What Happens If I Qualify?

Citizenship Requirements To qualify for federal need-based aid, the student must be either a United States citizen or eligible non-citizen. Generally, you are an eligible non-citizen if you have an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-1551), a conditional permanent residence (I551C), or are an eligible-non citizen with an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94). (For details, check page 2 of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.) Although foreign students are not eligible for federal student aid, many institutions offer scholarships. If you are a foreign student in need of assistance, check with the college or university to which you expect to apply.

If you demonstrate need, you are eligible for need-based financial aid. Demonstrated need is a simple concept -- it is each institution's cost of education minus the designated family contribution. So the "formula" looks something like this:

Cost - Family Contribution = Aid Eligibility

If your aid award includes federal dollars (and most do), your total aid may not exceed your demonstrated need. Some institutions will meet 100 percent of your demonstrated need; others will meet only a portion of that need. The brochure from each school will outline its policy on meeting need.

Regardless of the portion of need that a school meets, almost all package aid offers three types of assistance:

• Work-study
• Deferred interest and payment
• Federal loans and grants

The portion of each fund in the package varies from one college to another. While free-and-clear grants are everyone's favorite type of financial aid, don't discount work and loan opportunities.

Federal law requires that you re-apply for need-based financial aid each year. There are no exceptions. Applications are generally available in early December of each year. Mark your calendar to re-apply in December. You don't want to receive your fall bill and discover that you failed to apply for aid. At that point, it may be too late!

In most cases, a school will tell you of your financial aid eligibility at the time that admission is offered. Colleges and universities know that you are concerned about costs and most will not ask you to commit to them until they commit to you.

What If I Don't?
If you don't qualify for aid in the first year, apply again in the second year. Circumstances change and so does aid eligibility. You may be surprised to find that you receive aid in the second year. And if your circumstances change mid-way through an academic year, most institutions are willing to meet some or all of your newly demonstrated need.