Introduction to Financial Aid Application Process
Before I delve into these different types of financial aid, I will start by explaining what financial aid is.
Financial aid is the money used to help pay for educational expenses in college or university. This money normally comes from sponsors, institutions or the government and it caters for costs such as tuition fees, accommodation, food, devices, health insurance, transport, Visa application fees among others.
Although there is a slight difference between financial aid and scholarship, they are often used interchangeably. While scholarships are awarded based on merit or any other form of achievement such as in extracurricular activities, financial aid is often given based on a student’s financial need.
Types of Aid
1. University grants/ institutional financial aid
This is the most common type of financial aid in US colleges and universities. This type of aid does not require a student to refund it, and it is often need and/ merit based. For this type of aid, a student may be awarded full or partial aid, depending on their level of need. Applications for this type are often made through submission of CSS, ISFAA, ISAFA of a school’s financial aid application portal.
2. University loans
For this type of aid, a student is given a loan that is used to cater for their educational expenses during the four year study period. For this type of aid, different institutions have different rates of interest and what is paid back varies from school to school. While the loan may accrue interest during the four year study period in some schools, the same does not apply for other schools, and the loan only starts to accrue interest after the four year study period.
3. International student loans
we have two different categories for this type of financial aid as listed below.
- US government International Student loans– this is money given by the US government to international students to cover their educational expenses while in the US. The money is in the form of a loan that should be repaid. However, this form of loan is not very common especially for international students.
- Home Country loans/ Scholarships– an international student can be awarded a scholarship to study in the US by his or her home country. In other instances, they are given loans by their home countries to pursue further education in the Us. It is crucial to look up for such opportunities through the embassy in your country.
4. Work Study option
This type is mostly combined with other forms of financial aid such as institutional grants and/ institutional loans. For this form of financial aid, a student is given an on campus, and the pay is channeled towards their educational expenses. When an international student is a freshman, they are only allowed to have on campus jobs. After a student’s first year of studies, they can apply for jobs outside campus, provided that they are in line with a student’s career interests. For the latter however, a student should obtain an OPT in order to be able to work off-campus.
5. Scholarships and grants from International Organizations and Corporations
These scholarships are granted by organizations such as United nations, Coca Cola, Google, UNICEF, Mastercard and many others. These scholarships mostly cater for a student’s full cost of attendance.