You won’t get financial aid without it
All students applying to college should know about FAFSA.
Also known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, everyone—rich, poor, or somewhere in between—should plan to fill out a FAFSA application as part of applying to college.
“One of the largest barriers to a higher education is the funding,” says Amber Yocom, director of financial aid at Northwest State Community College.
FAFSA is the foundation for all financial aid, and it allows students to be considered for federal Pell grants, state grants, Stafford student loans, scholarships and work-study programs. These funds can help pay for college tuition as well as books and some fees. The NSCC Foundation awarded $350,000 in student scholarships in 2015.
“New students, and especially their parents, are under the misconception that they are not eligible for financial aid because of the family’s income,” says Yocom. “Many times this can be a wrong assumption and a reason why a lot of eligible students don’t apply.”
“It’s also a misconception that students must have high grades to qualify,” she says.
Fill out that FAFSA
The FAFSA form is a 10-page booklet with step-by-step instructions. Parents need their current tax returns for a dependent student, and independent students must have tax returns for themselves and their spouse. For assistance, contact the NSCC Financial Aid Office at 419.267.1333.
While the whole process can seem daunting, students and parents can go to the College’s financial aid office for one-on-one help. Those who complete their family’s tax forms before filling out the FAFSA will have the best financial information at hand to complete the form.
Awards vary by college
Students are awarded financial aid once they’re admitted to a college or university. If they are admitted to several, each school will receive the FAFSA report, which the college uses to determine a broad range of financial aid options that includes grants, loans, scholarships and work study.
Don’t leave money on the table
Institutional Scholarships
The Northwest State Community College Presidential Scholarship is a full-tuition, renewable scholarship. Covering tuition for a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 20 credit hours for four consecutive fall and spring terms. Fourteen students will be offered the scholarship.
The Northwest State Community College Honors Scholarship is a half-tuition scholarship covering a minimum of 12 and maximum of 20 credit hours per semester, for four consecutive fall and spring terms. Fifty students will be offered the scholarship.
A Tech Prep Scholarship is worth $2,000 towards tuition ($500 for spring & fall semesters over a two-year consecutive period) for qualified Tech Prep students.
Foundation Scholarships
In 2015, 52 different scholarships were offered through the Northwest State Community College Foundation. Scholarship awards range from $250 to full tuition, and some scholarships are awarded to multiple students each year. For the 2015-2016 academic year, the NSCC Foundation awarded $360,000 in scholarships.
For complete information, please visit NorthwestState.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/
What’s the Difference?
A glossary of financial aid terms:
• GRANTS are gifts that do not need to be paid back. Grant decisions are based on family income, household size, reported assets and the number of children in college. The most common is the federal Pell Grant that pays for tuition, fees and books, and refunds to the student any unused money.
• LOANS must be paid back to the lender, with interest. Loans mean debt, and students must understand that, and request just what they need, not the higher amounts that they may be offered.
Yocom emphasizes that students should understand that they have power and control over the borrowing process and should get complete details about their responsibility, repayment and interest from their financial aid officer.
• SCHOLARSHIPS are gifts that do not require repayment. According to Yocom, they are the most underused of the financial aid programs, because their criteria are so variable. They can be based on academics, hometowns, gender and ethnicity, or specific programs.
Most colleges will have one application for all internal scholarships, and some scholarships will take into account student need from the FAFSA.
• WORK STUDY is a federal program in which colleges receive a certain amount of money to pay out in student salaries. Students are limited to 20 to 25 hours of work a week, and have the opportunity to learn about their school from the inside. They also get valuable work experience to add to their resume and some feel for budgeting their salary.
