Paying for school
The Free Application for Financial Aid, better known as FAFSA, is an online form that colleges and universities use to determine your eligibility for federal, state, and college-sponsored financial aid, including grants, educational loans, and work-study programs. You’ll have to apply for FAFSA every year that you’re in school in order to keep receiving scholarships and grants.
Even though the FAFSA application is for federal aid, you have to fill it out to receive state and college-sponsored financial aid as well. If you're hoping for any government or school financial aid for college, you should file a FAFSA every year that you are in school. Check out The How to Guide for FAFSA for more information. One quick word of advice: Fill out your FAFSA EARLY! Scholarships and grants such as the MAP Grant are awarded on a first come first serve basis. Once the state runs out of that money for the school year, they are out and you will have to wait until next year.
If you’re going to college but you were previously in DCFS, you should also check out our page on the Education and Training Voucher!
Scholarships
Taking out a large amount of student loan debt, especially for your undergraduate education is not ideal. You will have to pay that money back once you finish school and depending on your field of study, you may need graduate or professional school in order to advance your career—which may mean MORE LOANS. Try and reduce the amount of student loan debt you need to pay for your education by applying for scholarships! To learn more about scholarships, watch the video below.
Check out the links below to discover scholarships you may be eligible for!
U.S Department of Labor: Scholarship Search Toolkit