FINANCIAL AID

Financial Aid comes in different forms:

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used by the federal government to determine financial need to award Loans, Grants, Scholarships, Work Study, etc. Colleges use the FAFSA to also award their own financial aid. Financial Aid packages look different from school to school.
- Loans - Money you borrow and must pay back with interest. Student loans can come from the federal government, from private sources such as a bank or financial institution, or from other organizations. Loans made by the federal government, called federal student loans, usually have more benefits than loans from banks or other private sources. Learn more about the differences between federal and private student loans.
- Grants - The federal government provides grants for students attending college or career school. Most types of grants, unlike loans, are sources of free money that generally do not have to be repaid.

Grants can come from the federal government, your state government, your college or career school, or a private or nonprofit organization. Do your research, apply for any grants you might be eligible for, and be sure to meet application deadlines!

- Scholarships - Offered by Private Businesses, Community Organizations, College Endowments, Funds and Programs, etc.

This Year's Scholarship Spotlight - Going Merry
A FREE scholarship tool that saves you time using a common application.
To sign up, go to: https://app.goingmerry.com/sign-up#students

FAFSA

Create Your FAFSA ID -
(1) Parent AND Student
MUST do this FIRST
FAFSA Application Available Dec. 1st - CLICK HERE
College Goal Wisconsin - (FREE help filling out FAFSA)
What is the SAI? (Student Aid Index)
Student Aid Report (SAR)
Dependency status
IRS Data Retrieval Tool - allows families to transfer data directly onto their FAFSA from the IRS Website
Adding a College to FAFSA
WI Colleges' Financial Aid Application Information - info about individual colleges such as their federal school code, if they have additional financial aid forms to complete, deadlines, etc.
Glossary of Financial Aid Terms - Understand terms and definitions related to student aid.

GRANTS & LOANS

Subsidized Loans VS Unsubsidized Loans

SCHOLARSHIPS

Current FHS Scholarship Hot Sheet
FHS Scholarship Hotsheet: Prior Years
Going Merry - common scholarship application and search engine
www.fastweb.com - internet search engine to help students find scholarships matching their profile.
www.scholarships.com - internet search engine to help students find scholarships matching their profile.
Peterson's Scholarship Search Engine
College Scholarships Website
Financial Aid Programs: State of WI Higher Educational Aides Board (HEAB)

Six Common Scholarship Mistakes and the Solutions

Mistakes

Hand writing
Applying for scholarships that do not match who you are and what you represent.

Burdening the people who can help you with last minute, vague requests.
Ignoring the instructions and questions.
Cutting and pasting an unoriginal essay into all of your applications.
Shortchanging yourself and your accomplishments.
Forgetting to properly proofread.

Solutions

Type everything possible
Write down everything about yourself, your family, where you live, etc. Do your research about who you are and what you’ve accomplished before you look for scholarships. You will open up many more opportunities this way. It annoys judges when you apply for a scholarship and don’t match the criteria.
Plan ahead and be clear about what you are asking people to do. Need letters of recommendation? Provide the mailing address, key points about yourself and specific instructions and deadlines (with ample notice) to your counselor, mentor, coach or anyone else who has agreed to support you.
People who win scholarships follow the instructions and that are asked. Judges often use points in assessing applications. You will lose points if you can’t provide the information they want in their requested format.
Keep key phrases about yourself and your skills in a main document. Borrow from that to build a new essay that is specific to each scholarship. Make sure you change the introduction and closing-don’t embarrass yourself by having the name of the previous scholarship in the new essay.
Students who brag all the way through their application are rarely appealing. However, students who conceal information about their fabulous accomplishments have little chance of winning. The judges only know you by what is written or expressed in the application. Remember to include everything that is compelling and relevant to that scholarship.
If you proofread your application once, that is not enough. You should read everything three times with a critical eye and preferably ask someone else to read it, too. It’s amazing what you will find if you come back to the application at different times of the day, on different days. We all make mistakes but try to catch them before you send in the application.

Report abuse