Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid 2009-10

The information in this guide was compiled in the summer of 2008. For changes to the federal student aid programs since then, visit www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov and click on "Students, Parents and Counselors."

Do you need help paying for college or for a career or vocational school? This section is a quick reference to our federal student aid programs and how to apply for this aid. The rest of this publication provides more detail of what you need to know.

Federal Student Aid Summary Chart

Program	Type of Aid	Program Details	Annual Amount
Federal Pell Grant	Grant: does not have to be repaid	Available almost exclusively to undergraduates	2008–09: $400–$4,731
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)	Grant: does not have to be repaid	For undergraduates with exceptional financial need; Federal Pell Grant recipients take priority; funds depend on availability at school	$100–$4,000
Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)	Grant: does not have to be repaid	For Pell-eligible students enrolled at least half-time in their first or second year of study or in a certificate program of at least one year at a degree-granting school
		First year: must have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study; graduated from high school after Jan. 1, 2006; not have been enrolled in an ACG-eligible program while at or below age of compulsory school attendance	1st year: Up to $750
		Second year: must have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study; graduated from high school after Jan. 1, 2005; have at least 3.0 cumulative GPA at the end of first year of postsecondary study	2nd year: Up to $1,300
National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant)	Grant: does not have to be repaid	For Pell-eligible students enrolled at least half-time in third or fourth year (or fifth year of a five-year program) majoring in certain subject areas with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA	Up to $4,000 a year
Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant	Grant: does not have to be repaid unless you fail to carry out the service obligation, in which case you must repay TEACH Grant as a Direct Unsubsidized Loan with interest accrued from the date the grant was disbursed	For undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, and graduate students who are taking or will be taking course work necessary to become an elementary or secondary teacher; recipient must sign an Agreement to Serve saying that they will teach full-time in a designated teacher shortage area for four complete years (within eight years of completing academic program) at an elementary or secondary school serving children from lowincome families in a high-need field	Up to $4,000 a year
Federal Work-Study	Money earned while attending school; does not have to be repaid	For undergraduate and graduate students; jobs can be on campus or off campus; students are paid at least federal minimum wage	No annual minimum or maximum amounts
Federal Perkins Loan	Loan: must be repaid	For undergraduate and graduate students; must be repaid to school that made the loan; interest 5 percent	Undergraduate students: up to $5,500; graduate and professional students: up to $8,000
Subsidized Direct* or FFEL** Stafford Loan	Loan: must be repaid	Subsidized: The U.S. Department of Education pays interest while the borrower is in school and during grace and deferment periods; student must be attending at least half-time and have financial need; fixed rate is set annually for new borrowers	$3,500–$8,500, depending on grade level
Unsubsidized Direct* or FFEL** Stafford Loan	Loan: must be repaid	Subsidized: The U.S. Department of Education pays interest while the borrower is in school and during grace and deferment periods; student must be attending at least half-time and have financial need; fixed rate is set annually for new borrowers	$5,500–$20,500 (less any subsidized amounts received for same period), depending on grade level and dependency status
*Direct or FFEL PLUS Loan	Loan: must be repaid	For parents of dependent undergraduate students and for graduate and professional students; students must be enrolled at least half-time; financial need not required Borrower must not have adverse credit history PLUS Loans are unsubsidized, the borrower is responsible for all interest	Maximum amount is cost of attendance minus any other financial aid student receives; no minimum amount

* This type of loan is from the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The loan is known as a Federal Direct Stafford (or PLUS) Loan.
** This type of loan is from the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. The loan is known as a FFEL (or Federal) Stafford (or PLUS) Loan.

Most student financial aid comes from the federal government programs you’ll read about here. The U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid administers these programs. For other sources of student financial aid, click here.

Applying for federal student aid is FREE; that’s why our application is called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you need help completing the FAFSA, that help is free too. You don’t have to pay anyone for help and you should be aware of scams and services that will search for financial aid for you for a fee. The College Scholarship Fraud Protection Act protects you from this type of fraud. We tell you how to protect yourself from scams.

What is federal student aid?
It’s financial help for eligible students to pay for educational expenses at an eligible postsecondary school (e.g., college, vocational school, graduate school).

There are three categories of federal student aid: grants, work-study, and loans (see the chart above for an overview of these programs.). Check with your school to find out which programs your school participates in.

Federal student aid covers expenses such as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation. Aid also can help pay for a computer and for dependent care.

Steps to Federal Student aid

Step 1

Get free information and help from your school counselor, the financial aid office at the college or career school you plan to attend, or the U.S. Department of Education (ED) at www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov or 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). Free help is available any time during the application process. You should never have to pay for help.

