How do I apply for school loans and grants? Where can I find them online?
I'm having a hard time filling stuff out, my parents make a decent amount of money, but I'm not living off of them anymore. But I dont know if they have have me claimed as a dependent... how do I fill all this paperwork out??!! Help!
Answer:
Check out Federal Student Aid Web Site or FAFSA http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
I suggest you explore all federal funding and grant options at the Federal Student Aid website http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/...
You may also want to read the Handbook of the Pell Grant -- this is an 86 page document that contains everything about the grant
http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/attachme...
Or you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/gtepfpg.p... at 1-800-433-3243 and ask them if there are any programs for women of your age
Aside from FAFSA http://www.fafsa.ed.gov and Pell Grant http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.htm... , you may want to explore private foundation grants
Also check out Fastweb http://www.fastweb.com
For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online http://gtionline.fdncenter.org . It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) and their opening blurb says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." You may be able to find grants from private foundations.
Your university should offer you grants and low interest loans if you are a low income students.
Other then that, the private scholarships could be found at...
www.fastweb.com
The first thing you need to do is fill out a FAFSA. It doesn't cost you anything, and will help determine if you're eligible for financial aid, and how much.
Even if you claim yourself for tax purposes, the rules are different for financial aid. From their website:
For the 2005-2006 academic year, you're considered an independent student ONLY IF at least one of the following criteria applies to you:
* You were born before January 1, 1982.
* You will be enrolled in a master's or doctorate program (beyond a bachelor's degree) at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.
* You're married as of the day you apply (or you're separated but not divorced).
* You have children who receive more than half their support from you.
* You have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half their support from you at the time you apply and through June 30, 2006.
* Both your parents are deceased, or you are (or were until age 18) a ward or dependent of the court.
* You're a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. (A "veteran" includes students who attended a U.S. service academy and who were released under a condition other than dishonorable. For more detail on who is considered a veteran, see the explanatory notes on the FAFSA.)
If none of these criteria applies to you, you're considered dependent.
Go to the college that you are thinking of attending and ask them to help. they know all the ins and outs. just type in student loans and you'll get loads of those. Make sure to ge for the lowest interest possible and don't think of it as free money, you will have to pay it back, it is for needs not wants. So many kids end up owing for pizza and friends going out and that is such a sad thing when you realize and have remorse at 20 yrs. old and have all kinds of loans to pay back and your friends are someplace else. Use your head and Good luck.
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