January 1 is an important date for those on the college pathway (2-year or 4-year colleges) as major financial aid applications start then. Recently I met with the Daniel family of Hayward, CA, to review finaid and related topics such as Work Study and grants/scholarships. I highly recommend students and their families/guardians review the “College Funding” section on the SportsHopes website (middle right-hand side). Please keep in mind that aid is awarded for different factors such as financial need, academics, number of people in household, number of household members in college, so it is worthwhile to apply. Seniors in high school (or anyone who plans to attend college in the upcoming year) and current college students should apply. Applications must be updated each year.
FAFSA – #1 Federal Aid app that colleges make use of to determine aid packages for students (includes Pell Grant) and opportunities for Dept of Education student/parent loans:
https://fafsa.ed.gov/
Dream Act – (Instead of FAFSA where applicable):
https://dream.csac.ca.gov/
Cal Grant – #1 State Aid app that California colleges make use of to determine aid packages for students (must file FAFSA first!). Check out the various aid programs available:
http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=33
Middle Class Scholarship (Cal Grant site) – $150,000 family income ceiling. Funds for undergrad students who attend a CSU or UC:
http://www.csac.ca.gov/mcs.asp
CSS FinAid Profile / IDOC – Nonfederal aid app used by some colleges. In California this includes Stanford, UCSF, Occidental, Santa Clara, USC, Pomona and others:
https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile
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