Paying for college can be expensive. But about 2-in-3 students get financial aid to help cover the cost. Even more would get aid if they only filled out the FAFSA form.
The FAFSA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is required to receive almost any form of aid. Unfortunately, about one-third of college students fail to complete it. That means that as many as 1.5 million qualified students threw away a Federal Pell grant worth up to $4,050 a year, just because they never got around to submitting a form.
Why don’t more families do the FAFSA? Some are intimidated by the IRS-style questions. Thankfully, colleges and universities provide free help completing it — just ask. Others think they make too much money to qualify for need-based aid, but don’t realize that they’ll still need the FAFSA to qualify for almost any student loans, jobs or scholarships.
Still others put it off because they’re not sure they’ll even go to college; they miss the Michigan FAFSA priority date to qualify for some state scholarships and never get around to completing the form to get other aid. Sadly, they don’t realize that everyone should do the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1 of their senior year, even if they’re not yet sure they want to go to college. It’s free and puts you in line to qualify for hundreds, even thousands of dollars. All you need to do is click on FAFSA.
Financial aid comes from the federal government, state government, private donors and colleges. It takes four basic forms:
1. Grants. Need-based aid that you don’t have to pay back. Two examples include the Federal Pell Grant which pays between $400 and $4,050 per year and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant which pays between $100 and $4,000.
2. Scholarships. Merit aid that you don’t have to pay back. It’s based on your achievements, affiliations and sometimes your needs too. A range of businesses, civic organizations, churches and synagogues, professional associations, foundations and colleges offer scholarships. You can search for them free on sites like Fastweb.com and CollegeAnswer.com.
3. Work Study. Jobs supported with federal funds that help students pay for college while doing minimum wage or better work on campus or in the community.
4. Student Loans. Money for college that you’ll need to pay back with interest after you leave college. The three federal loan programs include Perkins, Stafford and PLUS.