graduation-cap-diploma-andEvery year, Congress sets aside more than $65 million dollars for student education aid. These funds can be awarded as scholarships, gifts, grants or loans. The awards are made based on several different factors that can include the student’s grades and/or need.

Needless to say, out of all of the various programs funded by the United States Federal Government, grants, are the most sought after  because, unlike a student loan, grant money for college is a ‘gift’ with no repayment needed or expected!For a basic college education, most grants are based strictly on the students financial need. For advanced college education grants, however, there may be additional qualifying criteria, such as certain areas of study, or experience, as well as qualifying grade point average.

The initial part of the process to get your college grant is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can do this online at FAFSA.ed.gov. or you can print out the forms and mail them in. Additionally, the CSS Profile Application is required for all incoming college freshman, this is used by most schools, in addition to the FAFSA paperwork, to determine if you qualify for a grant.

Your CSS Profile and your FAFSA data are then used to calculate the total amount of free grant money for college you are eligible to receive. Here’s how:

On the FAFSA form, there is a place called the CPS or the Central Processing System. A formula, called Federal Methodology, will be used by the Dept of Education, which administers FAFSA, to determine your eligibility (EFC)

If you want a free grant for college, then knowing you EFC is crucial as this a primary factor in used by schools to determine your eligibility for a college grant. Your EFC is basically what the government guidelines say you should be able to contribute towards the cost of your schooling based on your household size, where you live, number of college students in your family, your parent’s income and other contributing factors.

The COA or Cost of Attendance is another important factor: This is a number established by each school and it is composed of tuition, room and board, fees and other estimated miscellaneous expenses, such as books, supplies, personal, etc.

Your financial need is calculated by subtracting the EFC from the COA to determine if you qualify for free grant money for college. The formula is the standard guideline in determining how much need-based financial aid you may receive from the government.

The equation, simplified, looks like this:

COA – EFC = Financial Need

Once the ‘need’ is determined, the school financial aid office should then use their various’need-based’ resources to try and meet your financial needs for college.

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Filed under: Scholarships For College

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