If you've even done a preliminary
search on the Internet for financial aid, then you know how many sources
of aid are available. Read over this material to find out more about
the different types, and where to go to get even more information.
REMEMBER: The most
important source for financial aid information will be the financial
aid department at the college or university to plan to attend. Contact
them as soon as possible, since most financial aid - grants, loans,
scholarships - all have deadlines. The sooner you contact the school,
the better your chances of getting your applications in before time
runs out!
Financial
Aid
Financial aid is calculated
by subtracting the contribution expected by the family from the total
cost of attendance. You will need to complete a Free
Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) form in order to qualify for most types
of financial aid.
Financial aid such as grants, loans and work-study programs are usually
awarded based on need. Scholarships may have different criteria for
selection. Scholarships and grants do not have to be paid back, but
loans and work-study programs must be repaid. Your best source
of information is the financial aid office at the school you plan
to attend. In the meantime, check out some of these links:
Links
to other sites will open in a new window. To view these links, please
disable any pop-up killer applications you're running.
FAFSA on the Web
The U. S. Department of Education’s electronic FAFSA web site.
You may fill and submit a FAFSA form from this site.
Families’ Guide to the 1997 Tax Cuts for Education
Information about the Hope Scholarship and Lifelong Learning tax cuts.
Students.gov
Financial aid info (does not collect personal info like email –
like FAST web, FinAid, and many others)
The
Student Guide
Financial Aid Information from the U.S. Department of Education
Federal Student Aid Information
Center
1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) This is a toll-free number.
Texas
Guaranteed Student Loan Corp.
Advice about careers, colleges, and financial aid
FinAid
The financial aid information page has information on grants, loans
and scholarships, financial aid applications, calculators and guide
to admissions testing.
FASTAiD
Huge scholarship database and guide to financial aid, scholarships,
grants and loans.
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Federal Financial Aid
Most financial aid comes from the federal government, which provides
need-based aid in the form of grants, work-study programs, and loans.
Up-to-date information about federal financial aid programs can be
found at the U.S.
Department of Education's Web site, or by calling 1-800-4-FEDAID
(toll-free).
Are You Eligible for Federal
Financial Aid?
Your financial need is just one criterion used to determine whether
or not you are eligible to receive aid from the federal government.
In addition, you must
• have a high school diploma or GED or pass a test approved
by the Department of Education
• be enrolled in a degree or certificate program
• be enrolled in an eligible institution (see below)
• be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen
• have a Social Security number
• register with the Selective Service (if required)
• maintain satisfactory academic progress once you are in school
*In Texas, high school students who
want to take dual credit classes usually won’t qualify for financial
aid, since most aid requires that you be enrolled at least half-time
as a college student. However, some community colleges waive tuition
for dual credit courses – ask the college of your choice what
financial aid options it offers for dual credit students.
Institutional and Program Eligibility
To make sure that the school and program in which you are interested
are eligible to participate in federal financial aid programs, contact
them and ask.
However, you can also do some double-checking on your own to confirm
what the school tells you. If you plan to enroll in a regionally accredited
traditional college or university, you can safely assume that the
institution as a whole is eligible to participate in federal aid programs--since
distance certificates and degrees are likely to be a very small proportion
of its overall offerings. However, because institutions have the discretion
to exclude specific programs, check to see if the school disperses
federal aid to students enrolled in programs that interest you.
Federal
Aid Programs
Once
you've established the eligibility of the institution and program
in which you are interested, check the federal aid programs in which
they participate. Not all schools participate in all the available
programs.
• Pell Grants, which do not have to be repaid,
are awarded to undergraduate students on the basis of need, even if
they are enrolled less than half-time.
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
(FSOEG) are awards to undergraduates with exceptional financial
need, even if they are enrolled less than half-time. These grants
do not have to be repaid.
• Federal Work-Study Program provides part-time
jobs in public and private nonprofit organizations to both undergraduate
and graduate students who demonstrate financial need. The government
pays up to 75 percent of your wages, and your employer pays the balance.
