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Fairview High School > Academics > Post Graduate Center > Pages > PayingForCollege.aspx  

PayingForCollege 

Fairview High School > Academics > Post Graduate Center
 
 
 


Paying for College

There are many sources of financial assistance available to help pay for college, as well as strategies for reducing costs. On this page, we review the different types of financial aid and forms everyone should fill out, review strategies for reducing costs, and direct you to a variety of scholarship databases. For many details, see the article, "Where is the Money?"

1.  How are funds awarded?

  • Need-based aid--determined by a formula summarizing your family's financial situation.  See www.finaid.org to get an estimate of what most universities will regard as your actual financial need. 

  • Merit-based aid--determined by a student's academic merit, special talents, occupational goals, service record, or other specific attributes.  Some merit funds also include an assessment of need.

2.  Forms everyone needs to know about

All applicants for financial awards would be advised to complete financial disclosure forms regardless of whether the application is for need-based or merit-based awards.  Some awards from private sources (foundations, businesses, organizations) use the forms listed below, even though they were designed for determining awards from federal funds.

  • FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) available at www.fafsa.ed.gov
    • Every application for financial aid from a university will require this form
    • It is also used for applications for some private funds.
  • CSS Profile available at www.collegeboard.com
    • Some colleges want this form in addition to FAFSA
    • It asks for additional financial detail
  • Colorado College Opportunity Fund available at www.CollegeInColorado.org
    • ANY student even remotely contemplating attending ANY public or private college in Colorado should sign up at this site.
    • If you enroll at a state school (or one of a few private schools) in Colorado you will receive approximately $2500 toward your tuition each year (amount varies).
    • It takes only a few minutes to register.

3.  Strategies for realistically estimating and reducing costs

  • Use a college cost finder to calculate estimated costs.
    • The best source for actual costs is the specific college website.
    • See college cost calculator. Add travel and other costs.
  • Apply to one of the twelve in-state, public 4-year colleges. Tuition can be as low as $3100 per year.
  • Start at a 2-year college, then transfer to a 4-year college for the last two years. Tuition can be as low as $1800 per year.
  • Apply to out-of-state public colleges and then gain resident status.
  • Use the Western Undergraduate Exchange Program, which offers reduced tuition for some public colleges in other western states.
  • Apply to honors programs. An honors program at a state school can serve as an excellent, challenging college within a college at a reasonable price.
  • Shorten the college years. Methods such as AP and IB tests, accelerated programs and dual degree programs are discussed in the Kiplinger book, Financing College.
  • Apply for every private, merit/talent/service scholarship available.  Check the financial aid portion of a college's website as well as consulting books, databases, and scholarship websites as listed below.

 4.  Scholarship and financial aid lists, websites, databases and books

Go to the library, the Post-Grad Center at Fairview, or a bookstore and page through a few of the books about financing college. Or, visit a couple of websites to get an overview of the world of college financial aid.  On this page, one or two book, website, or database resources are listed.  For many many more resources, see the document, "Where's the Money?"

  • Books
    • College Cost and Financial Aid Handbook (College Board edition for 2006)
    • College Money Handbook (Peterson's edition for 2006)
    • Scholarships, Grants & Prizes (Peterson's edition for 2008)
  • Fairview Family Connection Scholarship Database
    • Use "knights" as password if you are signing in as a guest.
    • Select "scholarship list" from links on left.
  • Websites
    • FastWeb is considered the largest, most accurate and frequently updated scholarship database (free).
    • CollegeNet contains more than 600,000 scholarships and awards, with keyword search or profile selection (free).
    • College-Scholarships provides a list of over 60 links to free scholarship searches.