The Financial Aid GAG

FINANCIAL AID GAG

I’m going to jump right in and get straight to the point! 

The most common types of aid are:

• Grants—Free funds usually based on need and low income
• Loans—Debt which must be paid back at some point
• Scholarships—Free money based on merit
• Work-Study funds—(Yes, federal work-study awards are Federal Financial Aid funded.  It’s based on need, and students must work a part-time job to receive a bi-weekly pay check.) 

Everyone can utilize Financial Aid.  The question is, “Are you eligible?”

In most cases what determines your Financial Aid eligibility is the Federal Financial Aid application.  In order to be considered for Federal Aid, and most institutional aid, everyone must complete a FAFSA, at fafsa.gov. 

The GAG is that your school and the Federal Government cannot promise that you will receive enough Federal Aid or institutional aid to cover your tuition, fee, or housing balance.

It’s up to you, the student, to ensure that you will have enough Aid to cover your balance, so that you will not create a debt hole that you cannot dig, crawl, or jump out of.

So, you must do your due diligence and research to obtain and secure Financial Aid, to fund your degree program. 

So let’s get to the point. Contact the following sources for possible scholarships (Organizations parents or students might belong to, external organizations, etc.):

• Fraternities or sororities
• Intended school (contact the year before entry to meet deadlines)
• Professional organizations (Veteran groups, etc.)
• Social clubs (golf, yacht clubs, etc.)
• Federal Student Aid information on applying for scholarships (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/finding-scholarships)
• CollegeBoard Scholarship Search (https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search)
• FastWEB (https://www.fastweb.com/)
• FinAid.org (http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/)
• Scholarship America (https://scholarshipamerica.org/)
• State of Michigan Scholarships & Grants (https://www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid)
• U.S. Department of Labor free scholarship search (https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-scholarships.aspx)
• U.S. Department of Defense STEM Scholarships (https://dodstem.us/stem-programs/scholarships)
• Fisher House military scholarships (http://search.militaryscholar.org/)
• Raiseme.com
• Your Employer for possible tuition reimbursement

Keep in mind that Financial Aid is not a guarantee, but a privilege.  Those students who receive a ton of free scholarship money have done their due diligence.  They have researched opportunities, met the required deadlines, submitted the additional info required to be considered for the funding in question.  For every scholarship awarded, this student may have been denied 10.  In other words, I’m sure the student in question was not awarded every scholarship he or she applied to. 

Also, keep in mind that you are the gate keeper for Financial Aid.  It’s not the Federal Government, or your school, or your parents.  You as the attending student have the power to obtain limitless Aid, but you have to work at it.

Good luck in your search!