Seniors and Future Planning

What is Federal Student Aid

Federal student aid comes from the federal government-specifically, the U.S. Department of Education. It's money that helps a student pay for higher education expenses (i.e.,college, career school, or graduate school expenses). Federal student aid covers expenses such as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation. There are three main categories of federal student aid: grants, work-study, and loans. 

Each of our high schools host an event in the fall where students and families can receive more information and support in completing CASFA and FAFSA. Contact the main office for details.

Federal Methodology (FM) - Federal Methodology (FM) is a formula established by Congress to determine EFC (Family Expected Contribution) and federal financial aid eligibility. The formula takes into consideration income, assets, expenses, family size and other factors to help evaluate a family's financial ability to pay for college. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the online form used in reporting the information that determines EFC under the FM. All students applying for federal aid need to complete the FAFSA. 

Institutional Methodology (IM) - Institutional Methodology (IM) is a need analysis system that nearly 400 colleges and scholarship programs use to award non-federal aid. These colleges believe that IM provides a more comprehensive view of a family's ability to pay than FM. These colleges use IM to distribute their need-based funds equitably to the most deserving students. IM was developed by financial aid practitioners and is based on up-to-date consumer research and tax policy. In addition to evaluating family assets, it also allows for a more generous treatment of medical/dental expenses and efforts to put money aside for education, emergencies, and other special circumstances. Because many students use IM to award their own money, the results and use of the formula can vary from college to college. 

FAFSA - Every student applying for financial aid must complete the FAFSA on the web at FAFSA.org. FAFSA has an easily navigated website FAFSA.gov. A link to create an FSA ID can be found on this website. Students, parents, and borrowers of federal student loans are required to use an FSA ID, made up of a username and password, to access certain U.S. Department of Education websites. The FSA ID is used to confirm the student's identity when accessing financial aid information and electronically signing federal student aid documents. 

CSS Profile - The CSS profile is a web-based financial aid application. Some colleges and universities require students to complete the CSS profile to receive their non-federal, institutional financial aid. Each year millions of dollars in private, institutional funds are awarded to thousands of students attending colleges that use the CSS profile. Students can sign in and complete their application at Cssprofile.org. Resources, guides, tutorials, live chat features, and a list of participating colleges are also available on the CSS profile homepage. 

What Is In My Financial Aid Package?

Your financial aid package is the amount of federal aid, state aid, and college aid that the colleges and universities who've accepted you are willing to offer you toward your college degree. When you're accepted to a school, you'll receive an acceptance letter as well as a financial aid award letter that lists the amount of aid you're being offered toward the first year of your college education. In your award letter, you will see all the federal grants, college scholarships, college loans and work-study programs that school is willing to offer you. This aid will come from a variety of sources, including federal aid, state aid and college aid.  

• Federal Pell Grants are available to undergraduate students. Grants do not have to be repaid. 
• Federal Stafford Loans are student loans that must be repaid and are available to both undergraduate and graduate students. 
  • Stafford loans are provided through the Federal Direct Loan Program, meaning federal government provides the funds for the Stafford loan. 
  • First-year undergraduates are eligible for loans up to $5,500. Amounts increase for subsequent years of study, with higher amounts of graduate students. The interest rates may vary based on when the loan is borrowed. There are two types of Stafford loans:
    • Subsidized Stafford loan: a loan for which the government pays the interest while you are in school, during grace periods, and during any deferment periods. 
    • Unsubsidized Stafford loan: a loan for which you are responsible for paying all the interest that accrues at any point in time. 
• Campus-based programs are financial aid programs administered by participating schools. There are three Campus-based programs:
  • Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants - awards range from $100-$4,000.
  • Federal Work-Study - provides jobs to undergraduate and graduate students, allowing them to earn money to pay education expenses.
  • Perkins Loans - are low interest (5%) loans that must be repaid; the maximum annual loan amount is $4,000 for undergraduate students.

What To Do When You Receive Your Award Letter?

Review each award letter to see how much college money you’ve been offered and what types of money it is. Remember that you may be in a better position if you accept less money but a larger proportion of federal grants and college scholarships than if you accept more money in the form of student loans, since loans need to be paid back with interest. Remember that private loans usually have a higher interest rate and it is important to compare student loans to get the best terms and conditions.

​As you evaluate your financial aid packages, keep in mind that you are not required to accept all the aid you’re being offered. You will want to accept all grants and scholarships, since these don’t need to be repaid, but you can reject a college loan or request a college loan for a lesser amount to make that loan easier to pay back.