Uncle Sam Ready To Help With College Costs

If you're a high school junior or senior, it's never too early to to begin exploring your financial options if you're considering college or career school. When thinking about the cost of higher education, students and parents alike think scholarship first when it comes to footing the bill for college. But there are alternative ways to pay for a college education. One of the best sources for financial aid is still good old Uncle Sam.

According to studentaid.ed.gov, a student aid gateway administered by the U.S. Department of Education, the Federal government remains the single biggest source of student aid in America. Grants, work-study programs and loans - these are the three main student aid programs - account for more than 80 billion dollars annually in aid to high school grads who are willing to learn first in order to earn more later.

Having a good general overview of the trio of aid options available from the Federal government is an key precondition for completing the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The process of qualifying for Federal student financial aid requires all high school graduates to complete and submit a FAFSA application.

Student aid from the Federal government comes in three basic forms: grants, work-study programs, and loans. The different types of financial assistance vary with respect to the amount of aid you may receive and whether or not the financial aid must be repaid. Grants do not require repayment, nor do work-study programs, which pay an hourly wage or salary for work performed. Loans, however, must be repaid, just like a car loan or home mortgage, over a period that ranges from ten to twenty-five years.

Within this general three-tiered framework, there are several types of grant and loan programs. One of the best known types of grant, the Federal Pell Grant, is generally regarded as the foundation of the Federal student aid program. Other less well-known grants include the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, which is usually referred to as the National SMART Grant.

There are different loan formats, too. The direct Stafford loan, in which the lender is the Department of Education, is probably the best-known example of this type of Federal student aid. Depending on the loan amount and the payment plan they choose, recipients of a direct Stafford loan have between ten and twenty-five years to repay the government.

With only two exceptions, the amount of Federal student aid you can receive is determined by your financial need. The amount is calculated by subtracting your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC, from the cost of attendance at a college or career school. Your EFC is calculated with a formula established by Federal law using the information you supply on your FAFSA, including factors like family income, family assets and benefits like unemployment or Social Security. The government notifies you of your EFC on your Student Aid Report, or SAR. You'll receive your SAR once the government has reviewed your FAFSA application.

If all this sounds confusing, the government has several outstanding resources to help you make sense of Federal student aid programs. One exceptional resource is the website mentioned earlier in this article, studentaid.ed.gov. Another is "Funding Education Beyond High School", a free 60-page guide available in PDF format at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Be sure to explore these resources as early as possible during your senior year of high school if you want to have the best chance of receiving Federal student aid.