FINANCIAL AID: How to pay for college
People pay for college with 3 main ways:
1. Need Based (you get these types of aid by completing the FAFSA Application)
3. Self-Help (savings, working, etc)
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
MLK will have a FAFSA Workshop on Thursday Nov. 10th from 4:30-7:30 (come during any time during this time frame, but give yourself 30-45 minutes to complete the FAFSA). If you or your family has NEVER completed the FAFSA, then please attend the workshop and do NOT do it on your own.
Students who come from higher-income families should still apply because many scholarships, including merit-based (non-financial need), will still ask for FAFSA.
PART 1: Applying to FAFSA
PART 2: FINANCIAL AID FILE COMPLETION & VERIFICATION
1. Need Based (you get these types of aid by completing the FAFSA Application)
- Grants: financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid
- Work-Study: a work program through which you earn money to help you pay for school
- Loans: borrowed money for college or career school; you must repay your loans, with interest
3. Self-Help (savings, working, etc)
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
MLK will have a FAFSA Workshop on Thursday Nov. 10th from 4:30-7:30 (come during any time during this time frame, but give yourself 30-45 minutes to complete the FAFSA). If you or your family has NEVER completed the FAFSA, then please attend the workshop and do NOT do it on your own.
Students who come from higher-income families should still apply because many scholarships, including merit-based (non-financial need), will still ask for FAFSA.
PART 1: Applying to FAFSA
- What is FAFSA? FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is an application that may help you qualify for money from colleges. The FAFSA does NOT give you money and it is NOT a scholarship. So don't expect to get a letter in the mail from them offering you money.
- The FAFSA website is fafsa.ed.gov.
- Items to gather: 2015 taxes and w-2s, birthdates, SSNs for student/parent, names as they appear on SSN card, marriage or divorce date for parents, estimate of money in bank accounts.
- Complete the FAFSA: You'll input all of the above data and more into the FAFSA application. You'll also add colleges that you're interested in to the application. Please attend the MLK FAFSA Workshop on Nov. 10th from 4:30-7:30 to receive assistance.
- What happens Next?
- Once you're done, you'll submit the FAFSA application. You'll immediately receive a confirmation page (and email) that has your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number on it. This number is a range that colleges use to determine how much money and what types of aid (grants, work-study, loans) to offer you. So, it's very important to remember this number. The closer the number is to 0, the better because you'll be offered more types of "FREE" financial aid (e.g. grants).
- After you submit your FAFSA application, it's sent to the U.S. Department of Education. They'll put your application into a report called your Student Aid Report or SAR. The SAR with your EFC is emailed to you (check it for mistakes; you can always log back into the FAFSA application to make corrections) and to the colleges you listed on the FAFSA application.
- Colleges (not FAFSA) offer you financial aid: Once colleges receive your SAR, they'll evaluate it an offer you a financial aid award letter or package. They may send you a copy via postal mail, but most times they'll send you a copy through email or your College Portal. HOWEVER, most times colleges will request additional documents BEFORE offering you an award letter. This process is called verification and many students do not receive financial aid or delay the process because they miss this step! See Part 2
PART 2: FINANCIAL AID FILE COMPLETION & VERIFICATION
- So, you've submitted FAFSA, but you're not finished. Many students complete Part 1 (applying to FAFSA), but they miss this step. You will NOT receive a financial aid award letter from the college until your financial aid file is complete. Here's how you have a complete file...
- Activate your college portal: For every college you're accepted to, you'll receive a college portal for that institution. These portals are where you'll receive your financial aid award letters, create your college class schedule, view your college emails and much more. You need to get familiar with this because you'll use this A LOT in college. When you're accepted at a college, activate your college portal (some colleges will allow you to access the portal as soon as you apply):
- CSU: Ramweb
- CU Boulder: MyCUinfo
- UCD: UCDAccess
- CSU Pueblo: Paws
- CCA: MyCCA
- CCD: CCDconnect
- Metro: Student Hub
- UNC:Ursa
- Other colleges:Check your acceptance letter/email for instructions for your college portal. They all have different names and processes for logging on for the first time.
- Check your college portal for verification documents/requirements: For your top 3-5 colleges, activate your college portal. In your college portal, locate you "financial aid" tab or a "requirements" tab or a "to-do list/holds" tab. This is where you'll see if you're selected for verification. If you are, you'll see where they're requesting documents. The most common documents include an IRS tax return transcript for parents (order online for free at irs.gov) and household verification forms (the college will provide you a copy to print, complete and return). Other documents may also be requested. RETURN THESE DOCUMENTS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
- After you submit your verification documents, your financial aid file for that college should be complete. However, check the requirements tab in your college portal periodically to make sure that everything is marked "complete" and to make sure there aren't any new documents. Remember that you'll need to check and do this process for your top 3 colleges!
- Financial Aid Award Letter: When your file is complete, you'll receive a financial aid award letter/package via mail, email or on your college portal. So, check it!
- Once you receive your award letters, bring them to your college advisor, Ms. Rainey, and we'll do a worksheet to break them down and see how much "free" money is truly being offered to you. After you compare these from multiple colleges, the student and his/her family typically make the decision on which colleges to apply to.
- Always apply to Scholarships: Remember that the money colleges offer you won't necessary cover everything. So, keep applying to SCHOLARSHIPS! If you have more than enough money, you'll get the extra money back in the form of a refund check!