USUSA View: Paying for college
Paying for college is something that many of us joke about, complain about and often have nightmares about. It’s something that’s talked about in media and in presidential campaigns. With the cost of a college education ever increasing, it’s important that we also talk about ways that we can pay for college NOW.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a great way to help pay for school, but many students in Utah don’t take advantage of the opportunities for financial aid that exist through FAFSA. Some options are better than others, but all can help.
There are three areas of aid you can receive through FAFSA: work-study, loans and grants. I’m going to talk about each of these to help you better understand what’s available to you.
First, work-study. Work-study is program that allows you to get specific jobs on campus. This is how it works. If a department on campus needs employees, but cannot afford to pay for them, they can create a work-study position. Students who have been awarded work-study can then apply. The student(s) hired will receive a paycheck from the university, but a portion of that paycheck is being paid for by the government. Work-study allows students to find jobs on campus in order to help them pay for school.
The second area available is loans. There are two types of loans that you can receive through FAFSA: subsidized and unsubsidized. A subsidized loan means that you will pay nothing on your loan until after graduation. There is even a six-month grace period. You can postpone your payments up to six months after graduation if you don’t have a job. The unsubsidized loan requires you to make payments on the interest of the loan, but no payments on the principal amount until after graduation. The subsidized loan is a lot more attractive, but don’t forget that those loans exist.
The last area of funding is grants. This is the golden ticket when it comes to financial aid because it’s basically free money. It’s money given you to pay for school that you don’t have to pay back. Although, if awarded a grant, you cannot fail your classes or you will end up paying a portion of that money back, and you can’t pay to retake any classes with grants either.
Now, when and how do you apply for these options? First, you will need to go to fafsa.ed.gov. There you can start a new FAFSA account and save all of your information from year-to-year. You can start applying for FAFSA today. A new rule about FAFSA was made that allows those applying to use last year’s tax information to apply for FAFSA. If you still haven’t received those W-2’s or had your parents take care of that for you, you can still apply. Don’t wait. FAFSA is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply now!
Utah has the lowest amount of money given to students through FAFSA than any other state in the country. There is a lot of money to be given to students, but students aren’t applying for it. I would like to encourage anyone reading this to apply. Many students think they won’t receive any aid, but they have never even applied.
As a student who has received help to pay for school through all three areas — grants, loans, and work-study — I am a firm believer in applying and seeing what you get.
I commend students who are doing their best to work and pay for school on their own. I admire and highly respect those students. But many of them are sacrificing eating, social activities and sometimes their grades in order to pay for school. That shouldn’t be the case. While this is a time to work hard and prepare for our futures, it is also a time to enjoy, to experience new things and to meet new people.
FAFSA is a great tool that exists to help us receive something that a majority of the world will never experience. Please take full advantage of this program and make your life a little bit easier.
— Trevor Sean Olsen, USUSA President
— president.ususa@usu.edu