Free Financial Aid

What's the best kind of financial aid? The kind that doesn't have to be paid back! While student loans certainly have their place, and most students will borrow some money at some point in their college career, every student should make the effort to acquire as much free financial aid as possible. Scholarships, grants, and work/study programs are all examples of financial aid that never needs to be repaid, and there are tens of billions of dollars in each of these formats that's available to students every year.

Most of these programs, but not all, are based on financial need. If you're an exceptional student, or have tremendous skills and achievements in some field such as athletics or music, there are many, many programs that can assist you without regard for your financial need, or lack of need. By all means inquire with your chosen colleges about scholarships in your field of excellence, and do a scholarship search at one of the many websites set up to search scholarship databases.

Everyone planning for college, regardless of need or achievement, should check with your employer, and your parent's employers, about grants and scholarships for employees and their children. Almost every business of any size has some sort of program to assist their employees and their families with college scholarships.

If you're a member of a religious organization, be sure to inquire about college financial aid for members. Most organized religious groups want their young people to attend college, and set aside money for the purpose of helping them do so. If yours is one, be sure to take advantage of whatever is available.

Besides merit based and need based scholarships, by far the most common form of financial aid that doesn't have to be repaid is the Pell Grant. Pell grants come from the federal government, and are based strictly on financial need. At present, you can get up to $4050 a year in Pell grants. Pell grants are a backbone of many student's financial aid packages.