November 30, 2010
Financial Aid | Paying For College: The Financial Aid Puzzle
The cost of a college education is rising every year. This year the average cost of a private four-year school was $26,273, up 4.4% from last year, and the average cost of a public school was $7,020, up 6.5% from last year. For most families, paying for college is a struggle. If you feel like you do not have all the pieces of the financial aid puzzle, you are not alone.
On January 1st the 2010-2011 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) was released. The FAFSA is probably the most important part of the financial aid puzzle. If you are planning on attending college in the fall of 2010 you should be in the process of submitting this form. The FAFSA determines how much federal financial aid you are eligible to apply for. There are three basic types of federal student aid:
Grants: Grant money is financial aid that does not have to be repaid. Most grant money is based on financial need.
Work-study: Work-study money is earned through a job or near campus. Work-study money does not have to be repaid.
Loans: Loan money, including subsidized Stafford loans and unsubsidized Stafford loans, is awarded by the government and must be repaid with interest.
Federal financial aid can be a huge help when paying for college, but since most federal financial aid is awarded based on need, not everyone who files a FAFSA will be awarded sufficient aid to cover their education. So what happens when your federal Stafford loans and grants are not enough? Luckily, there are other pieces of the financial aid puzzle that can help you pay for college.
PLUS Loans are federal student loan options that are not based on financial need, but rather on credit. There are two types of PLUS loans; Parent PLUS loans and Graduate PLUS loans. If you are an undergraduate student, your parents can apply for a PLUS loan to help supplement the cost of your education. If you are a graduate student you can apply for a PLUS loan for yourself. With the federal PLUS loan you can borrow up to 100% of unmet financial need. PLUS loan money can also help you pay for educational costs not covered by your tuition including housing and supplies.
Some students choose to add private student loans to their financial aid puzzle. Private Student Loans are an alternative student loan option. Although you should always apply for federal financial aid before pursuing this option, private student loans have a few advantages. Private student loans are awarded based on credit rather than on need. You can use private student loans for any education related cost including textbooks, housing and transportation. If you are looking for a private student loan, the new private student loan comparison tool on PrivateStudentLoans.com can help you determine which lender and loan best meets your needs.
Because private student loans are based on credit, most students need a parent, family member, or close friend to cosign the loan. A cosigner is an individual who agrees to pay any debts if the primary account holder is unable to do so. This ensures to the lender that the loan will be paid back even if the student borrower does not have the funds to make payments.
The final, and quite possibly the best, piece of the puzzle is scholarships. Scholarships are favorable because unlike loans they do not have to be repaid. Hundreds of thousands of organizations around the country award scholarships to students based on their backgrounds, interests and accomplishments. StudentScholarshipSearch.com is a website that helps you find and apply for scholarships that you qualify for.
Every student’s financial aid puzzle is put together differently. Many students take advantage of all of these financial aid options while some students only need to use one or two. Some student might qualify for more financial aid while other students might be awarded more scholarship money. Whatever your financial situation is, remember that all of these options exist to help you complete your education.
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9 Comments on Financial Aid | Paying For College: The Financial Aid Puzzle »
May 9, 2011
moniqueleonard @ 12:26 am:
HI Becca,
You will qualify for more aid because you're married – being married qualifies you as an Independent Student, meaning your parent's finances won't be used to calculate your Expected Family Contribution. You'll thus qualify for more Federal financial aid.
Also, do a lot of research on scholarships -they're your best source of funding as you don't have to pay the money back!
May 28, 2011
Macallezzy @ 3:15 am:
google it
May 30, 2011
Typical California Liberal @ 6:19 pm:
Yes I agree, many supporters of the Dream Act lie about it.
Lies the press never told you about the dream act:
Congress, under the Democratic leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, will try once again to pass the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act) during their lame duck session, before the Christmas recess.
The DREAM Act would grant citizenship to adult illegal aliens who came to this country as minors if they attend college or join the military. It was first proposed in 2001, and has had the support of most Democrats as well as that of liberal Republicans.
However, what the press never reports is the fact that the House version of the bill would grant citizenship to qualifying illegal aliens up to the age of 35, and the Senate version has no age limit whatsoever.
Take for example this line which appeared in an article explaining the DREAM Act in the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday: “Roughly 800,000 teens and young adults would be eligible, according to immigration rights groups.”
The Chronicle article gives the reader the impression that the measure would only apply to teenagers and college-aged adults.
Of course, if the American people knew the real consequences of the bill, they would flood the Congress with emails, phone calls and letters the same way they did in 2007, when Sens. John McCain and Ted Kennedy tried to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, including violent gang members.
If the House version of the bill passed, untold millions of illegal aliens would be granted citizenship…something the Democrats and their propagandists in the press do not want you to know.
June 19, 2011
Jonathan @ 10:49 pm:
One has to wonder why Mr. Wood remained so long as an operative of so cynical a university president as depicted in his Chronicle article. Were the same principles followed while he was provost at The King's College?
As to the hypothesis regarding the relation between federal financial aid and access to higher education, it would be interesting to eliminate the aid and see whether college access is affected.
Or eliminate medicare and medicaid and see if the aged and indigent have less access to medical care.
Any bets?
July 8, 2011
alicia s @ 10:50 am:
My parents won't help me either so I have a plan:
Get a job and go to a community college
Pay for it cheaply for a semester or two
Then earn scholarships for making good grade in community college
It will be hard to make good grade, but the harder you try the more money you can get
Then I plan to transfer to a university and take it from there
It's foolproof!!
I think…
August 24, 2011
Twitter @ 6:01 am:
Hey kids: We know we’re your parents and all and we’re making $250K a year, but we’re not paying for college |
September 19, 2011
raymond @ 7:00 am:
No l, canadians aren't considered us citizens so they are ineligable.
October 5, 2011
Ivan the T @ 2:20 pm:
The government subsidized student loan program was another example of the private free market costing more to do a job than the government would. The private banks are now out of the government subsidized loan business, and students will borrow directly from the government.
October 19, 2011
Brianna @ 1:37 am:
That's what out of state tuition means./