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Types and Titles

© Shauna Zamarripa

Let's review some more! Today I would like to review the major aid types and sources of aid, to help get all of my readers started on the right foot! We'll cover each one in as much detail as I can muster and go from there. I might not be able to cover all of them today, so bear with me, but I can assure you that we will get them covered.... Sooner or later.

First and foremost, let's review the seven major Student Financial Assistance Programs as listed by the U.S. Department of Education, and their explanations, in no particular order:

• 1. The Federal Pell Grant: a type of "free aid" (aid that does not have to be repaid)
• 2. Stafford Loans: borrowed money you must repay after graduation with interest.
• 3. PLUS loans: loans a student's parents may qualify for, and must be repaid with interest.
• 4. Consolidation loans: loans used to consolidate student debts.
• 5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG): Another example of free aid.
• 6. Federal Work-Study: Programs wherein students work part time to earn credits and money for tuition.
• 7. Federal Perkins Loans: Another loan program that must be repaid after graduation with interest.

To begin, I would like to start today's discussion out with a detailed explanation of what a Federal Pell Grant is and how it works. A Pell Grant is what is considered by the US Department of Education to be a type of "free aid" (which is a type of aid that does not need to be repaid). In order to qualify you must have undergraduate status for the upcoming year, and your financial situation is stipulant to the standard formula set by the US Department of Education and Congress to determine the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) amount from each student and their families. The amount you will receive varies from student to student and at times from year to year. For example, the maximum any student received during the 1997-1998 school year was $2,700.00. You can only receive one Pell Grant per year, and you need to renew it every year as long as you maintain undergraduate status. Your award amount not only depends upon your EFC, but also on your cost of attendance, your enrollment status (full or half time), and whether you attend school for the full academic year or less.

Many students are concerned with how they will receive their funding from the Pell Grant. There are several ways this can be done, one of which is to have the student's tuition account at their school directly credited, eliminating the headaches of having to worry about timely tuition payments. Or the funds can be made directly to the student, or at times, the institution can combine the two, paying the student half of the sum and the college the other half. Regardless of which option you choose schools are required to report payments (as is the Pell Grant agency) to you on a regular basis. Schools are also required to pay you once per term (semester, trimester or quarter).