Financing College

Colleges may take financial need into account when making their admissions decisions. This is defined as being need aware or need sensitive. Other colleges do not factor a student’s financial need as they review an application. This is called need blind admissions. As each college has its own particular requirements for financial aid it is important that students and families research this information carefully and pays close attention to deadlines.

 

 

A financial aid package is typically comprised of three components: funding you don’t pay back, funding you borrow and funding you earn. Funding you don’t pay back consists of two varieties: merit based aid and need based aid. Merit based aid comes in the form of scholarship for some kind of talent: academic, artistic or athletic.  Need based aid is usually called a grant. The funding you borrow is called a loan. There are both student loans and parent loans. The type of funding you earn is called work-study, where a student secures an on campus job to offset the cost of attending college.

 

Need based aid:

 

Because each college has its own financial aid policy, it is imperative that you contact each college’s financial aid office directly. The most frequently required form is the Free Application for Federal Student (FAFSA), www.fafsa.ed.gov. Some colleges also require the CSS Profile, https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp. Lastly, many colleges require their own institutional form. The FAFSA and the CSS Profile are electronically submitted to central agencies to be processed and forwarded to colleges you select. Families complete only one FAFSA and one CSS Profile. Institutional forms

are requested directly from each college and returned to its financial aid office.