Saturday 2 June 2007

Student Financial Aid

What’s Up with Student Financial Aid?


Yes, you can truly afford a college education, especially with the help of Student Financial Aid. All you have to do is some research, and educate yourself about the Student Financial Aid process. Many types of college funding are available, like federal, private, and school assistance.

S everal main kinds are out there: 1. no-repay student financial aid, like grants and scholarships; and, 2. pay back financial aid, such as work-study and loans.


When applying for most any student financial aid, the first thing you must do is to fill out the FAFSA, otherwise known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. If you are still dependent on your parents, you will need them to fill out their portion for you. Incidentally, most colleges and universities use this document to design and offer individualized financial aid packages.

Anyone seeking student financial aid should understand some more about the grants—Basically, Federal Pell Grants are awarded based on financial need and college expenses. However, there are also the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, which are institution-based grants designated exclusively for those with extreme monetary needs. Then, as for loans, the US Department of Education makes loans to students known as Federal Perkins Loans and Stafford Loans. There are also PLUS loans that parents can use to borrow for their children. In addition, there are also private loans made by other lenders, which may be higher interest and not require a FAFSA. Usually such loans don’t have to be repaid until you are out working, and they can also be consolidated. Also, student loans can also be deferred if you are in a graduate or professional program of study.

So—be sure to find out about scholarships through the schools, your community resources and some of the online scholarship search engines, such as Fast Web. You can also Google for information, and then visit your local library. Finally, once you start checking, you may be surprised how much student financial aid there actually is out there!

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Student Financial Aid