I need a basic rundown of student financial aid works.

The thing is, I am intelligent and get good grades so I know I will have the option to attend a good University. The thing is, my family has no means at all to pay virtually any of my tuition and I am entering 11th grade and have not yet got a scholarship. I am very scared that I will not have the money to attend a decent University because of this. Getting into a University and getting an excellent education for my career is my life. Because I will be going into science, my state offers to pay half the tuition for whichever college I attend. I was thinking either Washington University or St. Louis University. Is there any way that I will be able to get the needed money?

When you are a senior is when you will start really looking for scholarships and filling out your fafsa on line.

For scholarships you will want to check with both institutions to see what kind of internal scholarships they offer and how to apply. You will also want to check with your highschool counselor to help you look for some.

When you fill out your fafsa of your senior year you will want to go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and fill out the fafsa. The application will open up for the school year you want in January. The best time to fill it out is right after you and your parents file taxes, if you guys file. Make sure you add both school codes, this way both colleges will get your information.

You can acctually go through the process for both schools at the same time and then decide which award package you want. If that will help decide which school to go to.

When you get your financial aid package, depencing on what you are elegible for, it will be made up of grants and scholarships (free money you dont have to pay back) and loans. The money will go directly towards tuition and then the rest is for you to use for books, supplies and living expenses.

Once you fill out the fafsa they will give you an EFC number and tell you if you are elegible for a Pell Grant. They then send your information to the financial aid offices of the schools you request and they determine what grants and institutional funds you are elegible for. They determine this from your EFC number (expected family contribution, and the lower the more money you are elegible for) family size, if you are going to be living with your parents and things like that.

I am glad you are thinking ahead about your future and I hope you choose Washington University, because many of my friends go there and they love it

Okay, this is where you want to begin - familiarizing yourself with the federal government's financial aid program.

The booklet that I'm linking to is called "Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid". You can read it online by visiting the link, or you can stop by the guidance office at your school and request a copy. It's a great booklet, because it explains the entire financial aid process, not just the government aid, but private aid, like scholarships and loans, too.

Give it a read, and pass it on to your parents. They'll find a lot of useful info in there, too.

I think it'll really answer a lot of your questions.

Good luck to you!

Have you tried to get any grants, financial aid, taking out a loan(Say a Stafford Loan), Sallie Mae, Pell Grants,etc. You can also see if the college you want to attend needs any help. I know that they can let you work and take it off your tuition. I hope this helps.



Jax4gh

Renee Batten