Understanding Financial Aid
- Pell Grants
- Federal Family Education Loans (Direct Stafford and Direct PLUS)
- Federal Direct Student Loans (Direct Stafford and Direct Plus)
- Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG)
- College Work-Study
- be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen:
- be a Federal Pell Grant recipient:
- be enrolled at least half-time in a degree program:
- be a first or second-year undergraduate student or a student in a certificate program of at least one year in a degree program at a two-year or four-year degree-granting institution
- have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study
State higher education agencies also sponsor student assistance plans (i.e., TAP, administered by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation).
Don't rule out any educational program on the basis of cost alone. If you or your family are unable to afford the full cost yourselves, you may qualify for enough financial aid to pay for the education you want.
All students interested in financial aid must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It produces the family’s primary expected family contribution figure: the amount of money that, when subtracted from college costs, will establish eligibility for federal student aid. If your child is applying to a college within New York, you will automatically receive an ExpressTAP form from the state.
Some schools, especially the more expensive ones, may want additional information to determine your eligibility for collegiate awards (or to determine the mix of the aid package, i.e. the ratio of grants and loans). These schools may ask you to file an institutional aid application called the PROFILE. The PROFILE asks for much more information than the FAFSA. For example, you have to report your family income for the previous two years, the amount of equity in your home, any medical expenses that exceed 4% of AGI, and any secondary school tuition paid for other students in the family. In addition, private colleges may ask about other possible financial resources-various trusts, gifts, leaseback’s, insurance policies, boats, business interests, retirement provisions, debt information.
Eligibility for financial aid depends on how much you and your family can pay toward your total estimated costs. Figuring out that amount is a complicated process called need analysis. Everyone who applies for aid receives a need analysis, which examines what your parents can pay and what you can contribute.
Financial Aid is intended to supplement, not replace family resources. Families should think of themselves as the first, and probably primary, source of college funds. Most colleges, government agencies, and programs expect students to contribute as much as possible. Remember that the best single source of financial aid information is the Financial Aid Officer at the colleges to which you apply.
During the month of January, a toll free hotline number can be called where New York State Financial Aid Counselors will answer specific questions you may have. This number is (800) 367-2670.
- The scholarship is "guaranteed" or your money back.
- The scholarship service will do all the work.
- The scholarship will cost some money.
- "You can't get this information anywhere else."
- You are a "finalist" in a competition you never entered.
- The scholarship service needs your credit card or checking account number in advance.
If this sounds like the scholarship service you're thinking of using, here's some advice from the FTC:
Every year, thousands of families fall prey to fraudulent scholarship companies that pose as legitimate foundations, scholarship sponsors, and scholarship search services. The scam artists advertise in campus newspapers, distribute flyers, send direct mail with toll-free phone numbers to students, and post home pages on the World Wide Web that essentially promise “free money for college”. These scams target a vulnerable group of consumers: high school and college students and parents worried about paying for a college education. The scam artists "guarantee" students scholarships and grants "that you'll never have to repay." These companies charge advance fees ranging from $10 to $400. In most cases, consumers end up with nothing but a hefty credit card bill or a depleted checking account.
Many fraudulent companies claim that there is $6.6 billion in unclaimed student aid available each year through private funding sources (as opposed to colleges and government) and that they can tap into that "Fund" for their customers. According to the scholarship experts, that "unclaimed funds" claim is a myth, based on an estimate of untapped employee tuition benefits that was published in a study over 10 years ago. The funds went unclaimed because they couldn't be used. In fact, less than one percent of the financial aid awarded each year comes from the private sector. Most financial aid comes from the government or from the schools themselves.
Many fraudulent companies "guarantee" that they have scholarships or grants for which students already have qualified, but require an advance fee in order to gain the scholarship. In reality, these companies search a database compiled from public information and provide a list of scholarships and grants to which students can apply and for which students may or may not be eligible. If the company offers a "money back guarantee, "students usually are required to apply for each of the scholarships or grants listed by the fraudulent company and provide proof that they have been rejected by each one, a contingency not mentioned to students before they pay the fee. In most cases, the "guarantee" is worthless.
Other fraudulent companies provide nothing for the student's advance fee—not even a list of sources of potential aid. A number of scam operators use official-sounding names, such as "National Scholarship Foundation", or claim to have a Washington, D.C. location to project an aura of legitimacy. Some scam artists tell students they've been selected as "finalists"—but that the student will have to pay a fee for further consideration, or that scholarships are being held for the student. Students are frequently asked to provide their checking account number to "confirm their eligibility for an award." Then, they find out that large sums of money have been debited from their accounts. For more information regarding the legitimacy of a scholarship service, check with the college financial aid office or call the National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060.