Ask the Experts and Financial Aid Help

The Experts

        If you want the best financial aid advice, ask a financial aid administrator at the college or university you are interested in attending.  Mrs. Woelffer can give you quite a bit of information but policies, financial aid packages, and the monies are awarded vary from institution to institution.

Financial Aid Terms

FAFSA(Free Application for Federal Student Aid)- The universal form to apply for financial aid from the federal government, including both federal loans and grants.  All colleges require this form, which can be obtained from Mrs. Woelffer, Gladstone High School Counselor or a college financial aid office.  If you are a college-bound senior applying for financial aid, you are strongly encouraged to complete the FAFSA.

Stafford Loan: Stafford loans are subsidized by the federal government, which means that you don’t have to begin paying them back until six months after you graduate.

Pell Grant: A need based grant given by the federal government.  You do not have to pay this back.

Institutional Grant: A need based grant given by the college you attend.

Merit Scholarship: A scholarship, most often given by the college you attend, which is awarded based on academic or athletic qualifications, not financial need.

Work-study: A program subsidized by the federal government in which the government helps a college pay you to work on campus.

Financial aid package: The combination of grants, loans, and work-study that a college offers you to help pay for college costs.

Family Contribution: The amount of money you and your family can contribute to paying for your education, determined by analysis of the FAFSA.

Demonstrated Need: The difference between the cost of attending a college and the family contribution.