Your Path to College Opportunity
With today's rising tuitions, it is important for students and parents to understand the range of options available to them when paying for college. The financial aid landscape can be confusing, and too often, resources are difficult to find. Below is information that can help you understand and navigate the financial aid process to make college as affordable as possible.
Getting Started
Tips:
- Start gathering information early
- Free information is available from high school counselors, financial aid offices at the colleges to which you apply, local and college libraries and Student Aid on the Web
- Keep copies of all forms and correspondence
- Remember you are required to reapply for aid each year
- Beware of scams: You should never pay for financial aid information
For Parents:
- FinAid: for Parents (step-by-step guide of a parent's role in financial aid)
- College Savings Plan Network (guide for saving for college)
- Tax incentives for higher education expenses
Helpful Overviews:
For information on how to plan for and apply to college in Colorado, visit CollegeInColorado.org. You can also compare post-secondary schools in Colorado by clicking here.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine how much a family or student is expected to contribute to the cost of attending post-secondary schooling. It is also used to determine eligibility for federal Stafford loans and Pell Grants, as well as work study and other financial aid. Be sure to complete this application completely and on time. For more information or to fill out the application, click here.
Federal Student Aid
Helpful Links: Student Aid on the Web and Financial Aid Resource Publications
Loans, the most common federal aid, must be repaid when you graduate or leave college.
- Stafford Loans
- Federal PLUS Loans (parental loans), not need-based
- Perkins Loans (Campus-based Aid) for the most needy undergraduates; through participating schools
Scholarships/grants are mostly need-based and require no repayment:
Other grants, scholarships, and fellowships, mostly graduate level: search the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) by Beneficiary, such as "Student or Trainee" or "Graduate Student"
"Congressional" scholarships:
- Merit-based and highly competitive
Work study programs allow you to earn money while in school:
- Federal Work Study Program: college campus jobs
- Student Educational Employment: jobs with the federal government
For questions, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243.
Other Financial Aid Opportunities
Colorado College Opportunity Fund
The College Opportunity Fund provides a stipend for in-state, undergraduate applicants.- To receive the stipend, a student must apply for and authorize the use of the stipend at their respective institution.
Privately Funded Grants and Scholarships
Targeted Aid
- Denver Public Schools students: Denver Scholarship Foundation
- Grants for Minorities: Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Latinos, Native Americans, and Other Ethnic Groups
- African Americans: For Students: Scholarships
- Disabled students: Financial Aid for Students with Disabilities
- Foreign students: Financial Aid for International Students
- Hispanic Americans: Scholarships
- Law school students Financial Aid for Law School
- Medical students: Association of American Medical Colleges
- Native Americans: American Indian College Fund
- Study abroad (for U.S. and non-U.S. citizens): International Financial Aid
- Veterans: Education Benefits
- AmeriCorps Education Award
- Army Tuition Assistance
- Bureau of Health Professions
- Student Educational Employment
- Indian Health Service
- Military academies: U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy
- National Health Service Corps
- Nursing Scholarships
- Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC): U.S. Air Force ROTC, U.S. Army ROTC, U.S. Navy ROTC
Repaying Your Loans
After college, the federal government has ways to help you repay your loans.
Loan Consolidation: combine your federal loans into a single loan with one monthly payment.
Income-based repayment: cap your federal loan monthly repayments at a manageable percentage of your income
Sometimes loans may be canceled in exchange for public service.
- Teachers: Cancellation/Deferment Options
- Health professions: National Health Service Corps
- Law school graduates: State Loan Repayment/Forgiveness Programs
- Medical school graduates: Loan Repayment/Forgiveness Programs
- Federal employees: Federal Student Loan Repayment Program
- If you are having problems with your loan and all other approaches fail, contact the Department of Education's Office of the Ombudsman.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Debt Repayment Assistant also can help provide more information about repayment options based on the types of loans.
