Student financial aid is funding meant to help students pay higher education expenses, including college tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies. Financial aid can either be gift aid, or money given to the student for those expenses, like grants or scholarships, or self-help aid, which includes money that has to be paid back, usually in the form of student loans. Financial aid can also be need-based, in which the amount and type of aid awarded to an individual student is based on the student and/or the student’s family’s financial situation, or merit-based, in which the amount and type of aid awarded is based on criteria like the student’s grades, test scores, academic achievements, or even talent or personal characteristics.
Learn here about the different types of financial aid, what you need to do to be eligible, and how the financial aid process works.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) asks several questions that determine your status as either a dependent student or an independent student. The difference between the two centers on the degree of access the student has to financial resources from their parents. Whether you are considered dependent or independent for the purpose of [...]
Learn what is in a financial aid award letter and what questions to ask.
Learn what happens after you submit the FAFSA.
Learn why you should submit the FAFSA.
Know what is done with all that information you put on the FAFSA and why it’s important.
An overview of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – the first step in the college financial aid process