Scholarships & Financial Aid

 

Applying for scholarships and financial aid are a necessary step for every student going to college. An important piece of this process is the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Some institutions require the completion of the FAFSA for scholarship and merit aid considerations. In addition, some institutions require the completion of the CSS (College Scholarship Service) profile. 

 

There are many tools and resources online for finding and applying for scholarships and financial aid. Below are some that will be helpful in the search:

 

  • Academic Competitiveness & National SMART Grants: The current college students and high school seniors to apply for new Academic Competitiveness Grants and National SMART Grants. Students who completed rigorous coursework In high school or who are pursuing degrees in math, science and critical foreign languages are eligible for a portion of $790 million in new federal funding for higher education. For more Information go to: http://www.ed.gov/
  • CollegeBoard helps you find college, pay for college, make a plan at: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/
  • FASTWeb is a free searchable database of more than 600,000 private sector scholarships, grants, fellowships and loans. It is absolutely the most “cutting edge” method of researching scholarship information, and it is updated daily (approximately 1,200 per day). To access the Financial Aid Information page go to: http://edu.fastweb.com/
  • Finaid.org is an overall financial aid site with information on loans and scholarships, and a financial aid calculator that can help you determine whether you qualify for need-based aid and what your family’s (EFC) Estimated Financial Contribution will be. It can be accessed at: http://www.finaid.org/
  • FinancialAidLetter.com is a website where you can read real college financial aid award letters. Decode confusing (and sometimes misleading) loan and scholarship information. Translate financial aid jargon and acronyms into plain English. Get great tips on raising extra college cash, cutting costs, and making that degree more affordable. Find out why you deserve clear and complete cost information, and why colleges aren’t delivering it. It can be accessed at: http://www.financialaidletter.com/
  • MeritAid.com Appily.com is the web’s first comprehensive directory of merit scholarships from colleges. We want to make it easy for you to understand how much merit aid is available to you from colleges across the country before you apply. The site can be accessed at: https://www.cappex.com/scholarships/ https://www.appily.com/scholarships
  • National Center for Educational Statistics This website tells you the average award amount at each school, how many students receive aid and various other statistics. You can also find this information in many college handbooks. It can be accessed at: http://www.nces.ed.gov/
  • Scholarships.com: Each Scholarships.com user answers a detailed questionnaire, providing information about their academics, extracurricular activities, and individual background. We then use this data to generate a customized list of grant and scholarship opportunities that match the student’s qualifications. At the heart of this process is our industry-leading scholarship database – the most comprehensive and accurate compilation of national, state, local, and college-based scholarships and grants available anywhere: http://www.scholarships.com/
  • The U.S. Department of Education site has information about federal aid programs, and includes recommendations and tips for parents and students on how to pay for college. It can be accessed at: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/ https://studentaid.gov/
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