Higher education, that is, at colleges and universities, is becoming increasingly expensive to not only fit the salary requirements of faculty and administration, but also to suit necessary campus expansion programs.  However, for those students who find the price of a higher education daunting, there is always the option of student financial aid.  There are two ways that financial aid is assessed: merit based and need based.  Merit based requires that the student either have exceptional academic records, sport participation or community service experiences.  Need based aid is assessed in relation to the student’s household income.  There are two types of aid, debts and grants.  Grants don’t require that students pay the money back, but are usually merit based so that, if for example, a student receives a grant but after one semester, his or her grades considerably drop, the grant may not be offered past that semester.  Debts are usually need based, and therefore will continue to be offered so long as the need exists.  Students are required to pay back debts, but payment schedules usually do not commence until the student has graduated.  An exception to the rule is the Pell Grant, which is need based but does not require students to pay the money back.  In order to qualify for merit based grants, students must fill out applications and submit various materials, often including an essay.  In order to qualify for need based debt lending, students must first fill out a FAFSA.

Technorati Tags: fafsa, pell grant, student financial aid

Tags: fafsa, pell grant, student financial aid