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Financial Aid

Financial Aid

 

Financial aid is money that assists students in paying for college. Grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships are intended to make college affordable. These funds can come from federal, state, school, and private sources to help you pay for school.

Two of the most well-known sources of financial aid are the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the California Dream Act. Both applications open on October 1st every year and have a priority deadline of March 2nd. These applications are entirely FREE and use information such as family size, number of people currently in college, and household income to determine how much money a student will need for college.

 

Students who have a Social Security Number (SSN) will be filling out the FAFSA application. Students who do not have a SSN can fill out the California Dream Act.

 

You will be filling out a financial aid application every year that you’re in college.

Completing the FAFSA Application:

 

  1. To begin filing the FAFSA application, students will first create an FSA ID which is a username and password that allow students to access the FAFSA application. To create a FSA ID click here (Note: Please have your social security number at hand when creating your FSA ID).
  2. After creating your FSA ID, visit the FAFSA website and click Start Here under New to the FAFSA Process. Here you will input the username and password you created.
  3. Please make sure that you select the correct application year, which will be for the upcoming college year (e.g. If you are graduating in June 2021 you are completing the application for the 2021-2022 year)
  4. At the end of your application you will need to have a parent/guardian sign your application. You can print out a signature page and mail the document to addressed listed on the signature page. If your parents have a SSN you also have the option of creating an FSA ID for your parent and using their FSA ID to sign your application.

Completing the California Dream Act Application:

  1. To begin filing the CA Dream Act visit here and click the Start button under New to the CA Dream Act where you will create a User ID and Password.
  2. After you create a User ID and Password, go back to the Dream Act website and click Login using the credentials you created to begin your Dream Act application.
  3. Please make sure that you select the correct application year, which will be for the upcoming academic year (e.g. If you are graduating in June 2021 you are completing the application for the 2021-2022 year)
  4. At the end of your application you will create a parent pin to have a parent/guardian electronically sign your application.

Scholarships:

 

Scholarships are a free form of financial aid that can be provided by universities and outside organizations. The majority of scholarships come from outside organizations which can include businesses, non-profit organizations, etc. and just require students to fill out an application that usually includes submitting materials such as an essay or creative work.

 

 

Students can find scholarships on this spreadsheet created by the Counseling Department: here

 

Other helpful websites to find scholarships include:

   Fastweb.com

   Scholarships.com

   Bigfuture.collegeboard.org

   Cappex.com

   Niche.com

   Unigo.com