Are you a high school student planning to attend college, but need tuition assistance to make your dreams a reality? Are you an older prospective student returning to school? The good news is that federal student aid is available to almost all who apply. Before you visit your school’s guidance office or look to apply online, here’s what you should know. First, you’ll need to fill out the FAFSA, which is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is the core document used to determine your eligibility for tuition assistance and loans.

Once that is done and reviewed, you’ll be notified of which programs you qualify for, and a Student Aid Report about your qualifications will be sent to all the schools you applied to. The institutions use it as the basis for offering you a specific package of funding. The most common loan programs from which the funds come are the Direct Federal Loan program with the government as the lender, and the FFELP, or Family Federal Education Loan Program, in which the money comes from private sources but is backed by the federal government. These are needs-based programs with assistance levels based on your income, or your family’s income if you are a dependent. They offer low-interest loans that you do not have to begin paying back until you have completed your education or stopped taking classes.

Some state governments offer tuition and loan assistance as well, often in conjunction with federal programs, but not always. It is worth checking for the availability of these loans after you have begun the process on the federal level.
Once you have been qualified for a loan, the money will be disbursed. With a Direct Federal loan, the Treasury Department sends a check directly to your school to cover tuition, fees, housing if applicable, and if there remaining funds, they will be presented to you in check form.

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Filed under: Student Loans