Many of these strategies are simply methods of minimizing income during the base year. Likewise, the value of assets are determined at the time of application and may have no relation to their value during the award year. We have not included any strategies that we consider unethical, dishonest, or illegal. For example, although we may describe some strategies for sheltering assets, we do not provide techniques for hiding assets.
Likewise, we strongly discourage any family from providing false information on a financial aid. Check out top strategies for maximizing aid eligibility. For more detailed strategies on maximizing your need, click on the topics below. There are several basic principles behind the strategies for maximizing eligibility for financial aid. These principles include:. Families have a natural tendency to overstate income, in part by reporting gross income before deductions for health insurance premiums instead of adjusted gross income.
Be careful when reporting the amount of taxes paid. Many people confuse the amount of withholding the figure from the W2s with the amount of taxes paid. Avoid incurring capital gains during the base year, which are treated like income. Sell the stocks and bonds during the sophomore year in high school.
Next steps to determine how much financial aid you can get. On a similar note Dive even deeper in Student Loans. Explore Student Loans. Spot your saving opportunities. See your spending breakdown to show your top spending trends and where you can cut back. Department of Education DOE Office of Federal Student Aid publishes a College Preparation Checklist that will help guide you from wherever you are—elementary, middle school, high school, or young adult—to where you want to end up—in college with a plan to pay for your education.
Ask your high school counselor about aid that may be available to you or your child from local and state organizations, including scholarships and grants that may be awarded while you are still in high school. Although you will have to declare any outside aid you receive when you apply through your college—and that aid will reduce the amount of federal, state, and college aid you can receive—it will also reduce the amount of aid you need, so the net effect is a wash.
Keep note of all financial aid application deadlines and don't let them pass before you apply. Use the DOE checklist mentioned above to build a foundation and the information in this article to guide your search for financial aid. The two main categories of financial aid are need-based and non-need or merit-based. Simply put, need-based aid is awarded based on the awarding organization's assessment of your ability to pay for college.
Merit-based aid is awarded for special talent or demonstrated ability such as in academics, athletics, music, or other areas. Whether your financial aid is need-based or merit-based or both does not determine whether you have to pay it back. That is determined by the specific type of aid you receive. Most scholarships and grants, for example, do not have to be repaid.
Most loans do. There are two primary pathways to financial aid as you enter college. Department of Education and required for you to be considered for federal aid as well as for most college and state assistance. The second, known as the CSS Profile , is sponsored by the College Board and used by roughly mostly private colleges and universities to allocate non-government financial aid from those institutions.
Each form has its deadlines and procedures see details, below. That's because a you may be wrong, and b even if you're right, the FAFSA is also required for most local, state, and individual school financial aid, including merit scholarships. Whether you should submit the CSS Profile probably depends on whether the financial aid you are interested in or the school you plan to attend requires it. That means, for example, that you submit it Oct. Although the federal deadline to submit is June 30 of the academic year in this case June 30, , that will likely be too late to obtain most financial aid.
It will also likely be well past the deadline for aid dispersed by most states and colleges. You must also renew your FAFSA for each academic year you are in school or you will not qualify for additional federal financial aid including renewable aid you received the previous year. The renewal process is usually easier and faster than the original because much personal and demographic information is retained.
You still need to check it to make sure it is accurate, but there is no cost to submit or renew the FAFSA. Do this Oct. Check the College Board list of Participating Institutions and Programs for detailed information about which schools require CSS and which classifications of students or parents are required to file.
Amherst College in Amherst, Mass. Loyola University in Baltimore, Md. Waivers may be available for first-time domestic college applicants if:. The open date—the soonest you can apply for financial aid—is more important than the deadline, which is the latest you can apply. Procrastinators beware! Although the FAFSA, the CSS Profile, colleges, and universities all have deadlines—the last date you can apply for aid each year—the most important date to remember is the open date — the first date each year you can apply for financial aid.
The open date for the academic year , for example, is Oct. Whether need-based or merit-based, federal or private, financial aid typically comes in one of the following forms:. A grant is "free" money that doesn't need to be paid back except when you fail to live up to the terms of the grant, such as by leaving school.
Grants can come from the federal or state government, schools, or private or nonprofit organizations. Most grants are need-based but merit-based grants are also available.
Like grants, scholarships are gifts and do not need to be repaid unless you don't live up to the terms of the scholarship. Also like grants, scholarships can come from the federal or state government, universities, or private or nonprofit organizations. Scholarships tend to be merit-based, though there are also scholarships that are need-based or that take both merits and need into consideration.
Some scholarships are aimed at specific groups, such as women, minorities, and students from military families. Learn about scholarships that may be available to you through your school counselor, college financial aid office, or even at your local library. Work-study typically refers to federal work-study, a program that provides part-time work on or off-campus while you are enrolled in school. Federal work-study is only available to you if you have demonstrated financial need.
Qualifying does not guarantee you a job. You will need to apply, interview, and be hired. You will earn at least the federal minimum wage more for higher-skilled jobs depending on when you apply, your financial need, and the school's available funding. Another type of job, known as a non-work study, is also available at many colleges and universities. These jobs are not government-sponsored, earnings vary, and funding comes from the department doing the hiring. To learn more about both programs, contact your college financial aid office.
Federal student loans are government loans and include terms and conditions with benefits i. The Federal Direct Loan Program offers four types of federal loans:.
Private student loans are made by banks, credit unions, and other state-based organizations. These loans include terms and conditions set by the lender and are generally though not always more expensive than federal student loans. Unlike most federal loans , private loan rates are based on your credit score and lenders may offer you a variable interest rate instead of a fixed one. You may be required to begin paying back your private loan while still in school.
Federal loans allow you to wait until you leave school or graduate. Most of the details of obtaining financial aid take place at the college or university level. Importantly, while there are lots of similarities in the ways colleges award aid, each school has its unique process when it comes to open dates, deadlines, procedures, and the actual awards process.
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