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Playing The Student Loan Game
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Your Path Through College Financial Aid
Search for scholarships on free websites like CollegeBoard and Fastweb. Each scholarship has its own requirements and deadlines. Fill out the FAFSA,
the FreeApplicationfor
FederalStudentAid.The deadlinetypically
falls in June,but checkwith the FAFSA
website
and your schools.
Applyto the collegesand universities
of your choosing.
A StudentAid Report(SAR)is
sent to you and your
schoolsvia emailor mail.The SARincludesyour
ExpectedFamilyContribution (EFC).
Someschoolsmayrequireyou to
completethe CSS
/FinancialAid
PROF
ILE(CSSProfile). Youcan do so
via CollegeBoard.
Whena school sendsyou an accep­
tanceletter, a financialaid package will
be included. It mayoffer grants, loans
and/or scholarships.
Evaluatefinancial aid options.You
maywant to considerstartingat a
communitycollege.
If yourfinancial aid offers are too low, look into student loansfrom private lenders. Youcan applyfor private loans at any time. Yourschoolwill set up an account for you
to track your aid and payments.It will credit
most loans,grantsand scholarships.
Disbursements
are madeafter classesbegin.
for eachyearyou plan to attend school.
Duringyour freshmanyear,senda FAFSA for
your sophomoreyear,and so forth. Eachyear,
you'll also receive a new financialaid package
from your school.
With most loans, you do not haveto begin
repaying them until a few monthsafter you
leaveschool.Youshouldreceivea payment
schedulein the mail.
iii De bt.org
America's Debt Help Organization