As early as January 1 of the year in which you plan to start college, you may begin the process of applying for financial aid by completing and submitting the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the U.S. Department of Education. (If you have not yet reached this point, you may use the
Financial Aid Award Estimator (FAAE) to research types and amounts of financial aid you may be eligible to receive at colleges in Colorado.)
Once you do complete and submit the
FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education will send a Student Aid Report (SAR) to you and an electronic copy of the results of your FAFSA to up to six colleges that you specified on your application. Review the SAR carefully to make sure all of the information on it is correct. If corrections do need to be made, call the financial aid office at your college first. They may wish to make the corrections or they may ask you to make them.
After the financial aid personnel at your college receive your FAFSA information, they may request additional documentation from you to verify accuracy of the information. Each year, thirty percent of FAFSA applications submitted are randomly selected by the U.S. Department of Education for a process called “verification.” If your FAFSA is selected, your college must verify that the information is accurate before awarding you financial aid. Be aware that some colleges choose to verify 100 percent of their applications, so make sure the information you provide is correct. Provide the documentation requested as quickly as possible.
On each SAR, in the upper right hand corner, there is a calculated amount called Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The U.S. Department of Education uses the information submitted on the FAFSA and applies a complex formula to determine your EFC. This calculation represents you and your family’s ability to help pay educational expenses during the current year.
How Does a College Determine your Financial Aid Package?
- The college financial aid office determines your cost of attendance (COA), which is an estimate of the amount it will cost for you to attend college that year. The COA varies by college and/or by programs within a college. Because of this, your COA may be different than your friend’s even if you are both attending the same college. While the COA is different at each college, your EFC will remain the same. The COA is calculated by adding together:
- Tuition and fees
- Room and board
- Books and supplies
- Miscellaneous expenses
- The college reviews your FAFSA results, subtracting your EFC from your COA. The difference establishes your financial need.
- Upon completion of their analysis, the financial aid office will send you a financial aid award letter. They may offer you merit- and need-based
grants,
scholarships,
work-study and subsidized federal student
loans up to the amount of your financial need.
The financial aid office may also offer you non-need-based aid (amounts above your calculated financial need). This aid is usually an unsubsidized
loans to you and/or a PLUS loan to your parent, to help you meet all or part of your EFC.
Almost every student is eligible for some form of financial assistance for college —
grants,
scholarships,
loans, or some combination of these types. Use the
Financial Aid Award Estimator (FAAE) to research COA and types of financial aid you may be eligible to receive at colleges in Colorado. Also, be sure to check our list of
scholarships and scholarship searches for funding you may be eligible to receive.
If you are offered and decide to accept a loan, be a wise borrower and only borrow what you need to pay for your educational expenses each year. The
SLOPE Calculator and the
Loan Repayment Guide can help you determine this amount.