The purpose of financial aid is simple: to provide funds for eligible
students to attend college. Education is a key to professional and financial
success and personal development. Financial aid helps ensure that access
to those aims is available.
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Types of Aid
There are 3 general types of aid:
Generally, gift aid is the most desirable for students, but not all
students may be eligible. Self-support is a good option, and many studies
have shown that students who work part-time while in school tend to do
better academically than those who do not. Loans are an important option,
but students (and their parents) should borrow sparingly and only as
much as needed.
Financial aid professionals work to offer students the best package
of financial aid that is available based on available financial aid resources,
cost of going to school, the student's calculated need, and other factors.
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Applying
Students must apply for financial aid each year. This is confusing to some
students, since they only have to apply for college admissions once. Therefore,
it bears repeating here that annual applications for financial aid are
required.
Students should apply as soon after January 1 as possible for the upcoming
fall. (They should not apply before January 1, however.)
Students who delay too long may find they miss chances for certain kinds
of aid.
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Eligibility
The concept is simple: cost of attendance minus expected family contribution
equals eligibility for aid.
However, the process and formulas used to calculate the expected family
contribution is more complex. See your financial aid office's publications
or staff, and review the materials on this website and on sites we link
to.
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Budgets (cost of attendance)
The cost of attendance refered to in the eligibility section above is also
called a budget. A budget is the standard amount a typical student in a
given category pays to attend college. The budget may or may not equal
your actual costs, but it is the standard amount a financial aid office
can use to determine your eligibility.
WFAA has provided budets for you via the following links: budgets/cost
of attendance/standardized student costs for attending college – PDF
File.
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Loans
Student loans come in a variety of types. There are different interest rates.
Some, but not all, loans can be deferred while you are in school, and so
forth.
Be sure to understand all parts of the loan agreements and your obligations
if you are offered loans. Avoid borrowing more than you truly need.
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