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Edgewood High School

Edgewood High School
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Financial Aid & Scholarships

When do I start?
It is never too early to start looking for financial aid. Juniors should look at the deadline dates of scholarships so that they know when they are due. For a list of scholarships that we know about, please visit your Naviance account.

What is the FAFSA?
The FAFSA is an application that the government uses to determine how much you can afford to send your student to school – Estimated Family Contribution or EFC. Once completed the government will send your information to all the schools that they are told to send it to.

How do I complete the FAFSA?
First, both the parents and the student must apply for a USERNAME and LOG IN, which can be done at https://studentaid.ed.gov/. If there is more than one student in school, the parent can use the same USERNAME and LOG IN, but each student must have their own.

Second, the FAFSA can not be applied for until after October 1st of senior year. You will need your W-2 form, tax return information, and possibly other documents in order to complete it. Once all information is submitted you will receive your EFC. This is to be done every year of school – even if you are only going part time.

When do colleges want the FAFSA?
Each college may have a different deadline date. The preferred deadline for most colleges is December 1st; make sure to get it in by the deadline because you do not want to miss out on your chance of financial assistance.

What do the colleges do with the FAFSA?
Colleges look at the EFC in order to assist determining the Student Aid Report (SAR) or basically the financial aid package. The financial aid package consists of scholarships, grants, and loans.

Our family had some financial hard times last year and we need more money to send our student to school. What can we do?

Situations like a loss of a job, parent, extreme medical bills, etc. is called special circumstances. Talk to each school directly because each school has a different procedure. Schools do leave money available to assist families in these situations. It never hurts to ask for more help.
SCHOLARSHIPS

SCHOLARSHIPS

Local Scholarships will be posted in the EHS Google Classroom.  All students have access to this. Local scholarships are a great way to help pay for school. Scholarship providers like to see people from their community succeed.  Since the number of students who qualify is limited, the chances of winning local scholarships are often greater than the odds of winning national scholarships. This can make local scholarships an attractive option for funding your education.
 
Institutional Scholarships are need or merit based types of financial aid awarded by higher education institutes. Like other types of scholarships, institutional scholarships help offset the costs associated with higher education.  Institutional Scholarships can usually be found on the financial aid website of the institutions that are being applied to. 
 
Other Outside Scholarships, also known as private scholarships, are scholarships that are not funded by a student’s college or the government. Entities or institutions that award outside scholarships include: companies, associations, specific groups, and charities. Outside Scholarships can be found at several different websites.   
  1. Scholarships.com
  2. FastWeb
  3. CollegeBoard
  4. Going Merry
  5. Scholarship Owl
  6. Bold.org
  7. Cappex
  8. Scholly
  9. CareerOneStop
 
 
Financial Aid Terms

Financial Aid Terms

FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid

FSA ID - Replaces the PIN.  A FSA ID can be create at https://studentaid.ed.gov/ or when logging in to www.fafsa.gov.

EFC – Estimated Family Contribution – how much the government thinks parents can afford to send their student to school

SAR – Student Aid Report – the financial aid package given by each school

Scholarships – typically merit based meaning academic, athletic, music, art, or other performance based awards

Grants – need based money (the family has demonstrated a financial need) and it does NOT have to be paid back

Loans – money that has to be paid back. Loans that are awarded through the SAR are typically more secure and have a lower interest rate.

Work–Study – money that the student can earn while in school to assist with expenses. There are jobs on campus and sometimes off campus that are specifically for students who qualify for work-study.
Related Links

Related Links

  • Financial Aid for Students - U.S. Department of Education 
    Provides information and resources on the college search and financial planning process.
  • FAFSA 
    Apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
  • College Navigator 
    Students and parents are able to check out what the net price for each college accosrding to their income. On this website, click on the bar that says net price and look at the income bracket that applies to you. The net price includes: in state tuition for public schools, room and board, and books.
  • Remington College Scholarship Information 
    Remington College Scholarship Opportunities