Financial Aid Resources

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So you’re heading to college! Congratulations! Now… How are you going to pay for it? Getting a higher education without incurring life-crippling debt (especially in the event that something happens and you can’t finish your degree) can seem overwhelming. Daunting, even. But it doesn’t have to be! There are lots of financial aid resources to assist you in your goal of snagging that coveted mortarboard and diploma!

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Financial Aid
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Federal / State Student Aid

This should absolutely be your first step. Visit the official website here. You can find out about the various different types of federally available financial aid resources through that site. You will need to create an FSA ID if you haven’t already. Once you have your FSA ID, gather the below-listed information and head over to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and get going! When you apply for the Federal Student Aid, they will automatically forward your information to the state financial aid offices, so you don’t need to apply twice to receive aid from both levels.

  • Your Social Security number (it’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA form!)
  • Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student
  • Your driver’s license number if you have one
  • Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
  • Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you (and your spouse, if you are married), and for your parents if you are a dependent student:
    • IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ
    • Foreign tax return
    • Tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau
  • Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans noneducation benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student
  • Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (but not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student

Scholarships / Contests

There are multiple websites out there that you can join, FREE! Once you sign up and fill out some basic information about yourself (this is how they help narrow down what scholarships and contests you qualify for or don’t) a whole world of scholarships to apply for is opened up to you. The following list has collected scholarship sites, where you can search for specific scholarships or contests you can apply for. Make yourself a Google Calendar or other reminder just for your scholarships! This will help you keep track of which ones to do first– often scholarship applications have quarterly, semi-annual, or annual deadlines you need to meet for submission. These types of aid should be your second step, because these are awarded to you and are not expected to be paid back.

Grants

Grants are another financial aid resource, based on need, which also doesn’t need to be paid back. However, grants take a bit more work, as they are often awarded based on a written and submitted proposal. You’ll want to add these to your calendar as well, as grants, like scholarships, have submission deadlines. Fastweb, and some of the other scholarship websites listed above, also offer information on grants you can apply for. Below is a list of databases and publications where you can find information on available grant programs.

529 Prepaid Tuition / College Savings Plans

Parents/guardians, this is one you want to start doing well in advance of your child attending college! More detailed information can be found here, and below is a quick summary of each type of savings plan. Every state offers 529 Plans, though only 16 states offer both. California only allows parents to create a 529 College Savings Plan. Planning ahead can give your child a head start and reduce their dependency on other financial aid resources.

529 Prepaid Tuition Plans help keep college affordable by locking in today’s tuition rates even into the future. Say, for example, you purchase half a year’s tuition with a 529 plan when your child is 8 years old. A decade later when your child has graduated high school and is ready to go off to college, that investment is still worth half a year’s tuition… even if college costs have doubled or tripled! These plans are often guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the state (if you purchase through your state’s 529 Plan), or by the individual education institution (if purchased through a specific college offering it). There are different plans based on room and board if your student is going to live on campus or not. This may be allowed if you intend your student to go to a specific college out-of-state.

529 College Savings Plans are tax-exempt college savings accounts that need not be applied to a particular college (as individual 529 Plans purchased through an institution are), and have a low impact on need-based financial aid. This means that even if you start saving for your child’s college education, the money accumulated in this savings account will have a minimal effect on what federal and state aid your student is offered when they apply for the FAFSA. The page linked in the opening of this section has more information on tax status and beneficiary data that you should definitely read if you intend to open one of these accounts.