Maximizing your financial aid, or Do your FAFSA!

Financial aid can be an important way to supplement your funding during graduate school.  In some rare cases, it can even cover the majority of costs associated with your education.  Though the total amount of available student aid has decreased in recent years, many aid options are still available, and financial aid should not be overlooked as a potential source of support.

Student aid may be available from:

1. The federal government (this post is U.S. centric, sorry international readers)
2. Your state government
3. Your university or college
4. Private sources such as non-profits

Federal student aid is usually the largest and most readily-available support, coming to students in the form of grants, loans, and work-study.  Grants are hands-down the best type of student aid because they do not need to be repaid.  Loans are just the opposite.  As I've stated the, the purpose of this blog is to help you avoid taking on any further debt, so I won't touch on loans here.  The final type of federal student aid is work-study, which essentially provides funds to employ the student at their university.  Work-study can be a little tricky, as the university is responsible for arranging the work opportunities and not all schools participate in the program.

The remaining types of aid (state, university, and private) vary widely from location to location.  The best way to find more information on what sources of support may be available to you is to visit your school's financial aid office.  This office is responsible for managing financial aid funds for all students, and they should be able to provide you with a great deal of information regarding funding opportunities.

A nearly-universal first step in applying for financial aid is to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  This application provides information about yourself, your schooling, and your financial need to the federal government, allowing them to calculate how much aid you should receive. They do this by generating what is called an Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is the amount of money you (and your family if your parents can still claim you as a dependent) are expected to provide for your education.  This value is weighed against the projected costs of your education, and used to determine how much money is required to make up the difference.  You can submit your FAFSA application here and in the mean time you can calculate a projection of how much aid you might receive using FAFSA4caster.

Once your FAFSA is received, the Federal Student Aid office will generate a student aid report for that year and forward it to your university.  The actual amount of funding you are given will be determined by your school.  Your FAFSA information will also be used to gauge your eligibility for other state, university, and private funding.  It is important to note that some independent scholarships, grants, and fellowships will require that you submit a FAFSA and may ask to see your student aid report or EFC.

There is a national deadline for completing a FAFSA (usually June 30th), but it is important to look up your state's deadline.  Student aid is often given starting on a certain date and disbursed until there aren't any funds left to give.  Thus, it is very important to have your FAFSA completed before your state's deadline.  After that point, they will begin to divy up the funding and your chances of receiving aid may be diminished.  Look up your state deadline here. 

A great deal more information can be found on the website of the Office of Federal Student Aid and on the main FAFSA page.  Also, I can't stress enough the importance of talking to someone in you university's financial aid office.  They will be best able to guide you through the specifics of obtaining financial aid in your state and at your school.

In summary, submitting a FAFSA is important.  Make sure you do it by your state's deadline.  If you miss the deadline, submit one anyway.


Best of luck,

Casey