid

Financial aid can come in many forms:

Scholarships and Grants: money that does not need to be repaid, also known as “gift aid”

Loans: money that does need to be repaid

Need-Based: determined by a family’s ability to pay

Merit-Based: determined by a student’s achievement (academic, artistic, athletic, service, etc.)

Work Study: money that you must work for. You will maintain an on-campus job and you will earn this money gradually on an hourly wage.

The main sources of financial aid are:

• The federal government

• The Commonwealth of Colorado

• Colleges and universities

• Private sources such as foundations, corporations and banks

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is the form that the federal government, states, colleges and other organizations use to award financial aid. Submitting this application is your key to accessing grants, scholarships, work-study programs and federal student loans.

Completing the FAFSA is the first step for anyone making college plans.

The FAFSA is available every year on October 1 and students are encouraged to submit it soon thereafter. Families can use their prior-prior year tax information to complete the FAFSA. That means students graduating in May 2022 will use 2020 tax information to complete the 2022-23 form. This allows families to file the FAFSA before they file their previous year’s taxes.

The first step in filling out the FAFSA is creating a Federal Student Aid ID. This username-password combination will allow you to fill out the FAFSA online and access information about your financial aid. If you’re a dependent student, your parent or guardian will need his or her own FSA ID. You can create this now, but don’t forget it! Take a picture, write it down and memorize it, you will need to use your FSA ID every year you submit the FAFSA.

The CASFA, or Colorado Application for State Financial Aid, is an online application that the Colorado Department of Higher Education provides so that Colorado public colleges can award financial aid, including state grants and work-study, to students who are not eligible for federal student aid, but meet the requirements for Colorado residency (also know as ASSET students).

• Students who are eligible for federal student aid should complete FAFSA, not CASFA.

• Students who have DACA, TPS, or are undocumented should complete CASFA.

• If you meet the Colorado residency requirements, you will be eligible for in-state tuition and may be eligible for state aid.

• International students and students who don’t meet the Colorado residency requirements may complete CASFA to qualify for institutional aid.

• Students do not need to have a Social Security Number to complete CASFA.

IMPORTANT: CASFA is new for 2021-22, so there are still some bugs to work out. Currently, you can’t return to your CASFA to make changes once you have submitted it, so please make sure you review all of your information and make sure it’s correct before you submit. If you do need to make changes later, you’ll need to contact the financial aid offices of the colleges you listed on CASFA.