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Financial Aid information from MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority)
Click here for MEFA's recorded webinars in English and Spanish about financial aid and paying for college.
Click here for a printable handout from MEFA about financing college.
Click here for a cheat sheet of the free college programs in Massachusetts.
FAFSA
All families of students planning to attend two- or four-year colleges should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for federal financial aid. The FAFSA is free to complete. Families may begin filling out the FAFSA on October 1 using tax information from 2021. Each college has its own deadline to submit the FAFSA.
Before completing the FAFSA, students and families will need to set up a Federal Student Aid Identification (FSA ID).
Set up your FSA ID here. Both the student and the guardian or parent need to set up FSA IDs.
Click here for a recorded webinar from MEFA about the FAFSA. You can also print the slides.
CSS Profile
The CSS Profile is a financial aid application used by some colleges to allocate institutional financial aid, which includes grants and scholarships that come directly from the college. Students should check financial aid application requirements to find out whether or not a college requires the CSS Profile. It costs $25 to complete and submit the CSS Profile to one college, and $16 for each college after that. Fee waivers are available for families who qualify. Families may begin filling out the CSS Profile starting on October 1 using tax information from the previous two years. See Mrs. Jefferson for a fee waiver if you do not already have one from taking the SAT.
Click here for a recorded webinar from MEFA about the CSS Profile. You can also print the webinar slides.
Unlike the FAFSA, the CSS Profile requires non-custodial parent information. If this information is not available, please contact your college financial aid offices and ask about their waiver process. Please feel free to contact your school counselor for help.
First-year toolkit - Common Application Resources
Scholarships - Springfield Public Schools
Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts
The Horace Smith Fund | Horace Smith Fund
Office of Student Financial Assistance / Massachusetts Department of Higher Education
Collegium Pharmaceutical Scholarship Program
Other resources for scholarships