FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by American students to determine eligibility for financial aid. You will be required to submit income, family assets, and other financial information. Access the application here.
CSS Profile: The College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile is an application by the College Board to determine eligibility for non-federal financial aid. This form is generally required in addition to the FAFSA by private colleges with large endowments. This costs money to send although you can apply to have the fee waived. Access the application here.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC): An estimate of your family's ability to pay for your college education. This amount is typically determined by a calculator that takes into account household income and assets.
Student Self-Help: The portion of the financial aid package you can earn through work and/or accepting federal/state/institutional loans. You can decline both work and loans.
Cost of Attendance (COA): Total estimated expenses for one year, including tuition, room and board, books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses BEFORE any financial aid is applied.
Net Price: COA - (grants + scholarships). This is the amount you need to pay, get loans for, and/or have work-study to cover.
There are several ways to cover the cost of your education: scholarships, school grants, federal/state grants, loans, work-study, and work (outside of school). Learn more about types of aid here.
Where can I get scholarships?
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Private organizations — privately-operated organizations can sponsor scholarships to recognize specific interests, merit, identities, need, and employment.
Check if:
College-specific — many schools will offer merit aid to top applicants and/or underrepresented student groups. Some schools will automatically consider applicants for merit scholarships as long as they apply by an earlier deadline, while other schools require separate scholarship applications. Research school-specific scholarship requirements as you're building your college list.
Competitions and contests — if you have a specific interest or skill, enter competitions and submit your work to contests that offer prize money. In addition to earning cash for college, you can include the recognition on your applications to demonstrate your extracurricular strengths.
State departments of higher education — if you plan to stay in-state, you may be eligible for scholarships from the government that are separate from state grant funding. Some are based on need, promote specific careers (teachers, CTE), or incentivize students to stay in-state. Examples include the Arkansas Challenge and Florida Bright Futures Scholarships.
How do scholarships affect my financial aid package?
The total of your scholarships and financial aid package cannot exceed the cost of attendance. Once you notify schools that you plan to redeem outside scholarships, they will subtract the amount of funding from your financial aid package. Schools will generally subtract from student self-help first (loans, work-study) before decreasing grant aid. Tell your financial aid office if any of you have received any one-time scholarships so that the amount is not continually subtracted from your financial aid package after the award period.
Learn more about scholarships with our guide!
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