Financial Aid College & Career Seminar Money you have to pay back (loans) and money you don’t have to pay back (scholarships & grants).

Need-Based Grant  Demonstrate financial need on FAFSA.  Plenty of middle- and upper-middle income families receive need-based financial aid, especially at more expensive colleges.  The largest is the Pell Grant. This is usually awarded to lower income families.  Problem-there aren’t enough need-based scholarships to go around. Fill out the FAFSA ASAP!

Merit Based Scholarships  a good quality or feature that deserves to be praised.  Merit involves showcasing a talent, such as artistic ability, creativity, interest in a particular field, determination, compassion, etc. **Remember writing with evidence! If you are deserving, provide evidence to support that!

The inside scoop on some scholarships….  People like helping students who need it. Explain the reason you need a scholarship.  Even some merit based scholarships have a section that ask you about financial considerations. *Let’s discuss examples of these!

Work-Study  When your school’s financial aid office helps arrange or administer on-campus or certain off- campus employment for you, your wages count as a type of aid.  Work-study is an additional component of many students’ need-based financial aid package, albeit usually a much smaller component than allocations for loans or scholarships and grants.

Athletic Scholarships  Plenty of better than average high school athletes capitalize on their athletic skills to get help paying for college. The key is don’t wait for recruiters to call you. Take appropriate steps to contact the coaches and make yourself known.  NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) member schools tend to be smaller, but most have solid sports programs. Many of them offer some form of athletic scholarships.

Military Scholarships  An ROTC scholarship gives students money for college now and they pay it back later in the form of service to the country. They can cover as much as the total cost of tuition, books, and fees, plus a monthly stipend to help cover living expenses. As a rule of thumb, for every year of college that ROTC finances, you can expect to serve roughly months of active duty.  If you are interested to learn about more opportunities with the military paying for college, please see me.  If you are interested to learn about more opportunities with the military paying for college, please see me.  Resource: How to go to College Almost for Free pg 52.

Subsidized Loans  These loans are usually awarded only to those who demonstrate financial need. The subsidy part of a subsidized loan refers to the fact that the loan has some benefit besides the lent money for the borrower.  The benefit is that the borrower pays only a portion of the total interest payment or is exempt from the interest payment for a period of time, with the government picking up the rest of the interest tab.

Unsubsidized Loans These loans don’t carry any extra benefit. They are available to any student or family, regardless of financial need, but you have to pay the full interest payment on your own, with interest charged from the moment you assume the loan. moment you assume the loan.

Loan Tip  Shop around for the lowest interest rate possible. It may save you hundreds or even thousands over the course of your loan.

Replacing Loans with Scholarships & Grants  Replacing a $1,000 loan with a $1,000 in scholarships and grants benefits your pocketbook even more than it actually seems.  This is b/c the loan interest accumulates relentlessly over time: The 1k saves you not only the face value of the loan, but also the ever increasing cost of holding the loan. Each dollar of scholarship and grant money you earn now pays out even bigger in the future.

“Show Me the Money” Action Steps  Assemble your scholarship search tools.  Tap into your school’s resources.  Uncover school-specific awards  Search scholarship databases  Politely raid other schools’ resources  Pursue all personal and family affiliations  Canvas your community.

International Students Contact the international admissions office at your college and see what scholarships are available for you. Check out this financial aid website International organizations that sponsor scholarships: United Nations, the Organization of American States, AMIDEAST, the International Telecommunications Union, the League of Red Cross Societies, The International Maritime Organization, the World Health Organization, the Soros Foundation, and the World Council of Churches.

Minority Students  