Financial Aid Options: When going through the Financial Aid process, students must remember that financial aid includes loans, grants, and scholarships. Upon completing the FAFSA, a student will know which financial aid option(s) they qualify for.

•     Student Loans – Federal Direct Subsidized Loan: This loan is based on financial need and must be repaid. It is an interest free loan while the student attends the program and for six months after the student graduates, drops below half-time enrollment, or leaves the program. That six month span is known as the “grace period”. Once the grace period is over the loan will begin to gain interest and the student will need to start repaying it. The FAFSA must be completed to find out if the student qualifies for the Subsidized Loan.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan: This loan is not based on financial need and must be repaid. Unlike the Subsidized Loan, this loan accumulates interest while the student attends the program. However, the student will still have a six month grace period before the loan goes into repayment while the interest continues to accumulate. The FAFSA must be completed in order for a student to qualify for the Unsubsidized Loan.

•     Parent Loans - Federal Direct PLUS Loan: This is a loan that a parent could receive on behalf of the student to pay for any balance or expenses that other financial aid would not cover. This loan is based on a credit check that would be performed upon completion of the PLUS application. The student must submit a FAFSA for a parent to qualify for a PLUS loan.

•     Grants and Scholarships - Federal Pell Grant: This grant is based on financial need. If a student qualifies for this grant, they do not have to repay it. To find out if a student qualifies, the FAFSA must be submitted.

Scholarships: Many websites offer scholarships that may be used to help pay for tuition or to help pay back any loans taken out. Scholarships can be obtained by filling out applications which consist of personal information about the student and potentially a short answer to a question or an essay that must be written. The FAFSA does not need to be submitted in order for a student to qualify for a scholarship.

Here are outside potential scholarship websites:

http://www.fastweb.com/ - This site acts as a search engine for other websites that offer scholarships.