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| Where can I go to educate myself on the process of financial aid
for college? Where can I find accurate information? |
| Your high school and college financial aid
counselors can help but (because of their work load) they usually have a limited
amount of time to spend with one student and his/her parent(s). You
are your own best advocate. Start early. Time is wasted pursuing passed
deadlines. There are publications available. Just make sure they are
recent editions. The U.S. Department of Education offers The Student
Guide free of charge. It is available through your high school and/or
college financial aid office. There are automated scholarship search
programs also available that will cut down the time spend in research.
This is an excellent tool but be aware of the program's credibility. Ask
for the source of agency's database and what credentials and experience
the owners of the database have. |
| What are some good sources of financial aid information on the
Internet? |
|
There are many good web sites! Two sites we highly recommend are: The
Financial Aid Information Page and
U.S.
Department of Education Find a bank that has a student loan department. Often times, they
provide good information and can give you telephone numbers that can
help you. Some provide regular community service college financial aid
seminars. There are private financial aid counselors who will assist
families for a fee. Make sure they have a financial aid background.
The real professional charges a reasonable fee.
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| What is FAFSA (Free Application for Federal
Student Aid)? |
| The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the application
used to determine a student’s eligibility for federally subsidized
loans, grants, and work-study funds. This is the first application
to be completed in order to apply for virtually all types of
financial aid for higher education. This form is distributed and
processed by the United States Department of Education. This form
has to be completed each academic year by the student, in order to
be eligible to receive financial aid.
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| How do I apply for federal and state financial
aid? |
| Each state administers it's own financial aid programs. The
programs vary from state to state. Students should definitely apply
for state sponsored awards if they qualify, because statistically
they have a greater chance of obtaining financial assistance. The
federal government offers financial aid for students in the form of
grants, student loans and work-study programs. The federal
government is the largest supplier of financial aid in the United
States. |
| Is Federal Financial Aid available at all
schools? |
| No. Federal Financial aid is only available to students who
attend schools that have been accredited by an agency recognized by
the Department of Education.
|
| What percentage of students receive scholarships
and financial aid? |
| If you are paying for your college education completely out of
pocket, you are in the minority. Approximately 65% of all students
that attend college receive some form of financial aid.
|
| Will I need to reapply for financial aid every
year? |
| Yes. Most financial aid programs are not automatically renewed.
Most financial aid offices require that you apply for financial aid
every year. Your financial circumstances may change and then you may
get more or less aid. Your eligibility for financial aid may change
significantly, especially if you have a different number of family
members in college. Renewal of your financial aid package also
depends on your making satisfactory academic progress toward a
degree, such as earning a minimum number of credits and achieving a
minimum GPA. You may also find new financial aid opportunites. |
| If I need to make some changes on my FAFSA (Free
Application for Federal Student Aid) should I send in a second FAFSA
with the corrections? |
| Do not send in a second FAFSA. You will neet to use the Student
Aid Report(SAR) that was mailed to you. Part II of the SAR allows
you to make corrections in the right column. If you filed the FAFSA
with estimated taxes, this is the place to put your final 1040
figures down. Send it back to the processing center indicated for
updating. The colleges you have listed will receive the corrections
as well. |
| Are all types of financial aid
(Federal, institutional and private sector) free money? |
| No. Financial Aid comes in two broad forms. The first is self-help
and the second is gift aid. Under the self help programs, a
student may be awarded federal college work study and/or a subsidized or
unsubsidized low interest educational loan. Federal college work study
helps a student find employment (10-15 hours/week) on campus. This helps
a student defray some soft costs associated with attending college.
The second is gift aid which is awarded in the form of grants and
scholarships. These types of financial aid do not need to be repaid.
Grants are normally based on need and scholarships are normally based on
merit. |
| It's spring and I have not filed for financial aid. Am I too late?
|
| You may not be in time for all sources of aid,
however, you should still try. Priority deadlines may have passed for
institutional financial aid and scholarships but there is still time to
file for Federal Aid (i.e. PELL Grant and Federal Stafford Student
Loans). |
| Are there are billions of dollars worth of unclaimed scholarships every year? Or is this just another myth created to
lure scholarship applicants? |
| This simply is not true. Most of the scholarship programs are
very competitive. This is just a scare tactic some search services use
to to make it easier to trick applicants into believing they have
valuable, insider, for-pay information to entice people to use their service. 85%
of the total amount of "scholarship funds" is constituted by
employee-tuition benefits -- which is when companies set aside a
certain amount of money to pay for their workers' higher education.
