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College financial aid helps students and their families by covering higher education expenses such as tuition and fees, room and board, books and other coursework supplies, and transportation.
There are several types of financial aid:
Grants
Scholarships (see separate tab for scholarships)
Federal and private loans
Work-study
Why Apply for Financial Aid?
Why Apply for Financial Aid?
College/Trade/Vocational Schools costs money (Thousands $$$). How will you pay for this?
The primary purpose of the FAFSA/Dream Act is to determine how much financial aid a student qualifies for, including both need-based and non-need-based aid. It determines eligibility for federal need-based grants, including the Pell Grant. To determine a family's financial need, the FAFSA/Dream Act asks a series of questions about the parents' and student's income and assets as well as other factors, such as how many children there are in the family. It then comes up with a Student Aid Index (SAI).
Colleges and career schools use the FAFSA form to determine how much financial aid you're eligible to receive, which could include grants, scholarships, work-study funds, and loans.
Students fill out the FAFSA or CA Dream Act (not both) which helps determine the need of financial aid. This report gets sent to the colleges indicated on the application. Every college has a financial aid office. With this report, the college will provide the student with a financial aid package which would include GRANTS, LOANS. Students can chose the amount of loans and grants offered or not accept them.
Common mistakes on Financial aid applications:
Legal name not entered on application. Legal name differs than school database (Powerschool, Transcript).
Forgetting login Username/Password
Confusing Parent Information with Student Information
Not Reporting Parent Information (Financial Information specifically)
Listing only ONE college (it does not hurt your application to add more schools)
Not being prepared - Parents/guardians need to be involved (financial information)
Not signing the Application/completing the application
What information will I need to fill out a FAFSA® form?
What information will I need to fill out a FAFSA® form?
You’ll need the following to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form:
For those completing a FAFSA form, you need the following information:
Your Social Security Number
Your A-Number (if you're not a U.S. citizen)
Federal income tax returns, records of child support received; and your current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts (Note: You must provide consent and approval to disclose your federal tax information to be eligible for federal student aid.)
Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable), net worth of investments, businesses, and farms
Records of untaxed income (if applicable)
An FSA ID (account username and password) to log in to StudentAid.gov and start the FAFSA form electronically
What is the California Dream Act?
The California Dream Act allows undocumented students, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients (valid or expired), U Visa holders and students under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), who qualify for a non-resident exemption under Assembly Bill 540 (AB 540), Senate Bill 2000 (SB 2000) and Senate Bill 68 (SB 68),
to receive certain types of financial aid such as: private scholarships funded through public universities, state administered financial aid, university grants, community college fee waivers, and Cal Grants. In addition, the California Dream Act, allows eligible students to pay in-state tuition at any public college in California
Website: Students - Create an Account after FAFSA/DREAM ACT
Web Grants
Web Grants
WGS will allow you to manage your Cal Grant and/or Chafee account(s) online by letting you:
View updates
Make school changes
Make address changes
Make corrections
Post leave of absence requests
It is important for you to understand that your WGS account does not replace your School or FAFSA accounts. Each account must be monitored and managed independently.
What is a Cal Grant?
What is a Cal Grant?
A Cal Grant is money for college you don’t have to pay back.
Cal Grants can be used at any University of California, California State University or California Community College, as well as qualifying independent and career colleges or technical schools in California.
There are three kinds of Cal Grants — A, B and C — but you don’t have to figure out which one to apply for. Your eligibility will be based on your FAFSA or CA Dream Act Application responses, your verified Cal Grant GPA, the type of California colleges you list on your FAFSA or CA Dream Act Application and whether you’re a recent high school graduate.
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