I’m sure all of you American students out there know the Free Application for Federal Student Assistance (FAFSA). Now you might be interested with the calculation of financial aid based on the information done by the college you will be attending.
To be honest, each school has their own way of process. However, they share the same basic method of calculating students’ financial aid. Therefore, the more you understand about the process, the more comfortable you will feel with the timeline.
Information Received
So usually within 1-3 weeks the college will receive the information from the FAFSA. So after the information arrived, the college may actually contact you and ask you to provide additional documents or information that may not have been included with the FAFSA application. In order to make certain the process goes as smoothly and as quickly as possible, it is important for you to respond to these requests right away. Once the college receives all of the necessary information, it will review the information in order to determine the type of financial aid you can receive from the college.
Determining Your Need
If you are a student who is still living with your parents, your financial aid will be determined based upon how much your parents should be reasonably expected to contribute as well as how much you would be expected to contribute toward your college expenses. After subtracting this amount from the amount of the tuition and fees, the college can then determine the maximum amount of financial aid you can receive. This is not the amount of the financial aid package you will receive, however, as the outside aid you receive such as assistance from the Federal Pell Grant, scholarships and other grants will be deducted before the school determines the amount of financial aid it is willing to provide.
Helping with Expenses
The college you are interested in attending may provide you with a variety of different ways to help you pay for your college expenses. For example, you may qualify for a scholarship or a grant from the college. Or, you may be able to participate in a work-study program that will help you with off-setting the cost of attending the college. As such, the financial aid package you receive may actually be a combination of loans, grants, fellowships, work-study and scholarships that, when used together, will help you pay your college expenses and finally earn the degree you have been dreaming of getting.
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