Some chose to misinterpret this money as unclaimed academic
scholarships. The
bottom line on this is that someone is receiving the scholarship
money and it can't be you unless you apply. |
|
Should I apply to every scholarship I can find? |
|
Every scholarship source that you are eligible for is
worth a try.
But don't apply for any that you are NOT eligible for, or are only
"slightly" eligible for. This is a waste of your time and a source of
irritation to the generous scholarship committees. Manage your time wisely. If you are lucky and persistent enough to
find lots of applications that you are eligible for, it is a time for
prioritization! If the scholarship source is a good fit, you should
spend at least 5 hours on the application. So, spend 5 hours each on the
important ones, that you have a good chance at, and if you can still
manage some more time, work on the rest of them, too. My strategy is to spend lots of time on the few that are a good fit.
Next spend a little time on the ones that are effortless and take less
than 25 minutes. Next, work on which ever ones are left that I can
afford the time for.Don't dilute your time and effort for the ones that you stand a good
chance at winning with allowing equal time for those that you barely
have a chance at. First come, first served doesn't work here. You need
to optimize! |
| How do I get a scholarship? |
| Apply. It's that simple. Many students assume that they won't win,
so they don't bother to apply. That's why many scholarships go
untouched each year. Once you've identified which awards you qualify
for, read over and carefully fill out the applications, gather any
additional documentation and send them in early. Check out our Cool
Tips and Application Checklist to find out more about how to apply
for scholarships. |
| Who can apply for scholarships? |
|
Scholarships are available for high school students, undergraduate,
graduate and vocational or technical school students. Scholarships are
also available for people of any age or international students. Scholarships are available for 4-year colleges, 2-year colleges and
vocational or technical schools.
|
| What is a scholarship search service?
|
| A scholarship search service is a time savings service. Services use
large databases of scholarships that are more up to date than a book at
a book store or the library. To make it clear you use a scholarship
search service for two reasons:
1. save time
2. receive up to date scholarship information |
| What are scholarship application
fees? |
| Some scholarships will ask for a small "handling" or "processing"
fee. Do not waste your time or
money on applying for scholarships that require a fee of any kind.
Some of these may be scams. Your odds of winning a scholarship, any
scholarship, are not increased enough to make this a worthwhile
expense.
|
| Should I have to pay an application fee for a
scholarship? |
| No, be very wary of a scholarship foundation that
requires an application fee, investment, processing fee et cetera.
Many who fall for this graft send along an application and a check,
and never hear back. The con works because the victims just assume
they didn't win the scholarship. |
|
What is an SASE? |
|
SASE stands for "Self Addressed Stamped Envelope." Even if a
particular scholarship does not require a SASE, it is a good idea to
always include one anyway. It's polite!
|
| Why are scholarships available? |
| There's a scholarship out there for everyone. They are awarded at
all levels for students of all disciplines and backgrounds. Some you
may have to apply for, while others you may automatically be
considered for. The criteria for these awards vary. Academic
achievement is not always mandatory for eligibility. Often, students
who participate in school or community activities can win
scholarships based largely on their extra curricular involvement.
Likewise, students with specific talents, hobbies, ethnic
backgrounds or family affiliations can meet award qualifications.
Scholarships, like internships and fellowships, can also be a way of
preparing students to be productive representatives of their college
or university upon graduation. Or, sometimes scholarships are
awarded by companies to help employees and their families fund their
education. |
| Who administers scholarships? |
| You may think of schools as being the only administrators of awards.
However, there are many other kinds of institutions and groups that
provide and facilitate scholarships. Sometimes you have to apply
directly to these organizations, not your school. Examples of
administrators include governments, trade unions, companies,
corporations and individuals. |
| How long do scholarships last? |
| As if getting money isn't good enough, there are scholarships that
extend beyond the initial amount that you were awarded. These
scholarships are renewable. Yet, many of them are conditional upon
maintaining a high academic average or an uninterrupted course of
full-time studies. Some of these scholarships renew automatically,
while others do not. The number of years or semesters that they last
also differs. |
| Should I wait until I am admitted to a college or university
before applying for financial aid? |
| If you wait, you will miss out on just about all financial aid that
may be available to you. Start your research 18 to 24 months before
entering college. Private sector scholarships should be first on your
research list. This cannot be emphasized enough. Once the deadline dates
have passed, there is no second chance. The Federal
and institutional aid process begins in January for the following
academic school year. |
|
Are most scholarships awarded based on merit or
financial need?
|
|
90% of the scholarships merit based (your planned
major, academics, athletics, student activities, non student activities,
parent activities, heritage, residence, enrollment status, etc).10% of the scholarships need based (financial
need).
|
| Are scholarships only awarded to those at the top of their class? |
| There are a many academic scholarships out there, there are many others that are awarded for non-academic factors and accomplishments.
