Financial aid guide for students and parents

Free Application for Federal Student Aid, referred as FAFSA, is a type of form that students and even parents have to fill in order to decide their eligibility for financial aid in US. Most of the institutes, schools and states also utilize information from FAFSA to honor non-federal aid. FAFSA is a first step of financial aid process. It is utilized to apply for financial aid like grants, scholarships, work study and loans.

FAFSA consist of 102 different questions, which are separated in six categories. The key goal of these questions is to collect your academic financial and personal information.

Since old times, college has always been synonymous with expenses and with the rising inflation in every sector, education has not remained untouched. To make sure that college and higher education do not turn out of student’s reach and to bridge the gap, various forms of monetary assistance are available. These include grants, loans, scholarships and other forms of financial aid. It is seen that many people are under the false impression that loans and financial aid are same and tend to use these terms interchangeably. But this is not the case and it is important to know the basic difference between them before opting for any of them.

Going to college or higher education is not only about better job prospects and salary package but it is also beneficial for a person from many other viewpoints. It serves as a gateway to more knowledge, better options and more unexplored opportunities. Importance of education after high school is quite evident yet the heavy price tags attached make it less approachable. To ensure that high costs do not act as discouraging factor, various forms of financial assistance for students are available. Financial aid is one of the forms of financial assistance provided by federal government to students.