Funding Your Education

Table Of Contents

Education After High School
  • What questions should I ask a school?
Paying Tuition and Other Costs
  • So, how can the U.S. Department of Education help me pay for school?
  • What about scholarship search services that contact me?
  • How can I tell these services aren't scams?
  • Are there any signs I should look for?
Applying for Financial Aid
  • But I hate filling out a bunch of forms
  • So, if I want or need to use a paper form, where can I get one?
  • When can I apply?
  • What should I know before I get started?
  • What does the application ask for?
  • What is a PIN?
  • How can I find out the status of my application?
  • What happens after my application is processed?
Eligibility Criteria
  • How will I know what I'm eligible for?
  • What is cost of attendance?
  • Are my family's special circumstances considered?
Important Scholarship, Grant, Financial Aid Deadlines
  • What deadlines do I have to meet?
  • Verification? What is that?
Federal Pell Grants
  • How much can I get?
  • If I'm eligible, how will I get the Pell Grant money?
Campus-Based Aid Programs
  • Let's start with Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
  • And what is Federal Work-Study?
  • Will I be paid the same as I would in any other job?
  • What kinds of jobs are there in Federal Work-Study?
  • What about Federal Perkins Loans?
  • How much can I borrow?
  • Other than interest, is there a charge for this loan?
  • So, when do I pay it back?
  • What if I have trouble repaying the loan?
Stafford Loans
  • How can I get a FFEL or Direct Loan?
  • So, how will I get the loan money?
  • How much can I borrow?
  • What's the interest rate?
  • When do I pay back the loan?
PLUS Loans (Parent Loans)
  • How do my parents get a loan?
  • How much can my parents borrow?
  • Who gets my parents' loan money?
  • What's the interest rate?
  • When do my parents begin repaying the loan?
Stafford and PLUS Loan Questions
  • Other than interest, is there a charge for these loans?
  • How are the loans repaid?
  • What if someone has trouble repaying?
Reducing the Cost of School
  • Will the government give me a tax break?
  • What about lower-cost schools?
  • What about working or volunteering?
Taking the Next Step