Financial Aid
FINANCIAL AID 101
Financial aid is one of the most daunting things families face in the college planning process. It's confusing and is practically an entirely new language to learn. We will do our best to help you out here.
There are a couple different kinds of financial aid:
GRANTS
Grants are free money given to students by the state or federal government and sometimes the college itself. These include the Pell Grant, the Cal Grant, and the Dream Act. To qualify for grants, you MUST complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
LOANS
Loans are money you borrow, and you have to pay it back with interest. You can borrow from the government (federal loans) or from private banks (private loans). These are the last step on your financial aid journey. Try to get all the free money you can to start! To qualify for federal loans you MUST complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
WORK-STUDY
When filling out the FAFSA, if interested, students have to click on the Work-Study box. This will let the college/university know that you are interested in working on campus. If jobs are available, you will be provided a job opportunity. Advantages of work-study is that you will be on-campus, have a flexible schedule, higher hourly rate, and an understanding boss.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarships are free money given by tons of various sources. They can be given for grades (merit) or a variety of other reasons. Scholarships can come from colleges, community groups, employers, individuals, etc. There are scholarships for nearly everything, so don't believe it when you hear you'll never win. Give it a shot! It is worth it to apply.
To qualify for school-based scholarships, you should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and for some schools you MUST complete the CSS Profile. For community-based, business-based, employer-based, etc. scholarships you should apply directly to the organization hosting the scholarship.
Log on to your Naviance to view current Scholarships. Naviance Click on Colleges and scroll down to Scholarships and Money.
For more Scholarship Opportunities click below:
FINANCIAL AID FORMS
FAFSA
The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is government hosted financial aid form that is required for federal grants and loans. It is also used for many state grant programs. In addition, many colleges use the FAFSA as a base for school-based scholarships too. It opens October 1st and the priority deadline for Cal Grant is March 2nd. Bottom line: you should complete the FAFSA, and you should do it early. It is free to complete and is worth your time. Go to www.fafsa.gov
DREAM ACT
The California Dream Act is a state-run program that offers financial aid to non-resident immigrants of the United States. If you are a non-citizen, you may still be eligible for financial aid. While you cannot complete a FAFSA, you can and should complete the Dream Act! Know that information provided on the Dream Act is only shared with the California Student Aid Commission and will not be given to any other government agency. It is also separate from the federally-run DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program. Go to https://dream.csac.ca.gov/
Once you are ready to start your FAFSA these are things you should do and look over:
Student and Parent(s) need to create a FSA ID, consists of a username and password. You will need to keep this information in a secure place because each year that you fill out your FASFA you will need this information to electronically sign your application. For a video on how to apply, click here.
Once you have created your FSA ID you are ready to fill out the online FAFSA form that provides you with a step-to-step guide. You can also watch a video on how to fill out the FAFSA by clicking here. There is also a How-to-Guide for students and parents you can read by clicking here.
Once you complete and submit the application, your information automatically gets sent to the schools you listed on your FAFSA form.
Your school will send you an aid offer listing the types and amounts of aid you're eligible for. Look carefully at your options. If you're offered loans, remember that you should borrow only what you need, and consider federal loans before private loans.
To get more information on the types of financial aid click here or a watch a video here.
