Paying for College 101: Understanding Financial Aid Applications

September 16, 2010 | posted by Myra Smith.

This is the third post in a series entitled “Paying for College 101: What You Need to Know about Financial Aid” by Myra Baas Smith, Executive Director of Financial Aid Services at the College Board.

In my last post, we talked about why deadlines matter. Not only do the deadlines matter, they are not always the same, nor are the applications attached to them; just as admission requirements vary, so do financial aid applications.

#3. All Financial Aid Applications Are Not the Same!

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is required for all federal aid programs, as well as some state and scholarship programs. All aid applicants should complete the FAFSA every year, regardless of your financial situation.

Additionally, an institutional aid application is required for institutional dollars – money awarded by your college of university. The CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE^® Application is used by many institutions, and it may be required each year or only the first year. The good news is that you can do the FAFSA and PROFILE only once and send the applications to multiple schools. PROFILE even includes a FAFSA worksheet to help you with completing the FAFSA.

Other colleges may have an institutional-specific application that supplements the FAFSA and/or PROFILE. All of these applications are normally available on the college’s website. One interesting fact: Colleges often award merit scholarships based on the admission application, so just because there is not a specific merit application for a college, don’t assume that you won’t be considered for a merit award.

State grant and loan programs may also require a separate application. As with the deadlines, check with the higher education agency in your state for details.

The application process for private scholarships varies by the type of scholarship. Some require only an application. Others may require an essay or additional information. There are scholarship search engines, including one offered by the College Board, that compile data about private scholarships and allow you to search for these funds based on your personal characteristics. My advice is to search for scholarships using the narrowest criteria possible, and then evaluate the time it will take to apply against the number of scholarships awarded. Be strategic in both your search and application process to get the best results. Also, in most cases you will have the greatest chance of receiving scholarships offered by local organizations simply because the pool of applicants will be smaller. Your high school guidance office is the best source for information about these types of awards.

Keep in mind when searching for private scholarships that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You should not have to pay someone to help you find or apply for these scholarships.

Once you have completed the appropriate application, follow up to be sure your application was received and that it was complete. Online applications like the FAFSA and PROFILE should send you an acknowledgement that you should keep just in case there is any question about what you submitted and when. Remember #2- Deadlines matter!

Now that you have completed your application in full and on time, it’s time to discuss what you need to know about cost and calculated family contribution to understand the bottom line – stay tuned!

Photo Credit: forwardcom (sxc.hu)

Written by Myra Smith

Myra Baas Smith is the Executive Director of Financial Aid Services at the College Board. The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Myra also has served as the Director of Student Financial Services at Yale University and Smith College.

Get Real Answers to Your Questions: We're here to help. If you have a question about private student loans or financial aid in general, use the Ask the Experts page to talk to us. You can also leave a comment in the box below.

We Want to Connect: Join us on Facebook or Twitter for discussions outside of the blog. We pass on lots of helpful information about financial aid in both places, so don't hesitate to connect with us!

http://www.CollegeFundingResource.com Felicia Gopaul@FAFSA

There are many great ideas in this article. I, like the author, believe that everyone should complete the financial aid forms – both FAFSA and Profile. Keep in mind the Profile form is due much earlier than the FAFSA so if you applying to colleges that use that form to award their own money, make sure you don’t miss the deadlines.

I only disagree on one minor point, I usually suggest students doing a scholarship search look as broadly as possible and once they’ve seen the universe of potential scholarships, they narrow their search from there. I’d rather eliminate scholarships that I don’t qualify for rather than miss seeing a scholarship I could have qualified for.

Finally, it can’t be stated enough. Apply for scholarships from local organizations because the applicant pool will be smaller so you have a better chance of obtaining a scholarship at the local level.
http://www.overturemarketplace.com/ Jeff Sheely

Thanks for the insight, Felicia! That is a great point about applying for local scholarships – there is a lot of money out there that students can tap into if they just apply.
http://www.overturemarketplace.com/paying-for-college-financial-aid-deadlines-matter Paying for College: Financial Aid Deadlines Matter!

[...] And that leads us directly to the third thing you need to know, which I will cover in the next post. [...]