Financial Aid
Applying for Financial Aid
by Sue Shoemaker
How Can I Get Financial Help for Continuing My Education?
Direct financial help from a post-secondary school.
Ex. When you apply and are accepted to a college, you may be told that you will be receiving a scholarship based on your GPA, ACT scores, activities, sports, etc. Accept what you are offered, even if you’re still not sure where you’re going to attend. You can always turn these down at a later time.
Federal and State government aid
You will apply for this after January 1, because it is based on income received by you and your parents for the previous tax year. There is no magic number for who receives aid and who doesn’t. The only way to find out is to apply with the FAFSA (FREE Application for Federal Student Aid). You can do this on a paper form, which will be available in December, or you can apply online. In order to apply online, you need to immediately request a PIN number for you and for your parent at www.pin.ed.gov This becomes your “signature.”
Ø Note – applying online will get a response much faster than using the paper form! The only OFFICIAL FREE website is www.fafsa.ed.gov
Ø Federal Aid can be used at any post-secondary school – 4 year, community, technical or cosmetology
Ø Each school will offer you their own financial aid “package.”
Independent Scholarships
These are independent sources of money that come from a variety of places: alumni, clubs, personal estates, businesses, etc. Each donor specifies what criteria will be used to award the money, and sets the due date, the type of application, the number of awards, the type of student, etc.
Please check under the scholarship link on the USD 417 Website for scholarships that have been available to our students in the past.
http://www.usd417.net
Ø Important tips for getting scholarships!
- Ask 3-4 people who know you well to write letters of recommendation (coaches, ministers, teachers, employers…) Allow them plenty of time.
- Follow directions carefully.
- Do not handwrite unless there are absolutely no other alternatives.
- Neatness & correct grammar is very important. It is recommended that you have someone proofread all of your work to make sure you have correct spelling and sentence structure.
- Be sure all applications are complete. Don’t provide more than is asked for, but be sure that everything asked for is included
- Follow the due dates exactly. Don’t be late.
- Keep copies of everything you turn in.
- Remember that a scholarship selection committee may know nothing about you other than what is written on the application. Make sure that you are giving them a good impression.
- Good Luck!
