College Success Tip #14

Financial Aid

 

What is Financial Aid?

There are a number of financial support services that are available to college students including enrollment fee waivers, grants, scholarships and work study. Many students pass up the opportunity to receive these services because they do not believe they will qualify. However, because there are a variety of financial support services available, and each with its own set of criteria, it important for students to explore each possibility in a discussion with the college’s financial aid staff.

Why is Financial Aid important?

Receiving financial assistance to pay for enrollment fees, textbooks, class supplies, and even housing and transportation costs can often make the difference between a student being able to attend college or not. Sometimes it can mean the difference between taking one class or several classes if fees can be waived or paid for through grants or loans. Either way, financial assistance can help relieve burdens that might otherwise prevent a student from being successful academically.

Examples:

Financial aid comes in many different forms including grants such as the Federal Pell Grant and the California state Cal Grant neither of which need to be paid back. Other forms of financial aid include loans, scholarships and federal work study for which a student earns money by working at a job located on campus.

Internal links to College of the Canyons resources for Financial Aid:

            Find out how to apply and what types of aid exist: http://www.canyons.edu/offices/FinAid/

External links to the College for Financial Aid:

            Free Application for Federal Student Aid: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Upcoming Workshops, Activities or Events for Financial Aid:

Example:        Cougar Mentor Student Success Workshop

                        “How to Apply for Scholarships”

                        Tuesday, October 7, 2008

                        Noon – 1:30 p.m., Student Center Room S-129

Sources:

1. The Community College Experience by Amy Baldwin (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005).

2. Cornerstone: Building on Your Best, 4^th Ed., by Robert M. Sherfield, Rhonda J. Montgomery, and Patricia G. Moody (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005).

3. Becoming a Master Student, 10^th Ed., by Dave Ellis (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003).

4.  Study Guides and Strategies, http://www.studygs.net/index.htm.

5. Dartmouth’s Academic Skills Center, http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/index.html.