Most people will find that they are eligible for federal student aid – but just to be sure, here are the requirements (according to the FAFSA website):
- Be a U.S. citizen (or an eligible non-citizen)
- Have a valid Social Security Number
- Register with Selective Service
- Possess a high school diploma or GED
- Be currently enrolled (or accepted) as a student working towards a degree in an eligible school
- Not owe a refund on a federal grant or be in default on a student loan
- Have qualifying financial need
So, to wrap up, to be eligible for Federal Student… Read the rest
Applying for aid with the Federal Application For Student Aid is actually pretty simple, especially if you do it online. The official FAFSA website outlines the main steps for doing so – Ill paraphrase them here:
- Complete the FAFSA online (it can be found by clicking here) and provide the signatures required.
- Wait for the FAFSA to be processed. Once it is, you’ll receive a Student Aid Report. On the FAFSA website, they’ll refer to this as your SAR.
- Check out the Student Aid Report for accuracy. This is important – clerical errors happen all
… Read the rest
Recently I talked a bit about EFC – expected family contribution. While this is most relevant to finding out how much support you’ll receive from the government, theres another more practical application! An acquaintance who will graduate from high school next year asked me how much money I thought it would cost his parents for him to go to college – they aren’t exactly well off, and he knows that going to college will be a burden on them.
At first, I tried to sort through all of the potential expenses with him to come up with an estimate.… Read the rest
If you’ve been looking into financial aid for college, one ominous sounding acronym almost certainly popped up: EFC. EFC stands for expected family contribution, and plays an important role in determining how much financial aid you are likely to get.
Right off the bat, students often assume that the EFC is either how much money you’ll get from the government, or how much you’re going to have to pay for college. These are both wrong. The Expected Family Contribution represents the amount that your family is expected to contribute to your education. It is by no means a guarantee, but… Read the rest
FAFSA, short for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the application form for federal studnt grants, work study aid, and loans. In some msituations, the application can be used to apply for private aid as well. In short, its a big deal, and everyone looking to receive some form of financial aid for college will likely need to fill one out.
Because of its popularity, there are many methods available for filling out the FAFSA.
An option common with graduating high school seniors is the Electronic Data Exchange for schools. High schools often provide a method for… Read the rest
Before you apply | admin, 25 Sep 07 | 
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