Once you reach high school you start wondering, whats next? Even friends and family ask the same question. You need to decide about your future. Today, in this knowledge based world education is a must for everyone. You need to be able to compete with the Joneses to survive here. With rising college fees it is increasingly difficult for everyone to attend college. That is why our federal government has come out with many grants and scholarships. Financial aid is freely available to meritorious as well as needy students.
To apply for financial aid, the first step is you need to fill up FAFSA. This is an application form where the financial capability of the student and the family is ascertained. FAFSA helps in a student procuring aid for higher studies. FAFSA can be filled online at the government website www.FAFSA.ed.gov. Be careful to refer to only FAFSA edu and FAFSA gov sites. There are bogus websites asking for money for registration. Keep away from them.
There is no fee and FAFSA application is free online. Take a look at FAFSA while you are in high school. This will give you ample time to understand the complicated procedure. Along with SAR (student aid report) you need to approach the colleges you wish to apply for. Once admission is secured the financial aid is directly paid to the college or university you are attending.
Even to get a student loan you need to fill up FAFSA. Whether it is a Perkins loan or a Citi bank student loan or Sallie Mae student loan FAFSA is a must. This Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) enables you to dream of college education. You will need to give detailed information about your financial history, your family’s income and income taxes from the previous year, the number of family members attending college and so on. Be very careful about the data you give as this will ascertain your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) to determine your eligibility for FAFSA. Keep checking online for deadline for submitting FAFSA application.
FAFSA scholarships are given on first come first serve basis. So get ready to get going!