Financial Aid for Students

Guides students through the process of locating and applying for financial aid. Prepared by the Congressional Research Service for Members of Congress, updated June 2011.

• The basics: getting started
• Student aid and where it comes from
• Targeted aid for specific groups
• Repaying your loans

• Start gathering information early.

• Free information is readily available from:
  High school counselors
  College and career school financial aid offices (where you plan to attend)
  Local and college libraries
  Student Aid on the Web (U.S. Department of Education)
  Other Internet sites (search terms student financial aid OR assistance)

• Ask questions: counselors may know if you have exceptional circumstances that affect your eligibility.

• Keep copies of all forms and correspondence: you must reapply for aid each year.

• Parents of students: save money long before your child attends college.
  FinAid: for Parents
  College Savings Plan Network (state "Section 529" plans)
  Tax incentives for higher education expenses

• Good overviews:
  About Financial Aid
  FinAid: The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid
  Looking for Student Aid
  Mapping Your Future
  Paying for College

• Beware of scholarship scams -- don’t pay for free information!
  Department of Education
  Federal Trade Commission

Basic assistance categories:

• Financial need-based
  Remember that students and their parents are responsible for paying what they can -- financial aid is a supplement, not a substitute, for family resources.

• Non need-based
  Factors include academic excellence, ethnic background, or organization membership. Corporations may also offer assistance to employees and children.

Federal Student Aid:

• Provides nearly 70% of student aid under Loans, Grants and Work/study programs.
• Available to all need-based applicants; some loans and competitive scholarships for non need-based.
• Free information from the United States Department of Education:
  • Student Aid on the Web
  • Financial Aid Resource Publications
• Loans are the most common federal aid and must be repaid when you graduate or leave college.
  • Stafford Loans (FFELs and Direct Loans) include:
    • Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) from private lenders, such as banks and credit unions, guaranteed by the federal government.
    • Federal PLUS Loans parental loans, not need-based.
  • Perkins Loans [Download a free PDF reader] for the most needy undergraduates; through participating schools.
• Scholarships/grants are mostly need-based and require no repayment:
  • Pell Grants
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
• "Congressional" scholarships:
  • Named for Member of Congress or other prominent individual (such as Byrd Honors Scholarships, Fulbright fellowships)
  • Merit-based and highly competitive
  • Members of Congress do not play a role in selecting recipients