FINANCIAL AID 101: The Award Letter

[Pages:1]FINANCIALAID101:TheAwardLetter

Overwhelmedbycollegefinancialaidandhowtocovercollegeexpenses? Fretnot.Usethisstep-by-stepguidetonavigatetheprocess.

COMPLETE THE FAFSA?

YoucanstarttheFAFSAOctober1ofyour senioryearinhighschool.FiletheFAFSAearly becausesomeschoolsawardaidonafirst come,firstservedbasis.Ifyouhaven'tapplied already,visitFAFSA.formoredetails. YoumayalsoneedtocompletetheCSSProfile used by nearly 400 colleges and universities.

AfterfilingtheFAFSA,youwillreceivea StudentAidReport(SAR).Makesureyou reviewtheSARtoensuretheinformationyou filed on the FAFSA is correct.

WHAT'SNEXT

The FAFSA is filed and college applications are sentin.Nowyouwaitforacceptanceandaward lettersfromeachcollegewhereyouhavebeen accepted.Awardlettertemplatesvary,so carefullyrevieweachletterwhencomparing yourfinancialaidpackages.

Forhelp,useourAwardLetterComparisontool .

AWARDLETTERBREAKDOWN

COA:ThisstandsforCostofAttendance.Thisnumberincludes tuitionandfees,housingandmeals,booksandsupplies, transportation and other expenses for one year.

GRANTSANDSCHOLARSHIPS:Thisismoneythatdoesnot havetobepaidback.Itcancomefromfederalandstate governments,collegesandprivateorganizations.Grantsaretypically basedonfinancialneed,whilescholarshipsarebasedonneed,merit or other eligibility.

WORK STUDY:Workstudyisapart-timeemploymentprogram fundedbythegovernmentthatallowsqualifiedstudentstoearn moneytohelppayforcollege.

FEDERALLOAN BREAKDOWN:Federalloansaremadebythe federalgovernmentandmustbepaidback.Theseloanscanhelp coverthegapbetweencostofattendanceandotherfinancialaid. Thereareseveraldifferenttypesoffederalloans:

PERKINSLOANS:Theseareschool-based,low-interest educationloansawardedtostudentsbasedon exceptionalneed.

DIRECTSTAFFORDLOANS:Thesemaybesubsidizedor unsubsidized.Subsidizedloansareawardedtostudentswho demonstratefinancialneed.Theinterestispaidbythe governmentwhilethestudentisinschool.Unsubsidizedloans areawardedtostudentsregardlessoffinancialneed.Unlike subsidizedloans,thestudentisresponsibleforpayingthe interestthataccruesontheloanwhileinschool.

DIRECTPLUSLOANS:Theseareavailabletoparentsor graduatestudentstocoveruptothefullcostofeducation, lessanyotherfinancialaid.Borrowersmustpassa credit check.

Privatestudentloansmaybeanoptiontohelpcoverremaining collegeexpenses,buttheyarenotpartoftheFAFSAandmaynotbe listedaspartofyourawardletter.

Getaheadstartonpayingforcollege..Signupto receiveemailsabouttheAwardLetterandothertipsandresourcesonplanning and paying for college.

formoreinformationonfederalloanoptions. FAFSAisaregisteredservicemarkoftheU.S.DepartmentofEducation.

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