Christopher Paez

Financial Aid Reflection

Financial aid is funds provided to students and families to help pay for
postsecondary educational expenses; postsecondary school is college and such. I
know what the cost of attendance is the sum of the direct cost and indirect cost and
vary between colleges. “EFC” is the Expected Family Contribution and stays the
same for every college there are two parts: the parent and student contribution.
Financial Need is the COA (Cost of Attendance) minus the Expected Family
Contribution. Financial need has two categories: Need based and non-need based,
with several different forms: scholarships, grants, loans, and employment.
Scholarships are awarded to a unique characteristic and do not need to be paid
back. Grants are very similar only that grants are given solely based on financial
need. Loans do need to be paid back and repayment usually begins after education
is finished. Financial Aid comes from various sources: Federal government, States,
Private sources, Civic organizations and churches, Employers. I also learned that
filling out my FAFSA application will be a major priority next year.