Financial Aid 

FINANCIAL AID is often a tricky, complicated process.  If you are a new student, or new to the financial aid process, then you must educate yourself on the process before applying.  The first step in applying for Federal Financial Aid is to fill out the FAFSA form, which is available online or through the financial aid office at your educational institution.  This form is sent to the government to determine how much government related financial aid your are eligible for.  This type of financial aid comes in the form of Stafford loans, Perkins loans, grants and university related loans; all of which are subsidized by the federal government.  The process of determining your financial aid eligibility is tabulating the total cost of attendance and comparing it to your families total income.  To put in simple terms, the more your parents (and you) make, the less financial aid you will be eligible for. 

This leaves many students with gap in the financial aid they actually need, and the financial aid they are "eligible" for according to government formulas.  Many students turn to scholarships, though it's actually rare that a student receives a scholarship unless offered by the college or university for athletics or excellent academic achievement. We advise you to ONLY pay for a scholarship service after you have exhausted all efforts with free scholarships searches.

We recommend you contact the Financial Aid office at your specific college or university to see what other forms of financial aid they offer, as it often varies from school to school.  To learn more about student loans, stop by our student loans page or visit alternative student loans for college financial aid. also consider student loans.org

HELPful government websites assisting students with financial aid include:

The FAFSA - official government website featuring helpful info, tools and the online FAFSA application.
William D. Ford Direct Loan Program - presented by the U.S. Federal Government
Federal Stafford Loan - ED.gov: Federal Stafford Loan program information.
Stafford loans - additional Stafford loan resources and info.

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