Types of Financial Aid:

1.    Federal government

2.    Colleges—Institutional Awards

3.    State government

4.    Private scholarships

1.    Federal Government:

a.     Pell Grant (typically $6k for families making $23 or less.)  Smaller awards to families making $50k or less.

b.    Federal Loans:  Fill out your FAFSA and you will be awarded some amount of money as a low interest loan.

2.    Institutional Awards:

     Colleges often offer generous grants, or merit scholarships (free money) to students of exceptional merit.  Typical awards are around 49% of the price of tuition.  Approxmiately 80% of students attending private schools receive some sort of award.  Students must complete their FAFSA and CSS Profile to be considered for these awards.

3.    State Government Grants

       Some states award money to smart, high achieving students while other states award money to low and middle income students.  In California, this money is available to students who attend either private or public schools in California.

4.    Private Scholarships

       This group represents the smallest source of money.  These scholarships can also reduce the amount of money awarded by the institution.  For this reason, private scholarships are most beneficial to affluent students who qualify.

 See here for the documents you'll need to file for Financial Aid