• The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program
and the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program, commonly
called Stafford Loans, are two loan programs sponsored
by the federal government. You are eligible to borrow under these
loan programs if you are enrolled at least half-time and have financial
need remaining after your Estimated Family Contribution, Pell Grant
eligibility, and aid from other sources are subtracted from your annual
cost of attendance. These must be paid back.
• Perkins Loan Program is available to both
undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate exceptional financial
need, whether enrolled full-time or part-time. This loan must be paid
back
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State Aid Programs
for Texans
The following is a partial list of
scholarships and aid found on financial
aid page of the College
for Texans website. This site is an excellent resource - visit
the site and spend some time there; it will be time well spent!
Links
to other sites will open in a new window. To view these links, please
disable any pop-up killer applications you're running.
Exemption
for Texas Veterans (Hazlewood Exemption)
Exemption
for Orphans of the U.S. Armed Forces or Texas National Guard
Exemption
for Children of Persons who are Missing in Action or Prisoners of
War
TEXAS
Grant Program (for recent high school graduates)
TEXAS
Grant Program (for Associate Degree recipients)
TEXAS
Grant II Program
Professional
Nursing Scholarships
Vocational
Nursing Scholarships
Tuition
Equalization Grant Program
Kenneth
H. Ashworth Fellowship Program
License
Plate Insignia Scholarship
Rural
Emergency Medical Services
Texas
Health Service Corps Program
Outstanding
Rural Scholar Program
Teach
for Texas Conditional Grant Program
Teach
for Texas Alternative Certification Conditional Grant Program
Train
Our Teachers Award
Texas
College Work-Study Program
Tuition
Rebate for Certain Undergraduates
Robert
C. Byrd Scholarships (federal program requiring Texas residency)
Texas
National Guard Tuition Assistance Program
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In addition to those listed above,
with some diligent web surfing and just asking around you can often
find other scholarships. It's important to remember that the more
specific the requirements are for a certain scholarship, the smaller
the pool of possible recipients will be, which increases your odds
of receiving it. Of course, many of these are for a smaller dollar
amount, but you stand a better chance of getting several smaller scholarships
than a single enormous scholarship.
You may wonder why you have to list
hobbies, interests, clubs that you or your parents belong to, places
you or your parents have worked, etc. on some of the financial aid
websites - here are a few examples of some scholarships for Texas
residents that have very specific requirements:
Texas
Resident Scholarships
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Minority
Student Financial Aid Opportunities
Visit this scholarship
search engine on the Texas A&M University MANRRS website.
There are also multiple links to scholarships and other financial
aid on the College
for Texans website. More information is available in the Dual
Credit and Distance Education for Hispanic Students Brochure.
Private Sources of Financial Aid
Colleges and Universities
Many institutions award both need-based and merit-based aid to deserving
students. To find out more about the available types of aid at a particular
institution, contact the financial aid office.
National and Local Organizations
Foundations, nonprofit organizations, churches, service and fraternal
organizations, professional associations, corporations, unions, and
many other national and local organizations award grants to students
of higher education.
Alternative Loan Programs
In addition to the federal loan programs, there are many private alternative
loan programs designed to help students. Most private loan programs
disburse funds based on your creditworthiness rather than your financial
need.
Home Equity Loans
A home equity loan or line of credit can be an attractive
financing alternative to private loan programs. Some of these loans
are offered at low rates and allow you to defer payment of the principal
for years.
Credit Cards
Whatever you do, DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT CARDS TO BORROW MONEY
FOR SCHOOL ON A LONG-TERM BASIS. The interest rates and finance
charges will be high, and the balance will grow astronomically. Credit
cards are useful to pay tuition and fees IF:
(1) you can pay the balance in
full,
(2) you expect a student loan to come through shortly, or
(3) you expect your employer to reimburse your costs.
Otherwise, avoid them.
Internships and Cooperative Education Programs
Internships with organizations outside the university can provide
money as well as practical experience in your field. As an intern,
you are usually paid by the outside organization, and you may or may
not get credit for the work you do. Employer Reimbursement If you
work full-time and attend school part-time, you may be reimbursed
for part or all of your tuition by your employer.
