If you want to be proactive in your college financial aid planning and start to do it way before you fill out the FAFSA form in the spring of your child's senior year, then the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid Estimator is just the thing!
The forecaster summarizes the cost of attendance for a school, the total aid entered, and the difference (the net cost of attending college), along with your estimated Student Aid Index (SAI) With this information, you can compare schools by changing cost of attendance, delete state aid if you will be an out-of-state student at a particular school, amend the amount of aid available from the school, and so on.
You can also use it to receive early estimates, create scenarios based on future earnings, and plan college funding strategies.
The tool asks you financial and other questions that are used to estimate your federal student aid eligibility. For each one, you should use the most current information you have. Be sure to answer all the questions, even if you have to estimate or guess. You will also need to know the school's cost of attendance (or find it on their College Navigator).
The forecaster will then come back with the following information:
- A list of college funding sources
- Estimated Pell Grant amount (if any)
- Federal Work-Study amount
- Maximum Direct Loan eligibility
So, as you can see, this forecaster can be a great help if you can't wait to find out what aid you are likely to get or want to plan for the college education of a younger child!
More Information
If you are looking for more information about federal financial aid for college, then download my free book, Applying for Federal Financial Aid: The Definitive Guide for Students and Parents.
For more information about what happens after you graduate, get my free book, I Graduated; Now What? A Guide to Dealing with Your Student Loans.
You can also access the latest news on student loans, get answers to Frequently Asked Questions, and read articles in my Library. Continue to educate yourself as you go through the process of making smart decisions about college financing!
