With FAFSA opening up on Monday, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about it a bit. But I’ll be completely honest, I don’t really know how financial aid works. But here is my basic understanding of this topic. 

There’s two types of scholarships, need-based and merit-based. 

Merit-based scholarships and aid are determined by a student’s academic record which may include things like standardized test scores, GPA, and recommendation letters. 

Need-based scholarships may factor in merit, but most of the time it’s purely based on how much that student or that family’s student can contribute to tuition, housing, and other expenses. 

But here is where I get confused: what is the point of FAFSA? Yes, I know it’s federal student aid, but is it grants or loans that they’re giving out? How much of that do I actually need to pay back, if I even have to at all. 

Another use for FAFSA that I’ve seen is that universities use it to determine how much need-based scholarships a student needs. 

Additionally there is the CSS Profile from CollegeBoard that is essentially FAFSA, but costs money to send to schools. It’s getting harder and harder everyday for me to keep track of what is what. I just fill out the form and submit, I do what I’m supposed to, and I don’t question it. 

When it comes to money, we should play it safe, right? 

Next time I’ll touch on what breaks and holidays are like as a senior.