F i n a n c i a l  A i d

Introduction

With the ever increasing cost of college, many students, ignorant of a myriad of scholarship opportunities, find themselves unable to pay for an education, but with over $143 billion dollars in financial aid available to students, college should be a pathway affordable for everyone. From student loans to IRA withdrawals, this site will entail the various financial aid options.

How Much Can You Get?

Theoretically, college can be completely paid for by federal financial aid, but there are a number of key factors which determine the amount of money allocated to a student.

Several of these factors include, but are not limited to:

• Type of college

• Cost for one year

• Size of student’s family

• Number of siblings attending college

• Number of siblings in primary of secondary school

• Number of parents

• Ages of parents

• Family income

• Medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance

• Elementary/secondary tuition allowance

• Annual education savings

• Family assets

• Students assets

• Student income

• Expected students contribution

• Expected parental contribution 

Non-federal institutions may offer scholarships based on merit, rather than need. These scholarships are not related to a student’s financial situation, and are determined solely by achievement.  Factors determining how great of a scholarship a student will receive are unique to each scholarship, but may include:

• Cumulative GPA

• SAT/PSAT scores

• Class rank

• Extracurricular activities

• Volunteer Work

• Leadership 

If you want a great website to investigate your scholarship options, go to  http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp

You will need to register with the College Board if you haven't already. Then, go and fill out the profile. It's easy and doesn't take more than ten minutes. It will ask you questions such as: if you have had parents in the military, your ethnicity, your extracurricular activities, and so on. As we saw above, there are so many options for scholarships, the possibilities are endless. After the profile has been filled out, then you will get a nice large list of scholarships you can apply for. Usually it's anything from National Merit Scholarships, to United States Department of Education loans, to a scholarship where if you wear formal attire to prom made completely out of duct tape, then you can be submitted to win up to $3,000. It all depends on your life and circumstances. So why not investigate? 

Other websites for investigation include, but are not limited to:

http://collegenet.com/

http://fastweb.monster.com/index.ptml

http://www.college-scholarships.com/

http://www.powerprep.com/collguid/finaid.htm

Frequently Asked Questions  

Loans

Scholarships and Self-Help

Private vs Public Financial Comparison

Eligibility

Student Jobs

Website Links and Reviews 

Financial Aid Works Cited 

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Third Hour group includes:   

Kat Antoniak: Interviewer/Researcher HOW MUCH YOU CAN GET, HOW OFTEN 

Audra Howerton: Interviewer/Researcher TYPES OF AID, HOW TO APPLY FOR DIFFERENT TYPES

Justine Yi: Graphic Design/Webmaster MAKES THIS SITE LOOK FEIRCE

Audrey Zoesch: Interviewer/Researcher WHO CAN APPLY, WHAT FACTORS EFFECT YOUR ELIGIBILITY

Fifth Hour Group includes:  

Clay Patton: Editor/Researcher WEBSITE LINKS AND REVIEWS 

Eric Molina: Researcher COLLEGE JOBS 

Eric Parchen: Researcher STUDENT LOANS 

Matt Latka: Researcher PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE COMPARISON