Common Student Aid Myths

There are billions of dollars in student aid available to families who need help paying for
their college-bound student's college education. Many myths exist about what type of aid is available and who is eligible. This month, we're examining some of the more common myths:

1. College is too expensive for our family.
   Despite rising college costs, a college education is within the reach of most families. The average tuition and fees of a four-year public college in 2003-2004 is $4,694.
2. There's less aid available than there used to be.
   Student aid rose to a record level in 2003-04 to more than $105 billion. According to The College Board more that 60 percent of full-time students at public colleges receive some form of student aid; more than 75 percent of students at private colleges receive aid.
3. Our family income is too high to qualify.
   Student aid is intended to make a college education available to students of families in many financial situations. College financial aid administrators often take factors other than income into consideration, such as the number of other family members in college, home mortgage costs, medical expenses not covered by insurance, etc.
4. We've saved for college, so we won't qualify for student aid.
   It's always a good idea to save for college. Most student aid comes in the form of low-interest loans, so saving for college could mean having fewer loans to repay.
5. Only students with straight "A’s" get aid.
   It's true that many scholarships have academic requirements, but federal student aid is based on financial need and does not take grades into consideration.
6. Accepting Work-Study aid will hurt my child's academic success.
   It is difficult to juggle full-time employment with a full-time course load, but recent studies indicate that students who work 14 hours per week (or less) actually do better academically than students who do not work at all.
7. Millions of dollars in scholarships go unused every year.
   This is partly true; most of the money referred to in this statement is offered by employers, labor unions and other organizations for children of employees/members.
8. We'll have to sell our house to pay for college.
   Home value is not considered in calculations for federal student aid. Some colleges take home equity into account when calculating your child's eligibility for institutional and nonfederal aid. No college would expect you to sell your home to finance your child's college education.

There's no charge to file the FAFSA. Most student aid experts recommend that families apply for federal student aid, even if they do not think they'll qualify.

Taken from American Education Services “Counselor’s Corner” Nov. 2004