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Whether or not you receive financial
aid, there are many recently enacted tax benefits for adults who want
to return to school and the parents of college-bound students. In
effect, these tax cuts make the first two years of college universally
available, and they give many more working adults the financial means
to go back to school.
The HOPE Scholarship Tax
Credit
Students whose adjusted gross income falls within certain limits receive
a 100 percent tax credit for the first $1,000 of tuition and required
fees and a 50 percent credit on the second $1,000.
The Lifetime Learning Tax
Credit
A family may receive a 20 percent tax credit for the first $5,000
of tuition and required fees paid each year through 2002 and for the
first $10,000 thereafter.
Individual Retirement Accounts
Taxpayers can withdraw funds from an IRA, without penalty for their
own higher education expenses or those of their spouse, child, or
even grandchild.
State Tuition Plans
Links
to other sites will open in a new window. To view these links, please
disable any pop-up killer applications you're running.
When a family uses a qualified state-sponsored
tuition plan to save for college, no tax is due in connection with
the plan until the time of withdrawal. For more information visit:
Texas
Guaranteed Tuition Plan.
Texas
529 Plan is another new college savings plan.
For
information on state-sponsored tuition plans in other states, visit
the National
Association of State Treasurers website.
Tax-Deductible Student Loan Interest
The new student loan interest deduction allows students or their families
to take a tax deduction for interest paid in the first sixty months
of repayment on student loans.
Tax-Deductible Employer Reimbursements
If you take undergraduate courses and your employer reimburses you
for education-related expenses, you may be able to exclude up to $5,250
of employer-provided education benefits from your income.
Community Service Loan Forgiveness
This provision excludes from your income any student loan amounts
forgiven by nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable, or educational institutions
for borrowers who take community-service jobs that address unmet community
needs.
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Financial Aid
Scams
How can you tell the legitimate scholarship
and financial aid offers from the scams? One sure sign is that the
legitimate ones DO NOT REQUIRE ANY UP FRONT MONEY FROM YOU. If you're
asked to come up with money - application fees, fees to attend a seminar,
scholarship search fees - it's probably a scam.
Besides, there are so many FREE places
to search for financial aid (like the ones found on this
page) that even if a fee-based search is legitimate, why should
you pay for something you can get free?
For a very informative explanation
of financial aid scams, visit FinAid:
The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid.
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Financial Aid
Myths
Myth: Millions of
scholarship dollars go unclaimed every year.
Reality: The statement that private scholarship dollars
go unclaimed is unfounded. This is what professional scholarship search
services want you to think so that you'll pay for their services.
You can do your own FREE search for scholarships - just check out
the links above.
Myth: There's not
as much financial aid as there used to be.
Reality: A recent statistic indicates that in 1965
$600 million was available for financial aid. By the academic year
1999-2000, that figure soared to $68.4 billion. Loans and work-study
are now a larger percentage of the total financial aid award than
they used to be, which could account for this particular myth.
Myth: You can't
get any financial aid because your family's income is too high.
Reality: Income is only one of the
criteria on which financial aid is based - some scholarships are based
on merit, affiliations, hobbies, geographic location, etc. If the
school's costs exceed your family's means, you will still qualify
for some form of financial aid (grants, work-study, or loans).
Myth: You can't get
any financial aid without a Social Security Number / documentation.
Reality: Generally, undocumented students who are
Texas residents** and who can demonstrate financial need to the college
may be eligible for state funded aid programs, excluding work-study
(as these students don't have work permits, they can't participate
in work-study). To apply, these students must complete the FAFSA (paper
version only as they don't have a Social Security Number) and give
that application directly to the financial aid office at the college
(that is, don't send it in to the Dept. of Ed. for processing).The
college financial aid office will then make all awards based on their
determination of the student's needs.
**Generally, you may be considered
a Texas resident if, prior to the time you enroll in a Texas college
or university, you (or your parent, if you are a dependent for federal
income tax purposes):
