Financial aid is money to pay for college from sources other than your savings or your family's contribution. It can come in many forms and is available to students who demonstrate financial need or to those who just want to pay for college on their own.
For most college students, they would not be able to go to college without financial aid. And for many parents, financial aid is the lifesaver that helps give their kids a proper education.
Read the list of financial aid statistics to see why college financial aid is so important:
From the National Household Education Surveys Program, 1999
When students enter high school, 91 out of every 100 say they plan to go to college, according to the federal report. More than 7,900 students in grades 6 through 12 and their parents showed that few of them knew anything about college costs. Two-thirds of the students, as well as nearly half their parents, said they couldn't estimate what tuition and fees are for the kind of college the student hoped to attend. From the Harris Poll commissioned by Sallie Mae Fund, 2002
Nearly half of all parents (48%) wished they had more information about how to pay for college. 60% of parents with incomes under $50,000 said they need more information about how to pay for college compared to only 37% of parents with incomes of $75,000 or more. 50% of Hispanic-American parents said they had "no idea" how they were going to pay for college, compared to 23% of white parents and 26% of African-American parents. Just over one in four (26%) young adults not currently in college, but who considered college, would have been more likely to attend college if they had had better information about how to pay for college. From the Education Commission of the States, 2003
While the average cost of college tuition rose 110% between 1981 and 2001, median family income only rose 27% in the same period.From an American Association of University Women Survey
70% of respondents worry more about the cost of college education for their children than the cost of a house, a car, or secure retirement.What Kind of Financial Aid is Available?
The basic types of college financial aid available can be broken down broadly into the following categories:
Scholarships: Free money that does not need to be paid back. Scholarships can be need or non-need based and can come from a variety of sources, such as the government, a school, or a professional or recreational organization. Scholarships are many times awarded to students with achievements in academics, athletics or other school activities. Student Loans: Money that is borrowed and must be paid back with interest. A number of student loan varieties exist, including those administered by the federal government like the Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Perkins Loan and PLUS loans, as well as private loans, which are available through banks and other lenders. Grants: Free money that is need-based and does not need to be paid back. Grants can be federally funded, or they can come from a school. Non-Loan Options: A number of other options exist to help you pay for college, including the U.S. military's ROTC program, where students receive money for college in exchange for military service, and the federal work-study program, where students work in exchange for funds to pay for college.With so many people in need of financial aid and so little of them knowing about it, it is important to learn as much as you can before you get to college.
You should use a student financial aid calculator, such as one from Ed Fund, to help you determine your total college cost, and if you discover you don't have enough money to pay for school on your own, there are always tuition payment options.
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