Student Financial Aid is a Must for Most!
Oct 17 '01 (Updated Jan 28 '06)
The Bottom Line Apply as early as possible for financial aid, and utilize all available resources!
Depending on where you decide to enroll, college tuition, room and board can get very expensive. Private schools can cost anywhere from $7,000 to $20,000 or more per year for the basic expenses. Public schools are a little less costly, but they can still place a lot of strain on the family finances.
Finding the cash to pay for all of this expense can be quite a chore. Once you have exhausted your individual and family resources, what will you do if your expenses are still not paid? Answer: Student Financial Aid.
Free Types of Financial Aid:
College financial aid is utilized by more than half of all students. There are very few families who have the necessary funds saved to cover all of the expenses of higher education.
The first place that the young student should turn is FAFSA (Free application for federal student aid). This is a form that you should fill out and submit as soon as possible, in order to maximize your chances for free aid. You should submit this form before you get an acceptance letter to your desired college. If you wait too long, the funds might be depleted.
Most states also have a financial aid service to assist students in need. You should lookup the state education office in your state (in Ohio, it’s the Ohio Board of Regents), and find out what steps are necessary to apply for state aid. Remember that in many states, your aid could be restricted if you decide to go to college at a public school in a different state. Each state’s rules are a little different, but they tend to give out the most aid to students who go to a public school within their home state. This is done, of course, to encourage students to go to school locally. The rules are a little different if you desire to enroll in a private school in a different state. You need to check the rules in your home state, to be sure.
Once these resources are exhausted, you still have a couple more options. You can try to get a grant directly from your college, and/or apply for a scholarship. Most schools have funds set aside to help students who are still having problems paying their bursar bill. You have to go directly to your school’s financial aid office, to see how much you qualify for, and you must be able to demonstrate need. This money is limited, so the college has to be certain that this money makes its way into the pockets of the most needy students.
Applying for a scholarship is another way to finance your college expenses. There are many, many scholarships available, offered by hundreds and hundreds of organizations. Often, these organizations have a set amount of scholarship money in their budgets for the recipients of these gifts. They won’t give out the money to just anyone. When you apply, you will be asked specific questions that relate to the philosophy or mission of that particular organization. The scholarships are then awarded to the students who best represent the goals and objectives of the organization. Often, there may be a stipulation, too. For example, to get a scholarship from a religious organization, they will likely require that you attended a religiously- affiliated university.
You would be surprised at the number of organizations that offer scholarships! Don’t make the assumption that you don’t qualify or that since you’re not part of an organization, you won’t get a scholarship. As long as you meet the criteria, you could very well get a free cash gift for your schooling. There are many resources on the internet to lookup information on places to apply for scholarships. I recommend that every high school senior look these organizations up, and submit an application to some of them. You have nothing to lose, so it doesn’t make any sense not to apply.
Other Financial Aid:
Now that we’ve covered the free types of financial aid, it’s time to look at the other types of aid that will require an investment of your time and/or money. The most common option here is a student loan. Loans are not as desirable as grants, because they have to be paid back. But the good thing about loans is that they often allow the student to get money in excess of the funds needed to cover tuition, room, and board. With grants, you are limited to not receiving any more money than you need for school. With loans, there is more flexibility because you have to pay the money back anyway. Even if you only need, say, $2,000 more to settle your debt to the bursar, you can often still get a loan for more. With the extra money, you could give yourself an allowance for the quarter or semester, and therefore avoid having to work. This will allow you to dedicate more time to studying.
If you don’t like the idea of racking up thousands of dollars in student loans, then you can select another option, if your school offers it: work- study. Under this plan, you will work a set number of hours per week, and the funds will go to pay off your tuition bill. Each plan is a little different. Some plans will apply 100 percent of your earnings to pay tuition; others will split the money in half, giving the student part of the funds for personal use, and then using the remaining money to pay for tuition.
Eligibility for Assistance:
In order to maximize your financial aid reward, you have to demonstrate that you really need the money. When you apply for federal aid, the counselors will look over all the statistics and then determine your reward. They take into account your family income, your personal savings, whether or not you have other siblings in school, and other factors. After crunching all the numbers, they will determine how much money your family is expected to contribute, and then subtract this from your total bill for tuition, room, and board. The remaining balance will be your financial aid reward.
If you are still unable to pay the expected family contribution portion of your bill, you will have to negotiate more financial aid with your college’s financial aid office, and/or apply for student loans.
Final Thoughts:
Applying for financial aid is an important step in the enrollment process. Much like the application process at the college itself, it’s very important that you submit your financial aid applications and search for scholarships as soon as possible. If you wait to long, the pool of funds could be empty.
When I was a student, I knew that I would be completely dependent on financial aid, if I had any hope of going to school. When I applied for aid, I can remember that there was an expected family contribution amount, of a couple thousand dollars. I just laughed when I saw it, because I knew that I had no money and there was no way I was going to get money from any family member. I was forced to wok year round, and take out loans, to pay my tuition. I spent many, many hours in the school’s financial aid office, begging and pleading for mercy.
One thing that will help you get more financial aid is the location of the college that you choose to attend. Like I alluded to above, your state will give you a little more money, if you go to a college within your home state. I had dreams of going to college at the University of Florida, University of Hawaii, or some other school in a nice, warm, social/tourist type of location. But I knew that this wasn’t feasible. I had to scratch and claw for every penny of money that was available. That meant, of course, that I had to go to college in Ohio.
Another thing that can help maximize your financial aid, as well as making the process much easier, is by living in university- owned housing. If you live in a private residence, your housing bill will not be included in your total college bursar account. It will be a separate expense. By living in a university house, apartment, or dorm, your bursar bill will be greater, and this can help make it easier to get more financial aid.
Make sure that you start the application process as early in the year as possible. Financial aid is something you will need each year, so you will need to remember to apply every year. And make copies of all the forms you submit, for your own records.
More than 60 percent of all students receive financial aid. Don’t assume that you’re not eligible for any form of aid or scholarship. Go ahead and apply anyway. The money is there to help you, so you shouldn’t hesitate to claim your share.
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