Who should apply for financial aid for college you ask?
Simple answer: Absolutely every college-bound student! Some families assume they won’t qualify, and miss out as a result of an unfortunate, mistaken assumption. It is important to know that there are some sources of aid, like PLUS loans, that are not related to need, and there are some surprising income exemptions that you may be unaware of. Go for it; all you risk wasting may be some time, since completing and filing the required FAFSA (Free Application For Federal Student Aid) form costs nothing.
What types of aid are available?
For those who do qualify, what options are available? Pell grants, other state grants, Perkins loans, Stafford loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), funds made available from colleges themselves (increasingly available), other private sources for scholarships, and more! Work Study is regarded as a form of financial aid, so to be considered for this type of on-campus employment you must also file a FAFSA.
The FAFSA can be filed after Jan 1 (the best and fastest way is to apply online), so the time is nigh. For some solid comprehensive information on financial aid, see the Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid site, which features great tools, like EFC (estimated Family Contribution) calculators:
http://www.finaid.org/.
The photo below is of my groovy, sweet new foster dog, Shaboo, pictured on the University of Denver campus, while out on a walkie. Shaboo isn’t applying for college or for financial aid, but you should! To check Shaboo’s adoption availability, see
http://www.rottieaid.org/