Step 2

Get a Federal Student Aid PIN, a personal identification number. A PIN lets you apply, “sign” your online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), make corrections to your application information and more—so keep it safe. Go to www.pin.ed.gov to get one.

Step 3

Collect the documents needed to apply, including income tax returns and W-2 forms (and other records of income). A full list of what you need is at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Tax return not completed at the time you apply? Estimate the tax information, apply, and correct information later.

Step 4

Complete the FAFSA between Jan. 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010 (no exceptions to either date!). BUT, apply as soon as possible after Jan. 1 to meet school and state aid deadlines (see note). Apply online (the faster and easier way) by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov. If you don’t already have your PIN, you can get it when you complete the online FAFSA.

Step 5

ED will send you your Student Aid Report (SAR)—the result of your FAFSA. Review your SAR and, if necessary, make changes or corrections and submit your SAR for reprocessing. Your complete, correct SAR will contain your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)—the number used to determine your federal student aid eligibility.

Step 6

Your school might request additional information from you. Be sure to respond by any deadlines, or you might not receive federal student aid.

Step 7

All applicants: Contact the financial aid office if you have any questions about the aid being offered.
First-time applicants: Review award letters from schools to compare amounts and types of aid being offered. Decide which school to attend based on a combination of (a) how well the school suits your needs and (b) its affordability after all aid is taken into account.

Note: You also might be able to get financial aid from your state government, your school or a private scholarship. Research nonfederal aid early (ideally, start in the spring of your junior year of high school). Be sure to meet all application deadlines!

There are three categories of federal student aid: grants, work-study and loans. (See chart on page xi for an overview of these programs.) Check with your school to find out which programs your school participates in.

Who gets federal student aid?
Many factors determine eligibility for federal student aid programs. Your eligibility is determined by the information you provide on the FAFSA.

Basic eligibility requirements:

Demonstrate financial need (except for certain loans).

Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen* (for most programs) with a valid Social Security number (SSN).

Be working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program.*

Show, by one of the following means that you're qualified to obtain a postsecondary education:

Have a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.*

Pass an approved ability-to-benefit* (ATB) test (if you don't have a diploma or GED, a school can administer a test to determine whether you can benefit from the education offered at that school).

Meet other standards that your state establishes and that we have approved.

Complete a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law.

Maintain satisfactory academic progress* once you're in school. (See the complete list of eligibility requirements.)

How do I apply for federal student aid?

1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
For FAFSA on the Web, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov. Using FAFSA on the Web is faster and easier than using paper. If you don’t have Internet access, you can get a paper FAFSA from

our Web site at www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov/pubs (download a PDF),

our ED Pubs Web site at www.edpubs.ed.gov, or

our Federal Student Aid Information Center at

1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243)

You can apply beginning Jan. 1, 2009; you have until July 1, 2010, to submit your FAFSA. But you need to apply early! Schools and states often use FAFSA information to award nonfederal aid. Their deadlines are usually early in the year. You can find state deadlines at FAFSA on the Web or on the paper FAFSA. Check with the schools you’re interested in for their deadlines.

2. Review your Student Aid Report (SAR).
After you apply, you’ll receive a Student Aid Report, or SAR. Your SAR contains the information reported on your FAFSA and usually includes your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC, a measure of your family’s financial strength, is used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. Review your SAR information and make any corrections or changes, if necessary. The school(s) you list on your FAFSA will get your SAR data electronically.

3. Contact the school(s) you might attend.
Make sure the financial aid office at each school you’re interested in has all the information needed to determine your eligibility. If you’re eligible, each school’s financial aid office will send you an award letter showing the amount and types of aid (from all sources) the school will offer you. You can compare award letters from the schools to which you applied and see what aid you can receive from each school.

FAFSA4caster
If you’re not attending college this fall, but would like to find out how much federal student aid you might be eligible for, FAFSA4caster is for you. This product can help you get an early start on the financial aid process. You can access FAFSA4caster at www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov. For more information on FAFSA4caster, click here.

Process Summary Chart

PREPARE	APPLY	RECEIVE	REPAY
This guide gives you information about federal student aid programs, as well as other means of paying for your education after high school. Take what we say to heart … and then take the next step.	This step is where many deserving students falter, either because they assume they won’t qualify, or because the FAFSA looks difficult to complete. In the case of the FAFSA, the improved online version simplifies the application process considerably. It’s a good idea to apply. You may be surprised by the amount of aid for which you qualify.	We’ll inform you and your selected schools about your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Then the schools (or your student loan provider) will tell you how much—and what sorts of—aid you qualify for.	If your aid is in the form of a loan or loans, this guide will fill you in on the repayment process.