It’s never too early – or too late – to explore your options for college or career school. This site discusses key steps in preparing for college and provides resources that can help you along the way.
Get Checklists for Academic and Financial Preparation
Learn About Grants, Work Study, Loans, and Scholarships
Apply for Aid Using the FAFSA Form
Finding financial aid can seem overwhelming when you’re trying to get ready for college or career school. It doesn’t have to be! We will walk you through how financial aid works, resources to pay for college, and loan repayment options.
Develop your game plan to pay for college. Plan how to pay for college before you start. Ask school counselors and the college financial aid office about state, college, and nonprofit grants and scholarships you can apply for. Be sure to meet application deadlines. Start saving before you get to college. Consider prepaid tuition and education savings (529) plans.
Preparing for College | Understanding Grants | Understanding Scholarships
Apply for federal student aid. Before each year of college, apply for federal grants, work-study, and loans with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Your college uses your FAFSA data to determine your federal aid eligibility. Many states and colleges use FAFSA data to award their own aid. After submission, you’ll receive your Student Aid Report.
Filling Out the FAFSA Form | Understanding Work-Study Jobs | Reviewing Your Student Aid Report | Understanding Loans
Compare the aid each school is offering. Your aid offer explains the types and amounts of aid a college is offering you, and your expected costs for the year. If you’ve been accepted to multiple colleges, compare the costs and aid offers. Accept the aid from the school that’s best for you and inform them of other sources of aid (such as scholarships) you expect to receive.
Comparing School Aid Offers | Accepting Financial Aid | Understanding College Costs
Aid goes to your student account first. Time to go to school! Your financial aid office will apply your aid to the amount you owe your school and send you the remaining balance to spend on other college costs. One of the requirements to maintain financial aid eligibility is that you must make satisfactory academic progress. And don’t forget to complete a FAFSA form each year!
Receiving Financial Aid | Staying Eligible | Renewing Your FAFSA Form
Find an affordable repayment plan. As you prepare to graduate, get ready to repay your student loans. Good news! Federal student loan borrowers have a six-month grace period before you begin making payments. Use this time to get organized and choose a repayment plan. If you start falling behind on your payments, contact your loan servicer to discuss repayment options.
Managing Your Loans | Exploring Repayment Plans | Seeking Temporary Relief | Getting Back on Track
A grant is a form of financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid (unless, for example, you withdraw from school and owe a refund, or you receive a TEACH Grant and don’t complete your service obligation). A variety of federal grants are available, including Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants, and Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants.
More InfoMany nonprofit and private organizations offer scholarships to help students pay for college or career school. This type of free money, which is sometimes based on academic merit, talent, or a particular area of study, can make a real difference in helping you manage your education expenses.
More InfoThe Federal Work-Study Program allows you to earn money to pay for school by working part-time.
More InfoThere are special aid programs or additional aid eligibility for serving in the military or for being the spouse or child of a veteran.
More InfoFederal student aid may be available for studying at a school outside the United States, whether you’re studying abroad or getting your degree from an international school.
More InfoBesides aid from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the federal government offers a number of other financial aid programs. These programs include
Federal student aid from ED covers such expenses as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation. Aid can also help pay for other related expenses, such as a computer and dependent care. Thousands of schools across the country participate in the federal student aid programs; ask the schools you’re interested in whether they do!
Other than federal aid, you might be eligible for financial assistance from your state. Contact your state grant agency for more information.
Many schools offer financial aid from their own grant and/or scholarship funds. Find out what might be available to you:
The FAFSA form allows students to request federal grants, work-study, and loans, all in one application.
We have resources for parents looking to save for college and learn about financial aid. We also make loans to eligible parents to help pay for their child’s undergraduate education expenses.
Complete a Master Promissory Note for a Parent PLUS Loan
Complete PLUS Credit Counseling
Scholarships are gifts. They don’t need to be repaid. There are thousands of them, offered by schools, employers, individuals, private companies, nonprofits, communities, religious groups, and professional and social organizations.
Register with all the websites below and apply for scholarships!
Some scholarships for college are merit-based. You earn them by meeting or exceeding certain standards set by the scholarship-giver. Merit scholarships might be awarded based on academic achievement or on a combination of academics and a special talent, trait, or interest. Other scholarships are based on financial need.
Many scholarships are geared toward particular groups of people; for instance, there are scholarships for women or graduate students. And some are available because of where you or your parent work, or because you come from a certain background (for instance, there are scholarships for military families).
A scholarship might cover the entire cost of your tuition, or it might be a one-time award of a few hundred dollars. Either way, it’s worth applying for, because it’ll help reduce the cost of your education.
You can learn about scholarships in several ways, including contacting the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend and checking information in a public library or online. But be careful. Make sure scholarship information and offers you receive are legitimate; and remember that you don’t have to pay to find scholarships or other financial aid. Check out our information on how to avoid scams.
Try these free sources of information about scholarships:
That depends on each scholarship’s deadline. Some deadlines are as early as a year before college starts, so if you’re in high school now, you should be researching and applying for scholarships during the summer between your junior and senior years. But if you’ve missed that window, don’t give up! Look at scholarship information to see which ones you can still apply for now.
Each scholarship has its own requirements. The scholarship’s website should give you an idea of who qualifies for the scholarship and how to apply. Make sure you read the application carefully, fill it out completely, and meet the application deadline.
That depends on the scholarship. The money might go directly to your college, where it will be applied to any tuition, fees, or other amounts you owe, and then any leftover funds given to you. Or it might be sent directly to you in a check. The scholarship provider should tell you what to expect when it informs you that you’ve been awarded the scholarship. If not, make sure to ask.
A scholarship will affect your other student aid because all your student aid added together can’t be more than your cost of attendance at your college or career school. So, you’ll need to let your school know if you’ve been awarded a scholarship so that the financial aid office can subtract that amount from your cost of attendance (and from certain other aid, such as loans, that you might have been offered). Then, any amount left can be covered by other financial aid for which you’re eligible. Questions? Ask your financial aid office.