There are a number of factors considered by scholarship judges, like
future plans, personality, background, extracurricular activities,
background, racial extraction, disabilities, memberships, and
religion, than an applicant's GPA. These require more research, but are certainly worth the effort. |
| I'm a good student, but not a
brilliant. Are there
scholarships available for students like me? |
| Yes. There are many scholarships that are based on interests or
hobbies vs. scholastic achievement. Other awards may be available
for people of a specific heritage or cultural background. |
| I am a part-time student. Are there any
scholarships for part-time students? |
| Yes. Many sponsors do not restrict part-time students from applying for
their scholarships. In fact, some scholarships are only for part-time students. |
| Should I apply for more than one
scholarship? |
| You will want to apply for as many scholarships as possible. But... do not waste time applying for scholarships for which you are
either unqualified or minimally qualified for. Remember, as long as there is one qualified applicant, the hordes of unqualified ones won't make it an inch beyond the first cut.
It is in the interest of your time, effort and chances to limit yourself to
the scholarships you're qualified for. Once you find them, apply to
as many as you like. |
| Will applying for a loan have an adverse effect on your chances of winning a
scholarship or will it result in an already-won scholarship being reduced. |
| Scholarship organizations understand that funds for school often come from a
many sources, and therefore do not reduce scholarship sums because the recipient has won or borrowed additional cash. |
|
Is there such a thing as a guaranteed
scholarship? |
| No. If you are offered a guaranteed scholarship, it is most likely a
scam. There are, no guarantees in the scholarship game. Moreover, if you
receive word that you won a scholarship you never applied for -- especially if
it requires
payment of a claim, redemption or disbursement fee -- watch out. If it seems too good to be
true, it's probably a scam. |
| Can I lose my scholarship, after it is awarded? |
| Like your acceptance into a school can be retracted, your scholarship
also can be retracted
if you fail to live up to the conditions specified at the start of the application
process. Factors such as: minimum GPA, completion of education requirements in a
specified period of time, a requirement that the recipient attend classes "full time," restrictions on vacations/time off, field of study, choice of college, community service, sports and so forth.
Carefully read over the requirements to be sure you
understand what the scholarship requires of you. |
| Will I have to pay taxes on my scholarship? |
| You may. If a scholarship counts as income, you'll need to pay taxes. For example, if the
award is to be put towards travel, room and board and/or equipment, you'll be taxed. If your award pays for your full-time tuition, books and supplies needed to fulfill your academic
requirements, you will not be taxed. Any questions? Call the IRS 1-800-829-1040, or check out
their Web site. |
| Are amounts paid to students for
scholarships taxable and if so, do we report them in any manner? |
| A scholarship is generally an amount paid for the benefit of a
student at an educational institution to aid in the pursuit of
studies. Only amounts you pay as a qualified scholarship may be
excluded from the recipient’s gross income. The student may be
either an undergraduate or graduate. A qualified scholarship is
defined as any amount expended for “qualified tuition and related
expenses.” Qualified tuition and related expenses are tuition and
fees required for the enrollment or attendance of a student at an
educational institution, fees, books, supplies and equipment
required for courses of instruction at such educational
organization. Refer to
Publication 520,
Scholarships and Fellowships, and
Publication 15,
Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide, for more information.
The Form W-2,
Wage and Tax Statement, instructions say to give a Form W-2
to each recipient of a scholarship or fellowship grant only if you
are reporting amounts includible in income. Amounts are subject to
federal income tax withholding (depending on how the
Form W-4 is
completed) but not for withholding of social security or Medicare
unless they are employed as a condition for receiving the
scholarship. Note that the Form W-4 instructions state that an
individual cannot claim exemption from withholding if their income
exceeds $800 and includes more than $250 (for the year 2004) of
unearned income and another person can claim the recipient as a
dependent on their tax return. |
| Are there any other situations when a
scholarship may be nontaxable? |
| In some limited cases, a scholarship award may be fully tax free
if it is part of a tribal program that is based on financial need.
Tribes with such programs should review existing Service rulings in
this area, and should consult with their ITG Specialist. Whether
such a program exists or not, a scholarship is tax free only if: 1)
the student is a candidate for a degree at an educational
institution, and 2) the grant is a qualified scholarship. |
