Which would be better, applying for financial aid first, or applying for college first?

Question

thanks for your answers. i really need to know this.

Answer 1

This information applies if you are going to school in the US. It does not really matter. I would do both at the same time. Go ahead and apply to your college and sit down with the financial aid department. They will be able to guide you in the process. There are a few things you can do first. You need to get a pin number from the US department of education. Go to the following website and apply for a pin. It will take a week or two to get it in the mail.

http://www.pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/pinindex.jsp

When you get the pin number, you need to fill out the Free Application For Student Aid or FAFSA. You electronically sign the FAFSA with the pin number. Go to this website to fill out the FAFSA.

http://www.pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/pinindex.jsp

Part of the FAFSA includes the school you will be attending. The department of education will review your application and send your award status to your school. The FAFSA automatically applies you to federal aid including the Pell Grant and Stafford loan. The pell grant does not have to be paid back. The stafford loan does. The loans come in two flavors. Subsidized and unsubsidized. Neither has to be paid back until you graduate or leave school. The difference is that the government pays the interest on the subsidized loans until you leave school. The interest acrues on the unsubsidized loans.

The FAFSA will also be your application for state grants and financial aid in some states. Your financial aid counselor will be able to let you know if the FAFSA applies you to state funds or if you have to do this seperately. They will also be able to direct you to other forms of financial aid such as scholarships. Hope this gives you enough information to get started.

Answer 2

A lot of financial aid comes through the college, so go ahead and apply. Make sure you pay attention to the financial aid deadline at each college as well as the application deadline. You will need to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which will give you an idea about how much they think you (or your parents) should be able to pay towards your education. Financial aid will be the difference between this amount and the cost of the college you want to attend. FAFSA information is released to the colleges you designate on the form, and the colleges will let you know what kind of financial assistance you can get from or through them. A lot of financial aid is in the form of government loans. In the meantime you can also be applying for general scholarships (for example, scholarships from local civic groups) but these tend to be for smaller amounts ($500 to $1,000) that may allow you to reduce the amount you have to borrow or that may help you pay for books. Some colleges offer merit scholarships to students with high GPAs and SAT scores. If money is really a problem, consider attending community college for the first year or two, then transferring to a four-year school.

Answer 3

College. Then you know the costs and they can tell you about the financial aid programs at their college once you are accepted. Good luck. You can use a variety of funding methods to pay for college: aid, student loans, scholarships, grants, and even work a PT job.

Answer 4

I applied to the college I wanted to go to and then I applied for student aide. All the paper work went there and and each semester I only had to go to the office to get my check. I went under the old time GI: Bill, those checks came to me. Like Pell grants and loans came to the college. Good luck.

Answer 5

college