| It's a good idea to start thinking about financial aid as | | | | There are several types of grant and loan programs |
| early as possible in your senior year of high school if | | | | within this general three-tiered framework of Federal |
| you're considering college or career school after you | | | | financial aid. One of the best known types of grant, |
| graduate. While most of us probably think first of an | | | | the Federal Pell Grant, is generally regarded as the |
| academic scholarship to pay for college, it pays not | | | | foundation of the Federal student aid program. Other |
| to overlook another possibility: Federal financial aid. | | | | less familiar grants include the Federal Supplemental |
| According to studentaid.ed.gov, a student aid portal | | | | Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), the |
| administered by the U.S. Department of Education, | | | | Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), and the |
| the Federal government remains the single biggest | | | | National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain |
| source of student aid in America. Grants, work-study | | | | Talent Grant, a long name that is usually shortened to |
| programs and loans - these are the three main | | | | the National SMART Grant. |
| student aid programs - pay out more than 80 billion | | | | There are different loan formats, too. The direct |
| dollars each year in aid to high school grads who are | | | | Stafford loan, in which the lender is the Department |
| willing to learn first in order to earn more later. | | | | of Education, is probably the best-known example of |
| Having a good grasp of the trio of aid options | | | | this kind of Federal student aid. Depending on the |
| available from the Federal government is an | | | | loan amount and the payment plan they choose, |
| important prerequisite for completing the FAFSA, or | | | | recipients of a direct Stafford loan have between ten |
| Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The process | | | | and twenty-five years to repay the government. |
| of qualifying for Federal student financial aid requires | | | | With only a pair of exceptions, your financial need |
| all high school grads to complete and submit a FAFSA | | | | determines the amount of Federal student aid you |
| application. | | | | can receive. This amount is calculated by subtracting |
| Student aid from the Federal government comes in | | | | your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC, from the |
| three basic forms: grants, work-study programs, and | | | | cost of attending a college or career school. Your |
| loans. The different kinds of financial assistance differ | | | | EFC is calculated with a formula established by |
| in the dollar value of the aid you receive and whether | | | | Federal law using the information you supply on your |
| or not the financial aid has to be repaid. Grants do | | | | FAFSA, including factors like family income, family |
| not require repayment, nor do work-study programs, | | | | assets and benefits like unemployment or Social |
| which pay a wage or salary for work performed. | | | | Security. The government informs you of your EFC |
| Loans, however, must be repaid, just like a car loan | | | | on your Student Aid Report, or SAR. You'll receive |
| or home mortgage, over a period that ranges from | | | | your SAR after the government has completed its |
| 10 to 25 years. | | | | review of your FAFSA application. |