Meet Libby Sample. Libby is a freshman Political Science and International Studies major from Dallas, Texas. She is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority through which she works with Peace at Home Women and Children’s Shelter. Libby loves to explore Fayetteville and North West Arkansas in her free time.
The University of Arkansas, as well as federal and state governments, work hard to make tuition affordable to those wishing to attend school through the use of financial aid. Financial aid can be a life saver when it comes to affording college tuition, and there are many different types to look into. In 2014-2015, there was a total of 183.8 billion financial aid dollars available to assist undergraduate students in the United States.
There are two overall types of financial aid: those which need to be paid back and those which are a gift. The four main sources that federal aid comes from are the federal government, state governments, colleges and universities, and private organizations. From these four sources you can receive scholarships, grants and loans.
Grants and scholarships are referred to as “gift-aid” because they do not need to be paid back. A grant is often given based on need while scholarships are merit based. A student can receive institutional scholarships from their university as well as private sector scholarships. These come from private foundations, companies or service groups. To keep grants and scholarships there are often requirements such as maintaining a certain GPA and taking a certain amount of credit hours each semester. There are even scholarship search engines on the internet, such as http://www.aie.org/scholarships/.
Loans should definitely be a financial aid last resort, as they can prove to be extremely costly. With both interest rates and repayment plans, you will likely be paying double the amount of your initial loan by the time you pay it back. As far as federal and private loans go, federal is definitely preferable. When it comes to paying loans back, a federal loan can be much more flexible than a private loan if a student finds themselves unemployed or underemployed after college. A private loan will not be flexible. Before taking out a loan, it is important to weigh all of your options.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is an extremely useful application which should definitely be filled out if you are looking for any type of financial aid. By filling out the FAFSA, a student can receive grants and scholarships, work study jobs, or loans. With a work study job, a student can receive a part time, paid job that is usually on campus. Every student should fill out the FAFSA regardless of income because aid can be awarded to anyone depending on their application. The FAFSA is not only used by the federal government; it is used by colleges and universities to award aid as well. However, some of these will award aid on a first-come first-serve basis, so it is best to apply as early as possible. The FAFSA deadline varies depending on your state of residency, more information can be found at www.fafsa.gov.
The University of Arkansas has a financial aid office which works hard to answer any questions about financial aid. The website, www.finaid.uark.edu, has links to videos on a variety of topics regarding financial aid. You can also visit www.scholarship.uark.edu to learn about different scholarships available through the University of Arkansas.
There are so many types of aid out there available to everyone. Looking into and applying for financial aid can be daunting, but it pays off, literally.