What kind of financial aid is available?

There are a number of ways to pay for your education:

Federal Government Programs
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) from the U.S. Government is available to:

	All qualifying students (not just full-time or four-year college students).
	Any qualifying student, whether you go to a community college or private university.

	Money awards that do not need to be paid back.
	Often called "gift aid" or "free money."
	May be based on financial need or a student's grades or special talents.

Churches, professional associations, cultural groups and hospitals often give local scholarships. Local scholarships are easiest to obtain.

Loans

	Money that you borrow for your education.
	You will pay back your loan once you finish school.
	The interest is usually low.
	Some loans can be "forgiven" if you work in certain under-served areas like county hospitals in low-income communities. This type of repayment is call "loan-forgiveness."

	Will not be on national web sites. Check with your high school or college counselor.
	May be small ($200) or large ($5,000).
	You may have a much better chance locally than you do for the national scholarships because local scholarships often receive only a few dozen applicants, so your competition is much smaller.

	Money that students work for as part of their financial aid.
	An example would be working 10–15 hours a week in the college library or health center.

	Local civic groups (Kiwanis, Rotary)
	Local hospitals and hospital auxiliaries or volunteer groups
	Churches
	Professional associations
	Ethnic and Cultural Groups
	Credit Unions

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When do I start planning?

You can never start too early. The sooner you start looking for financial help the better.

For most financial aid programs you will need to:

	Request for the application
	Know the application deadline
	Complete the forms thoroughly and correctly
	Follow all the financial aid procedures
	Send in the application before the set deadline

Missing a deadline could prevent you from getting some or all of the aid you are qualified for.

A school’s financial aid office can also be a great resource, so it's a good idea to talk to a financial aid counselor. If you have problems or unusual circumstances, the counselor can help you make financial aid plans.

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Look at the resources on this site

There is money available, so be sure to check all possible sources. Examples of financial aid sources include scholarships and grants from:

	Your local community and state
	Schools
	Colleges
	Religious and civic organizations

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Isn’t this a lot of work?

Scholarships are like "free" money. You should apply for as many as you can. The effort you put in will definitely pay off. Check out these time saving tips:

	Once you have written an essay or answered questions on a form, you have all the information you will need.
	Save the information on your computer, a back-up diskette, or printed in a file. With the saved information you do not have to start from the beginning every time you complete an application.
	Use the saved information each time you apply for a new scholarship or grant. You may need to make changes to your answers for different scholarships. Edit your original saved information to fit the scholarship requirements.

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Resources: Tools to Estimate College Costs
Government Financial Aid Applications and Related Information

College Board
Finaid
SalliemaeACT's Financial Aid Need Estimator

Funding Your Education, 2001–2002 is
Available in English and Spanish for the school year starting July 1, 2001–June 30, 2002.

For students enrolling Fall 2001, or any time after June 30, 2001.

English:
http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/FYE/FYE01/index.html

Spanish:
http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/FYE/FYE01/spanish/indexfyesp.html

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Government Financial Aid Applications and Related Information

Funding Your Education, 2001–2002
Available in English and Spanish for the school year starting July 1, 2001-June 30, 2002.

For students enrolling Fall 2001, or any time after June 30, 2001.
English: http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/FYE/FYE01/index.html
Spanish: http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/FYE/FYE01/spanish/indexfyesp.html

Free Application for Federal Student Aid
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/Students/
Step-by-step instructions for students and parents

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/Students/apply/express.html
Access to FAFSA on the Web and FAFSA Express (two electronic versions of the FAFSA)Helpful hints on filling out the form

Completing the FAFSA (Federal Application for Federal Student Aid)
http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/FAFSA/
This site offers information about filling out the FAFSA forms.

2000–01 Student Guide
http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide/2000-1/index.html

Official bulletin of the U.S. Department of Education and offers:

	Detailed explanations about the financial aid process
	Information on how "estimated family contribution" is calculated
	A Student Guide which gives students information about the financial aid process

Federal School Codes for FAFSA
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/Students/apply/search.html
List of school codes for your financial aid form

U.S. Department of Education - Office of Postsecondary Education:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/

Student Financial Aid Association
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/Students/index.html

Students.gov
http://www.students.gov/index2.html
This government site offers information and services that help you:

	Find the right college
	Apply for federal student aid
	Learn about other educational benefits

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Tax Credits

Hope Scholarship Tax Credit
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/hot/not97-601.html
Explains eligibility requirements to claim a non-refundable Hope Scholarship Credit on federal income taxes/p>

Lifelong Learning Tax Credit
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/hot/not97-602.html

	IRS information about this tax credit
	Explains eligibility requirements to claim a non-refundable Lifetime Learning Credit against federal income taxes

	You are planning to go to college
	You are already in school
	You have graduated and you're paying back student loans

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Scholarships Search Engines

American Student Assistance
http://www.amsa.com/default.asp
American Student Assistance (ASA) has assisted 1.4 million students successfully finance and repay their education costs.

College Board
http://www.collegeboard.org/fundfinder/html/ssrchtop.html

This site helps students search a database of more than 2,000:

	Scholarships
	Loans
	Internships
	Other financial aid programs

College Link
http://www.collegelink.com/clnk/scholarship/s_a_results.asp?cat=NG
This site contains over 180 Nursing Scholarships.

Fast Web
http://www.fastweb.com/
This site offers personalized scholarship searches

FreSch!
http://www.freschinfo.com/index.phtml
This site offers free scholarship information services.

Merit Scholarships
http://www.nationalmerit.org/index.htm
The Merit Scholarship Corporation awards about 5,000 scholarships each year.

Students compete based upon:

	Test scores
	Academic and extracurricuilar achievements
	School recommendations

To be considered, you must take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the fall of your junior year in high school.

Minority On-line Information Service (MOLIS)
http://content.sciencewise.com/molis/index.htm?

	A free database of scholarships and fellowships available for minority students
	Information about scholarship opportunities for qualified minority applicants.

This site contains a database of over 8,000 scholarship programs.

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Other Places to Look

Many universities and colleges maintain their own scholarship databases. You can locate this information through the school's web site.

You should also check with your:

	Local civic group (Kiwanis, Rotary)
	Local hospitals and hospital auxiliaries or volunteer groups
	Churches
	Professional associations
	Ethnic and cultural groups
	Credit Unions

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