qualifications for finacial aid?

Question

what are the qualifications for most colleges
to get financial aid, ive looked
and i cant find out unless i fill out a form
well im not goin to college for another year
so i dont want to fill one out yet

Answer 1

If you mean qualifications for the kinds of grants and scholarships that schools often award from their own endowment... well, the criteria for these will vary widely. Some schools award institutional funding based entirely on need, while some award it entirely based on merit. Others base their awards on a combination of the two. You would need to check with each school to see what their policies are.

*Federal* Student Aid eligibility criteria is a little more clear-cut. This is determined, first and foremost, by your FAFSA results -- more specifically, by the "EFC" (Expected Family Contribution) that is generated after you file the application. Effectively, your EFC is the amount that the government feels that you & your family can afford to pay for school for that year. Your EFC will determine whether you are eligible for a Pell Grant -- this is important because Pell is reserved for undergraduate students with EFCs of $3,850 or lower.

To a lesser extent, your EFC also determines your eligibility for other types of need-based aid: your school will compare your EFC to your Cost of Attendance and, if your EFC is lower than your COA, you will be considered to have "financial need." Students with financial need are also eligible for Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Subsidized Stafford Loans. (Note: you would be eligible for a Stafford Loan regardless of your need, but if you show financial need, your loan can be subsidized, i.e. the loan's interest will be paid by the gov't while you are in school).

I understand that you wouldn't want to file a FAFSA given that you still have a year to go. However, if you are curious as to what your EFC might be, you can estimate it using the handy calculator on FinAid.org, here: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml

Apart from these financial criteria you'd need to meet, there are general eligibility requirements for FSA. Frankly, these are far too numerous to all be listed here, but here are some basic guidelines.

* To receive federal student aid, you must have received a high school diploma or GED
* You must be US citizen or permanent resident
* Current students must maintain "Satisfactory Academic Progress" as determined by the school (i.e. you can't fail all your classes and still expect to receive federal aid)
* For some programs (such as the Stafford Loan program) the student must be enrolled in school at-least-half-time to receive funds
* If you have defaulted on any federal loans in the past and haven't rehabilitated (e.g. paid on) these loans, you won't be eligible for any federal aid, including grants
* Students must not have been convicted on any drug-related charges while receiving FSA; if you are, you won't be eligible to receive further aid until you complete a qualified drug rehab program
* You must be attending an accredited institution of higher learning

For the details, you can check out the "Student Eligibility" pages of the Federal Student Aid Handbook: http://www.ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/0607FSAHBKVol1.html

Answer 2

you should qualify as an self sufficient because you've a new child(a depending). i'm 23, have a daughter, no longer married, and no longer have a job yet my college advised me that I qualify for economic help. if in case you're able to flow by a verification procedure like I did. I had to grant my economic help place of work a replica of my daughter's delivery certificate and fill out a crapload of kinds earlier they finally approved my economic help. I advise you flow on your economic help branch and talk with someone there about that. strong success!

Answer 3

you should apply. by waiting you may lose other forms of financial aid like work study and scholarships as these are distributed early.

Answer 4

check here for financial aid information

Answer 5

at my school they have abunch of info in the office and stuff try there when you can

also i will im u when i can to get the song or u can im me or whatever