FAFSA
through FAFSA
Financial aid can come from federal, state and private sources. Aid is provided to individual students on the basis of two distinctive qualifications, which are usually expressed in terms of need-based aid and merit-based aid. Need-Based Aid This type of financial aid is awarded based on demonstrated financial need. A student’s family demonstrates financial need by providing the school with financial documents and applications like the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The need is calculated by taking the total list of expenses and subtracting available financial resources. The remaining amount is the primary requirement for need-based aid, although sometimes other qualifications apply. Merit-Based Aid Students with exceptional academic achievements or other qualities like leadership or athletic ability can qualify for merit-based aid. Merit-based aid usually comes in the form of grants or scholarships. Competition for this type of financial aid can be fierce, since merit-based aid usually does not have to be paid back by the student. How Aid is Awarded Financial aid whether need-based or merit-based comes is awarded in three ways: grants and scholarships, loans and work-study programs. A grant is a lump sum of money paid to the school towards the expenses of a particular student. A scholarship works like a grant, except scholarship funds are typically much larger than grants and they pay for all of the students’ undergraduate expenses. Neither of these types of aid has to be repaid. Student loans are the most notorious type of financial aid because of stories of graduating students being saddled with massive amounts of debt. Loans are usually advanced under need-based financial aid. The good news is that need-based loans usually have lower interest rates because some loans are subsidized by the federal government. If the student carries other kinds of loans, such as private loans, the accrued interest will have to be paid back by the student. Work-study programs can be awarded on the basis of need, just like grants can. Work-study programs involve the student getting hired for a job on campus, and the salary the student earns from that job goes towards paying college expenses. The key to remember is that the salary usually has to be applied to college expenses in order for the student to qualify.
You may apply for several types of aid including scholarships, grants, long-term loans, and work-study assistance. Most assistance is awarded based on financial need (the difference between the cost of attending NC State for one year and how much you expect your family to contribute toward those costs). Other kinds of aid, like merit scholarships are based on academic achievement. While you do need to reapply for aid each year, we will make every effort to continue your financial aid as long as you reapply for assistance on time, continue to demonstrate need, and are making satisfactory progress toward your degree. Keep reading to learn more about the various ways to finance your college education. Visit the office of scholarships and financial aid for detailed information and a step-by-step process for applying for financial aid. hope this helped :)
EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution. The is an index number that college financial aid staff use to figure out how much financial aid you are eligible to receive if you go to their school. Your EFC is figured out after you report information about your specific situation on the FAFSA. It is based on a formula established by law. This formula considers your family’s taxed and untaxed income, assets, benefits, family size, and number of family members attending college. Your college figures out how much need-based aid you will receive by subtracting your EFC from your Cost of Attendance. Your EFC is not how much financial aid you will receive, nor is it how much money you will have to pay for college.
Need-based Aid
Need- based
FAFSA
FAFSA
through FAFSA
through FAFSA
Most financial aid based on financial need to demonstrate their qualifications and not, therefore, much of the information in this book focuses on the need-based aid. For more information on financial aid is not based on income or family assets.
Merit aid is given due to educational achievement regardless of family income or assets. In contrast, need-based aid is given based on income or assets.
need-based
YES 60% of Harvard Students are on a need based financial aid
Students at Cornell receive full need-based aid.
Contact their financial aid department. -----> You can receive need-based financial aid in the form of grants from Princeton.