College Mentors

Most colleges and universities offer a variety of merit scholarships, some are for academic achievement, some for service achievement, some for promoting diversity, and others for specific talents and/or specific traits. We'll talk about each in turn--tonight's post will cover Academic and service Scholarships. Academic Scholarships- These are offered both at public and at private universities. Often times, there are multiple levels of scholarships, ranging from full ride scholarships for the highest achieving students to partial scholarships. Some colleges require you to fill out additional forms and even to write an additional essay--but with the cost of higher education, it's well worth the extra time!!! Here are some examples from a few schools: Case Western Reserve University (www.case.edu), a private University in Ohio offers several scholarships--including 11 highly competitive full tuition (currently $34,450) scholarships, Trustee's Scholarships ($26,800),

Financial Aid comes in various guises, and understanding the terms will help you evaluate the offers you receive. Cost of Attendance: This is the amount of money required for a year at the given college. It includes tuition, books, room, and board. Some schools add in an amount for personal expenses and travel--some do not. It's important to make sure that you know exactly how it is defined at each college you're considering, so as to make sure you're comparing apples and apples. EFC: This stands for " Expected Family Contribution," which is the dollar amount that the Federal Government expects the family (student and parents) to pay toward the annual cost of college. They use a complex formula that includes a percentage of parental income and assets and student income (including an expectation that the student will work in the summers and contribute that entire amount each year) and assets. Need: Everything between the amount of EFC and the cost of attendance

THE FAFSA: If you haven't already completed it, NOW is the time to get your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) completed. (The priority deadline is March 2nd for California students.) The FAFSA is the key to receiving financial aid--whether from the government or from the universities themselves. The link to the official FAFSA site is provided in the Financial Aid Links section of this blog. For those of you in California, the FAFSA form is also the key to applying for Cal Grants--a California state financial aid program for low and moderate income families. After you submit your FAFSA, you will receive information about your family's EFC or Estimated Family Contribution--this is the amount that the family will be expected to pay toward the annual cost. Everything ABOVE that amount, up to the cost of attendance, is considered your "need." Colleges meet that need in a variety of ways--Federal Loans of various kinds, grants, and scholarships. Every