Financial Aid Information
While some scholarships are merit or academic based. Other scholarships might be based on financial needs, talents, physical traits, ethnicity, or religious affiliation. Please check Pathfinder and AzCIS for possible scholarships that you might qualify for.
All college-bound students must complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). This can be completed after October 1st of the school year in which you will graduate and plan to attend college. Be sure to pay close attention to deadlines! See this link for dates: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/deadlines.htm#
By completing and submitting the FAFSA, you will find out what kind of financial aid you may qualify for.
Types of Financial Aid
Grants – Free money!
Scholarships – Free money!
Loans –You must pay the money back
Work-Study – You work while you attend college to help pay tuition & fees
Glossary of terms
Not sure what a term means? Look it up here! https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/topic/glossary/articles
Get Help!
Federal Student Aid is an office of the U.S. Department of Education. This website is devoted to helping students and parents with all different financial aid questions and information. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/
College Board is a great resource with TONS of info about preparing for college. The link below takes you straight to the section on the site about paying for college: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college
College Goal Arizona: College Goal FAFSA is a program that offers in-person help to complete the FAFSA! There are a TON of sites across the state that will have people available to help you complete your FAFSA. Take advantage of this FREE help! It takes place every year in February. Visit the website below to find a location near you and to see what you will need to bring when you go. https://collegegoal.az.gov/college-goal-fafsa
NASFAA is another great resource with tons of info about financial aid/paying for college. Be sure to check out the YouTube video on the home page! http://www.nasfaa.org/students/About_Financial_Aid.aspx
Pay for College AZ is a government site with information and resources on paying for college, grants and resources available for Arizona students. https://collegegoal.az.gov/pay4collegearizona-0
Scholarships
Researching scholarships is a big project and can seem overwhelming. However, the internet has made this process more manageable. Below is a list of some useful websites to help you. Take a look and try some of them out!
· Scholarship Scam – www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams (great government site that gives tips on how to avoid scholarship scams)
· Scholarship Help – www.scholarshiphelp.org/
· College Board— https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
Additional Websites:
· Scholarships.com – www.scholarships.com
· Scholarship 360 – www.scholarships360.org
· Scholarships A-Z – www.scholarshipsaz.org/
· Super College – www.supercollege.net
· Good Call – www.goodcall.com/
· Upromise – www.upromise.com
· FastWeb – www.fastweb.com/
· Student Scholarship Search – www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/
· Arizona College and Career Guide— https://highered.az.gov/az-college-career-guide
· Arizona Community Foundation— www.azfoundation.org/ grants and scholarships available to students in Arizona)
· AZ Earn to Learn– earntolearn.org/