Regardless of which college or career school you choose, you'll probably need help
paying for your tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. You're probably wondering
how you're going to pay for these things. As we mentioned, the Department of Education
offers a variety of student financial aid programs, if you qualify.
So, how can the U.S. Department of Education help me pay for school?
Federal student aid includes grants, work-study, and loans. You don't have to pay
back grants. Work-study allows you to earn money for your education, and loans allow
you to borrow money for school. You'll have to repay any money you borrow. See the
sections on Pell Grants,
Campus-Based Aid Programs, FFEL and Direct Loans,
PLUS loans and the questions for more detailed information
on the federal student aid programs.
You can learn about state programs by contacting your state department of education,
and you can learn about other programs by checking with your high school counselor
or the college or career school you plan to attend. You also might want to use a
search engine on the Web with a key phrase such as "financial aid," "student aid,"
or "scholarships." Or, check the reference section of your local library under those
same phrases.
What about scholarship search services that contact me?
Many private scholarship search services provide lists of sources of financial assistance
for which you may apply. We do not evaluate other scholarship search services.
How can I tell these search services aren’t scams?
You can also find a lot of information on the Internet. Many colleges and career
schools have Web sites. If you know someone who attends or attended a school you're
considering, ask that person his or her opinion of the school.
You should ask about the school's accreditation, licensing, student loan default
rate, and campus security.
- Find out the school's loan default rate (the percentage of students who attended
the school, took out federal student loans, and later failed to repay their loans
on time). You might not be able to get aid from some of our programs at a school
that has a high default rate.
- Get a copy of the school's campus security report. The campus security report provides
information on the school's campus security policies and campus crime statistics.
Schools must publish a campus security report every year and distribute it to all
current students and employees of the school. In addition, if you contact a school
and ask for admissions information, the school must inform you that its campus security
report is available, provide you with a summary of the report, and let you know
how you may get a copy. Parents and students can use the Internet to review crime
statistics for many colleges, universities, and career schools. These statistics
can be found at the Department of Education's Web site at http://ope.ed.gov/security.
- Talk to a high school counselor, local employers, and the state higher education
agency. You can also see if any complaints about the school have been filed with
Local Business Bureau offices at www.bbb.gov. Contact these organizations if you
have a complaint about the school.
Find out the school's job placement rates (the percentage of students who are placed
in jobs relevant to their courses of study).
- If the school advertises its job placement rates, it must also publish the most
recent employment statistics, graduation statistics, and any other information necessary
to back up its claims. This information must be available at or before the time
you apply for admission to the school. Also, check with local employers to see whether
they have hired graduates from the school.
Find out about the school's refund policy.
- If you enroll but never begin classes, you should get most of your money back. If
you begin attending classes but leave before completing your coursework, you may
be able to get part of your money back.
Find out about financial aid availability at the school.
You have the right to receive the following information from the school:
- what the location, hours, and counseling procedures are for the school's financial
aid office;
- what financial assistance is available, including information on all federal, state,
local, private, and institutional financial aid programs;
- what the procedures and deadlines are for submitting applications for each available
financial aid program;
- how the school selects financial aid recipients;
- how the school determines your financial need;
- how the school determines each type and amount of assistance in your financial aid
package;
- how and when you'll receive your aid;
- how the school determines whether you're making satisfactory academic progress,
and what happens if you're not (whether you continue to receive federal financial
aid depends, in part, on whether you make satisfactory academic progress); and
- if you're offered a Federal Work-Study job, what the job is, what hours you must
work, what your duties will be, what the pay will be, and how and when you'll be
paid.
Find out about the school's return-of-aid policy.
- If you receive federal student aid from any of the programs mentioned in this publication
(except for Federal Work-Study), and you withdraw from school, some of that money
may have to be returned by you or your school. Also, even if you don't finish your
coursework, you'll have to repay the loan funds you received, less any amount your
school has returned to your lender.
Find out the school's completion and transfer-out rates.
- A school is required to disclose to current and prospective students the percentage
of its students who complete the school's programs and the percentage of students
who transfer out of the school.
Get a copy of the school's "equity-in-athletics" report.
- Any coeducational school where you can receive federal student aid and where there's
an intercollegiate athletic program must prepare an equity-in-athletics report giving
financial and statistical information for men's and women's sports. This information
makes students aware of a school's commitment to providing equitable athletic opportunities
for its male and female students.
You also might want to compare your expected debt for attending the school to the
money you expect to earn once you complete the educational program. If you borrow
money to pay for all or a portion of your education, you'll need to earn or have
access to enough money to repay your debt. Check the Web or visit the library to
learn more about the careers you are interested in. The US Department of Labor publishes
the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, which includes a list of career choices and
information on typical wages or salaries for many occupations. The Labor Department
also publishes the Occupational Outlook Handbook, which gives job descriptions,
including starting salaries and annual income averages.