Financial Aid....

Types of Financial Aid

The term "financial aid" is a broad term generally used to indicate money provided by a third party, like a college, university or foundation to help students meet the costs of attending college.

Financial aid can be provided by various agencies including federal, state and local governments, universities, community organizations, and private corporations or individuals. The four types of financial aid are grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study. 

• GRANTS... financial aid that does not have to be repaid. Generally, grants are for undergraduate students and the grant amount is based on need, school cost, and/or enrollment status.  

• SCHOLARSHIPS... scholarships do not have to be repaid. Scholarships come from many different places including national, state, public and private sources. Scholarship money can be awarded based on a variety of different factors such as financial need, academic or athletic achievement, program of study, and background. Every scholarship has its own set of criteria.

• LOANS... borrowed money that must be repaid with interest. Both undergraduate and graduate students may borrow money. Parents may also borrow to pay education expenses for dependent undergraduate students. Maximum loan amounts increase with each year of completed study. Often times, repayment is deferred until after graduation, withdrawal, or termination of attendance.       
• WORK-STUDY... money for education expenses paid by the school for on-campus or community-based employment. 

HOW TO APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID:

Complete The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)!!

The FAFSA is an application completed by students and their families who wish to receive financial aid from colleges, universities, community colleges and vocational schools. It is also used by many scholarship committees to determine financial need when considering need-based scholarship applications. 

Students who complete the FAFSA receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) online or through the mail a few weeks after they apply. The SAR gives students and their parents an "Expected Family Contribution," or EFC. The EFC tells students and their parents how much they will be expected to pay based on the financial information they provided on their FAFSA application. When students complete the FAFSA, they request that this report also be sent to the schools of their choice. Those schools offer a financial aid package based on the information on they receive through FAFSA. 

Juniors & Seniors can get an estimate of their EFC by completing the FAFS4caster at www.fafsa.ed.gov. All information entered into the FAFSA4caster will transfer into the FAFSA students will complete during their senior year.

 

When to complete the FAFSA (After January 1 2009):

The sooner the better...school funds are limited and are available on a first come, first serve basis.

Seniors can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online beginning on January 1st of their graduating year at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Applications must be submitted online.  

 

For more information on FAFSA click here: www.studentaid.ed.gov

 

To learn more about federal student financial aid, click here: Funding your Education, a comprehensive look at all financial aid options.

 

WHERE TO SEARCH FOR SCHOLARSHIPS:

There are many web-based scholarship search engines. Here are just a few:

                     

        

TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIPS:

• Athletic Scholarships:
  Athletic scholarships are very common and these scholarships are awarded on the basis of your athletic abilities. If you are a very good athlete, you may qualify for this type of scholarship.
• Academic Merit Scholarships:
  These scholarships are also very common. Academic merit scholarships are awarded, as the name suggests, on the basis of merit. If you have good grades and excellent test scores, you might qualify for this type of scholarship.
• National Merit Scholarship:
  There is an independent, non-profit corporation known as the “Merit Scholarship Corporation” and it awards nearly five thousand scholarships each year. To secure this scholarship, students have a competition of test scores, academic and extra curricular activities, and school recommendations. You can enter this competition by taking your Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the fall of your junior year in high school.
• Employer-Sponsored Scholarships
  There are several corporations and businesses that offer scholarships to the children of their employees or to the students who are living within the community where the business or corporation is situated. Other businesses offer aid to students who are planning to major in fields that are related to the company’s interests and that might later on prove to be valuable to them. A good way to find such scholarships is to ask your local library for assistance or look up these scholarships on the Internet.
• Special Scholarships:
  These are scholarships that are given for different purposes. Special scholarships are awarded for something you excel at, for instance leadership or artistic abilities. They are also awarded on the basis of financial need or if you belong to a certain ethnic group.
• Community Organization Sponsored Scholarships:
  There are several civic and community groups that offer scholarships and other assistance. These civic and community groups include the Boy Scouts, the Girls Scouts, the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the PTA et cetera. You should try to contact the different civic, religious, fraternal, patriotic, social and professional organizations in your community for further information regarding this kind of scholarship.
• Professional, Career, and Trade Association-Sponsored Scholarships:
  There are several scholarships that are provided by professional, career and trade associations. You can go to a library and ask for a directory that lists the scholarships and loans offered by such associations in your particular field of study. If there is something you excel at, you should also ask your coach or instructor about the colleges that are out on a look for students that have the talents you possess. Another idea is to browse through trade magazines to find leads on scholarships that are related to your special interests or skills.
• Ethnic and Religious Scholarships:
  Several ethnic organizations provide scholarships to outstanding students who belong to that particular ethnic background. There are also houses of worship and religious denominations that offer scholarships to students who plan to pursue a career in clergy.

Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program

 

Bright Futures is a state sponsored scholarship program which provides 75% to 100% tuition at public colleges/universities in Florida to graduating seniors who qualify. To see if you are eligible for Bright Futures go to www.facts.org. BRIGHT FUTURES DOES NOT PAY SUMMER TUITION!

 

To apply for Bright Futures, students must complete the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) in December of their senior year at: www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org. By completing the FFAA, students may be eligible for other scholarships and grants both in and outside of the State of Florida, in addition to Bright Futures.

ALL graduating seniors should complete the FFAA! Even if a student plans to attend an out-of-state college or university, the Bright Futures scholarship money is held for up to 3 years, in the event that the student should return and attend a Florida university.