Applying for Student Loans and other Types of Student Financial Aid
The first step in getting student loans, grants and sometimes even college scholarships is filing a FAFSA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Notice the word FREE in the title. You should never have to pay to file the FAFSA as the program is run by the Department of Education and your tax dollars.
Filing a FAFSA determines what type of aid you are eligible for, not only in the form of student loans, but also grants and work-study. Additionally, some scholarships require that you apply for financial aid because they might use financial need as a basis for the scholarship, especially some scholarships administered through your financial aid department.
Each type of aid is slightly different and it's important to know exactly what each type of financial aid is and which will benefit you the most. There are four types of aid: scholarships, grants, work-study and student loans. Both scholarships and loans do not have to be paid back. The main difference between the two is that scholarships are awarded based generally non-financial criteria such as academic, associations and other individual aspects. Grants are awarded based on financial need. Loans differ because they must be paid back when you finish school. Work-study is of a different nature and the name is exactly what it says. You work and received payments for that work. How each school runs the work-study program may differ and you will need to check with your school.
Filing a financial aid application can be a little tedious and take a bit of time. Don't let any of that put you off applying. It is a necessity that you apply. In order to make filing out the FAFSA a little easier, you need to make sure you have all the information they require at hand. These include: social security numbers, tax-returns, bank statements and any other financial data, W-2 forms for the student and the parents if the child is a dependent or under 24. Some atypical circumstances exist that you need not be over 24 to be considered independent such as being an orphan, this includes students who have been in foster care or other circumstances.
Filing the FAFSA is important for getting student loans. Don't put it off as you might not be eligible for other types of aid that can greatly decrease the amount of student loans you need. Look up the deadlines for your school for earliest consideration, typical between January 1st and some time in February or as late as March for some schools.
If you are thinking about applying for financial aid, then you also want to consider applying for scholarships. Within minutes, you could have several college scholarships waiting for you to apply for. Remember, the signup is free, and could potentially save you thousands of dollars in student loans.
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