You may be pleasantly surprised.

Kinds of financial aid

• Scholarships and grants
• Student loans
• Federal Work-Study aid

You can only receive financial aid if you (or your child) apply for it. How much you get will be determined by the federal government's financial aid analysis and the college financial aid office.

Qualifying

To qualify for financial aid, your child must meet the following requirements:

• Have financial need.
• Have a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) certificate, or pass a test approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Have a valid Social Security number (unless from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau).
• Be enrolled in an eligible associate, bachelor, or graduate degree program.
• Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress while in school.
• Certify that he or she will only use federal student aid for education purposes.
• Certify he or she is not in default on a federal student loan and does not owe money on a federal student grant.
• Comply with Selective Service registration, if required.

The U.S. Department of Education may compare information with these federal agencies:

• Social Security Administration to verify Social Security numbers and citizenship status.
• Selective Service System to verify Selective Service registration status, if applicable.
• Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service, INS) to verify eligible non-citizen status, if applicable.
• U.S. Department of Justice to verify that an applicant has not been denied federal student aid by the courts as the result of a drug-related conviction.
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to verify veteran status, if applicable.

Applying

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the starting point for most student financial assistance programs. Many states and schools also use the FAFSA as part of their application process for non-federal aid.

The FAFSA is a comprehensive form. Be prepared to provide extensive information about your family's income and income taxes from the previous year, assets, family size, the number of family members attending college, and more.

Filing the FAFSA on the Web is the fastest and easiest method of applying and offers advantages:

• Detailed online help screens.
• Online chat with customer service representatives.
• Built-in error detectors that reduce rejected applications.
• Verification that the application was transmitted successfully.
• Applications processed in three to five days (compared to three or four weeks with paper FAFSAs).

The schools you list on the FAFSA (up to six) will receive a copy of your child’s SAR.

The school will verify the information from the SAR, determine your child's aid eligibility, and send your family a financial aid award letter. This letter will list the aid your child is eligible for (grants, Work-Study, and loans) and makes up the financial aid award package.

If your family needs assistance, it makes sense to apply for aid, no matter what you think your chances are.

Do you qualify?

How do they determine whether your family qualifies for aid? They use a number called the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).