Show Me The Money!

It is the New Year, which means you can now sign up for financial aid for the next academic year (from September 2007 – June 2008). The rule of thumb is, ‘when it’s tax time, it is FAFSA time’. Okay, so I know a few readers are now thinking, ‘what is a FAFSA?’ Here is what you need to know:

FAFSA = Free Application for Federal Student Aid

This 1 form will be used to determine how much financial aid you get for the school year.

Aid = GRANTS and LOANS (scholarships are not awarded from the FAFSA, so you have to fill out a separate application to be considered for that money).

GRANTS = a money gift given to you to attend college. You don’t pay this back. Not everyone qualifies for these, but they sure are great to get!

LOANS = a money loan given to you to attend college. You DO pay this back. Everyone is eligible to get a Stafford Student Loan. I won’t cover all of the costs of college, but it can help you pay for about ½ of the annual tuition cost to attend UC Clermont. You don’t start paying this loan back until you are out of school (hopefully with your degree) for 6 months. Payments get spread out over 10 years, so the monthly charge is fairly low.

Do you qualify? I don’t know, and you won’t either until you apply.

How do you apply?
1. Go to http://www.pin.ed.gov/ and get a Personal Identification Number.

2. Go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ and complete the FAFSA online
UC’s school code = 003125

3. Submit your application (you’ll get a confirmation number which shows you have successfully submitted your application)

4. Follow Up: you’ll receive an Email to your SAR = Student Aid Report. If you don’t have Email, this will be sent to you via snail mail.
* If you don’t hear or see anything after 3 weeks, go back to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ and select ‘check the status of submitted FAFSA’.

5. UC will also send you an award letter showing what aid you are eligible to receive. You will then select what aid you want. You can check your aid status at UC by going to http://www.onestop.uc.edu/ and clicking on ‘check my aid’.

I know it sounds like a lot of details, but it really isn’t hard to do.

So why are you still reading? You should be applying for MONEY!

Blaine

PS – Available next week on campus: the 2007-2008 Scholarship Application.

BLAINE ALERT! Be aware that there are many professional financial aid people out there that call the financial aid form a FASFA. It is a FAFSA! Now get it right!