Avoiding Scams Before you apply for financial aid, learn how to spot potential fraud, avoid paying for free services, and prevent identity theft. Save Your Money: Don’t Pay for Help to Find Money for CollegeTry These Free Sources of InformationDon’t Pay for the FAFSA® Save Your Identity: How Does Identity Theft Happen? Report Fraud and Identity Theft: Report Financial Aid FraudReport Fraudulent Activity by a CollegeReport Identity Theft Save Your Money Don’t Pay for Help to Find Money for College Commercial financial aid advice services can cost well over $1,000. If you're unsure whether to pay a company for help finding financial aid, stop and think for a minute: What's being offered? "Buy now or miss this opportunity." Top Try These Free Sources of Information Types of Federal Student Aidother federal agenciesa college or career school financial aid officea high school or TRIO counselor your state grant agency the U.S. Don’t Pay for the FAFSA® Save Your Identity How Does Identity Theft Happen?
FAFSA® Completion by High School As the cost of college continues to increase, financial aid becomes ever more important. While many factors are involved in the decision to attend college, a strong correlation exists between FAFSA completion and college enrollment. Previously, high schools relied on self-reported surveys to estimate their FAFSA completion rate, and that data can be inaccurate. For this reason, Federal Student Aid is providing high schools with current data about their FAFSA submissions and completions so that high schools can track their progress and help to ensure that their students complete a FAFSA. A completed FAFSA allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine a potential student's eligibility for federal student aid – a key factor in families' college decisions. The data is displayed in spreadsheets broken down by state or territory that include the school name and city of the high school. Data currently posted covers applications processed through December 31.
Choose a student loan Federal Loan Options Federal student loans almost always cost less and are easier to repay than private loans. You must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be eligible for federal student loans. Perkins Loans Subsidized with a fixed 5% interest rate, administered through your school, and awarded based on financial need If you are eligible, you should take this loan first Direct Loans Either subsidized or unsubsidized Everyone is eligible for the Unsubsidized Direct Loan, and Subsidized Direct Loans are awarded based on financial need Parent or Grad PLUS Loans Available to graduate students and parents Parents with PLUS loans are responsible for repaying those loans Private Loan Options There are many different private loan options, with different interest rates and costs. Borrowing beyond your federal loans could mean high levels of debt. However if you need a private student loan, you should know that there are some unexpected places to look for deals. School Loans
Other Aid | What If No Help from Parents? This section of FinAid provides advice to students whose parents are unable or unwilling to help students pay for school. Regardless of the situation, some of the more common questions received by FinAid come from students seeking help because their parents cannot contribute to their education. FinAid supports changes in federal legislation that would shift the burden to the students. Unfortunately, current federal law does not provide many options for students who want to go to college but whose parents refuse to help. For an abbreviated version of this advice, see Fastweb’s How to Deal If Your Parents Won’t Pay. Federal Government Policies on Parental Responsibility The federal government and the schools consider it primarily the family's responsibility to pay for school. In cases of divorce, the custodial parent is responsible for completing the FAFSA form. Prenuptial agreements are ignored in student aid need analysis. Advice for Students and Parents Talk to each parent separately.
State & Regional Associations NASFAA works in partnership with six regional associations of financial aid administrators to deliver excellence in student aid administration. These regional associations in turn work closely with state associations representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific Islands. While we work at the national level, state and regional associations play an important role in advocating for and serving students in their communities. Background NASFAA was created as an outgrowth of regional associations of financial aid administrators and maintains a healthy working relationship with the regions to this day. While NASFAA and the six regional associations share many commonalities, they are independent non-profit organizations with their own governance.