Financial Aid Grants in The United States
Within the United States, the federal government assists college students in paying for their schooling through financial aid grants. The foundation in charge of this is called the Federal Student Financial Aid Program. It is comprised of multiple programs, grants, scholarships, and work study programs. The most commonly known examples of these are Federal Pell Grants, the Federal SEOG Grant, the Federal Work Study Program, and Federal Stafford Loans, which can be either subsidized or unsubsidized. In order to be eligible for such assistance, a college bound student must complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA.
The FAFSA is used to calculate the financial need of a student who is applying for financial aid grants through the government. The complex equations used to make this determination take into account certain factors on your FAFSA, such as your expected family contribution towards a college education. This determines what forms of grants and scholarships you may qualify for. It is also required when filing a FAFSA that a student must complete an entrance and exit survey. Your FAFSA must be filled out each year you are in school.
For students who are applying for financial aid grants, the federal government also provides forms of grants that are non need based. Besides grants, these forms of financial aid can include loans, work study programs, and scholarships. The university that a student is applying to will also have financial-need and merit-based scholarships available. To supplement what your grants may not cover, educational loans are also available in times of need. These have to be paid back after graduation from the university.
A private institution or university may offer their own personal financial aid grants to a student. These will be, again, split into two categories: need based grants and merit based grants. There may be endowed grants available to you as well. To qualify for such grants at your university, you may only be required to fill out your FAFSA form. However, other schools may require you to provide further documentation if you apply for a grant on a need basis. The more stringent documentation requirements for need based grants are essential to ensure that the university portions their funding fairly among students who demonstrate true financial need. It may be more prudent for you to apply for a merit based financial aid grant if your family falls within a certain income bracket.