who and how do you apply for either a student loan or a student grant for college?

Answer 1

It depends on where you live. There are many government programs on both local, state, and national levels. A good place to start is the college you'll be attending. The financial aid office should have records of all of these things. I also suggest trying scholarships.com. There is a lot of free money out there for students who do well and aren't afraid or writing a small essay. :)

Answer 2

Everyone in the country must apply for FAFSA. You can pick up these forms in your guidance office at your high school. Forst, however, your parents must do their taxes. You should do this in January (no later than the beginning of February) becaue many schools have early deadlines, and plus, you want to do it early because it shows school you are serious and there will be more money to give to you. When you do this, you need to (online) get a pin number, which is really like a financial signature. go to fafsa.gov, I think. Keep that number and guard it with your life.
The smart thing to do is file as a dependent so the government cannot look at your money but your parents. The thing is, if your parents have a lot saved up, that will be less money that you get. So ahve your parents hide the money in a sibling's account or the like. Anyway, just do it early. It can be lengthy but worth it in the end. There are also a lot of companies that can do it for you for a fee of about $800 (such as EDIFI). They will also work with your prospective schools to get the most aid. Each school has there system of awarding aid. Some have separate applications and all use FAFSA. FAFSA determines your grants and your loans through the school and the state. Depending on your state, there may also be an application for state grants. In Pa, for example, I got monies from the state itself.
Just remember to keep everything organized and strait. And if you think your school has cheated you and you deserve more, call and complain...go to the highest person in power that you can. I did this and I ended up getting a $3,500 scholarship added to what I already recieved. Also, you will get more aid through a private school than through a public school. In Pa, there are 14 state schools at about $13,000. I am going to a private school for about $2,000 which is covered by a loan, and it would have been about 8,000 for me to go to a state school because they have less money in aid to draw from.
I know this is a lot, so if you wanna email me [e-mail], feel free. Good luck with it all!

Answer 3

your first step in applying for federal and state student aid is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aide (FAFSA). Applications are online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. DO NOT GO TO www.fafsa.com, they'll just charge you to help you complete your FAFSA when, hello, the word FREE is in the name!
If you need help completing your FAFSA go into the Financial Aid Office at your college. There are trained financial aid professionals there (such as myself) that will know exactly how to help you apply and maintain eligibility for aid.
Once you've completed your FAFSA it can take 2-3 weeks processing time and your school will determine the amounts and types of aid you qualify for--the federal financial aid grant is called a Pell Grant, but there are state sources of aide too such as the Cal Grant in California where I work at a community college.
As far as student loans, once you have completed your FAFSA and your school informs you of what type of grants you qualify for (money you do NOT have to pay back) you can decide if you need a student loan in addition to that. Your school may either offer you a student loan or you can go into your schools Financial Aid Office to request one, and they will give you more information.
Bottomline is, there is lots of free money out there to help you go to school so apply for it! If you don't qualify, a federal student loan is more favorable than any other private loan you could get.
You can still file a FAFSA for the 06-07 school year through June 30, 2007 and the 07-08 FAFSA comes available to complete early in January 2007. Good luck!

Answer 4

Your financial aid advisor will usually do almost all of the work for you, short of signing the papers, if you make an appointment when you apply. They want you to be funded. If you do it yourself, you need to apply for your FAFSA and your Pell.

Your default grants are assessed against need and residency requirements. For additional grant and scholarship options, go to FastWeb.com. http://www.fastweb.com/ My financial aid advisor sent me to them right away. They provide a listing of legitimate scholarships and grants available through the companies that offer them, with links and an explanation of submission requirements. Because the service is free, you have to say "no thank you" to about three one-page ads when you register. Don't let that deter you. After that, it's totally student-focused.

As far as I've seen, other sites offering grant and scholarship information are totally bogus and will waste your time and virus protection, and may try to con you out of a few dollars, too. Also register with UPromise -- I'm sure you've seen their ads and their logo in your local grocery store. They're online too. http://www.upromise.com/

Answer 5

Go to the financial aid office of your college, they have all the forms for both student loans and grants.

Answer 6

Fill out a FAFSA application. This will provide you with student grants based on your income. To get a student loan, talk to a financial advisor at your college. They should be able to help you. Go to fastweb.com. They help you look for scholarships.

Answer 7

Obviously all college students above me there - lol

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Apply there... then speak with a financial aide person at the college where you'd like to attend. They'll send the information to the colleges of your choice.

Answer 8

Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and fill out forms. If you're looking for next year (Fall 2007) you may have to wait til Jan 1, 2007 to fill it out.

There are people who do it for you but BE CAREFUL--there's a lot of sharks out there ready to take your money. Don't fall for any (quote) sholarship (unquote) if they ask for money up FRONT.

Your best bet is a high school counselor who can usually guide you through the process.

Good Luck

Answer 9

it's called a FASFA (federal application for student financial aid) form. You can get it online or from the financial aid office.
This will only help with FEDERAL financial aid - most schools have their own scholarships as well and they will have different forms.

Answer 10

some banks give student loans