FINANCIAL AID

Beginning in November of your senior year, you should be initiating the financial aid process.

What is Financial Aid?
Financial aid consists of scholarships, grants, loans and employment opportunities which are available to help students pay for higher education. It is intended to supplement family resources, not replace them.

There are two basic categories of financial aid:
• Merit-based, which is generally given in recognition of special skills, talents, and/or academic ability. These include: Merit scholar, top 10% of the class, outstanding athlete, accomplished musician, etc.
• Need-based, represents the major portion of help available for post-secondary education. Need-based (commonly called financial need,) is the difference between what it will cost to attend to post-secondary institution and what the family will be able to pay.

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is our U.S. government sponsored program which provides college grants. The FAFSA is the standard need analysis form used by the federal government, the state and colleges. Students should file only one FAFSA regardless of how many colleges they are considering. Clicking the link below will take you directly to the FAFSA web site, where you can fill out an application online. www.fafsa.ed.gov

For California financial aid, one must fill out the GPA Verification Form, which cannot be completed on line. This form must be completed by March 2nd. Students must have at least a 2.0 GPA to be eligible. Come see Judy Bloch in the College/ Career Center for a form. For more information go to www.csac.ca.gov

Some private schools require the Profile as well. These are typically schools that award their own funds to accepted students. This form requests more complete financial information than does the FAFSA. Each institution customizes the profile. You may register for your personal profile by clicking on the following link, or by picking up the form in the College/ Career Center. Registrations are accepted beginning September. www.collegeboard.com

In Marin, we are fortunate to have an additional source of financial aid. The Marin Education Fund, located in San Rafael, is a non-profit organization committed to providing grants both for vocational programs and for college admission. Free workshops are available. The following link will take you to their web site. www.mefund.org

In addition, students can obtain funds through private scholarships. These usually entail SAT scores, essays, recommendations, GPA minimums and other eligibility requirements. Some of the available alternatives are the following. The enclosed links will take you to their web sites.

FastWeb’s Free Scholarship and College Search
Search over $1 billion in scholarships and find your dream school. It’s free and Tamiscal is a proud FastWeb member.
www.fastweb.com

Aid for women and minorities:
www.finaid.org

Financial aid from counselors, includes other links, PACKED with information:
www.collegeboard.com

Suggestions on how to become a successful scholarship winner:
www.scholarshiphelp.org

LOANS:
Subsidized and unsubsidized loans may be available through the college’s Financial Aid Office. Interest rates and repayment plans vary.

JOBS:
If additional funding is needed, students can get jobs on campus. This is called the Federal Work Study Program. To qualify for this, the students must complete the FAFSA.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:

- Apply for financial aid, no matter what!
- Apply as early as possible.
- Answer all questions completely, accurately and do not leave any blank.
- Make copies of all applications.