Common Financial Aid Misconceptions
There are several misconceptions surrounding financial aid:
- It is sometimes said that students shouldn't apply for financial aid unless they have already been accepted and are declared to the university of their choice. The FAFSA papers are transferable to most universities, and it can be advantageous to begin the FAFSA papers during the application process. Some schools have their own papers about home equity and other topics that they require students to attach along with the FAFSA papers.
- A second misconception about financial aid is that it is only available to the most needy students. Although it is often need-based, many different students qualify for the government's yearly $125 billion financial aid money. Funds can be won through strong grades, athletics and other talents, whether the student is poor or wealthy.
- A further misconception is that students qualify for the same financial aid at every institution. Rather, aid varies from university to university like tuition costs. This does not mean that if the tuition is greater in one university the financial aid available will be lower. It is often the case that, because of the aid they provide, more expensive universities can be more affordable than those with lower tuition.
- Finally, it is not the case that US citizens are the only individuals that qualify for financial aid. A non-citizen can qualify for financial aid if they have a green card or a permanent citizenship. Further, parents' citizenship does not effect whether one can apply for financial aid.
Read more about this topic: Student Financial Aid
Famous quotes containing the words common, financial and/or aid:
“Civil servants and priests, soldiers and ballet-dancers, schoolmasters and police constables, Greek museums and Gothic steeples, civil list and services listthe common seed within which all these fabulous beings slumber in embryo is taxation.”
—Karl Marx (18181883)
“Because of these convictions, I made a personal decision in the 1964 Presidential campaign to make education a fundamental issue and to put it high on the nations agenda. I proposed to act on my belief that regardless of a familys financial condition, education should be available to every child in the United Statesas much education as he could absorb.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (19081973)
“Furniture! Thank God, I can sit and I can stand without the aid of a furniture warehouse.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)