Where Can I Find Financial Aid for Online College?

While online education has a reputation of being affordable and less expensive than traditional colleges, many online students still need help paying for their schooling. Fortunately, there are many financial aid options available to help with tuition and other expenses. Online colleges typically participate in the same grant and loan programs as traditional schools.

The U.S. Department of Education’s federal student aid programs are the largest provider of financial aid in America. In order to receive financial aid for college, students need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is commonly referred to as FAFSA. This application determines a student’s eligibility for financial aid and decides on the level of need. After three to five days of evaluation, you will receive a Student Aid Report, which determines your eligibility for loans and grants from the federal government. The Department has also added a financial aid estimator tool for students use, called FAFSA4caster, which provides an early estimate of your eligibility for financial aid. This free tool not only calculates your eligibility for financial aid and grants, but it also reduces the time it will take to complete the FAFSA paperwork. Depending on your eligibility, you can apply to a variety of federal aid, including grants and loans. Some grants do not have to repaid, such as Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Academic Competitiveness Grants, Federal Work-Study and many more. Whereas federal loans are long-term loans with low interest rates and must be repaid. Some federal loans, like Stafford and PLUS have easier credit requirements, longer repayment terms, fixed cap interest rates, as well as deferment. If you are a federal loan recipient, it is important that you understand your responsibilities as borrower and the guidelines of repayment. Check out The Guide to Federal Student Aid for in-depth information on federal aid, terms and agreements, as well as eligibility information and scholarship details.

Students may find themselves needing to supplement money from federal loan programs to pay for additional college necessities, such as tuition, textbooks, housing and computers. In this case, they could take out a private loan to cover these educational costs. Private loans are not subsidized and are not guaranteed by the federal government, especially during the current economic crisis, when private lenders are scrutinizing candidates more than ever. These loans are available through banks, education loan organizations and from some schools. Most online schools recommend that students apply for federal loans before private loans because there are possible downfalls, such as fluctuating interest rates and less deferment options. For more information on the risks involved with private student loans and what to look out for, read the USA Today article, titled Private student loans pose greater risk. But, don’t forget that there are opportunities for aid through state financial aid, employer tuition reimbursement, scholarships and more.