When deciding on what college or university to attend, some people may be worried by the high cost of a good education. Fortunately, there is financial aid available to those who qualify. Financial aid is need-based assistance to help students fund college with additional student contributions to tuition that must be repaid with added interest. Luckily, most aid payments can be deferred until after a student finishes their college education.

Those who qualify for need-based aid can be determined by taking the total cost of attendance for the college or university and subtracting the estimated amount of what the family can afford (EFC). The EFC is also known as the Expected Family Contribution which is calculated using the information a family provides on their FAFSA forms (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

Applying for financial aid is easy. To begin, fill out the FAFSA form to determine your eligibility for grants. FAFSA is accepted by most colleges and can also qualify you for federal loans. It is important to note that the FAFSA form should be completed around January 1^st or soon after since the funds for financial aid taper off as more students receive their money. Please visit www.fafsa.ed.gov to complete your FAFSA form.

The next step is to fill out the College Board’s financial aid profile if your school requires this more in-depth application. Some schools do not, and most of the schools that do are private. A list of schools that require this form can be found here.

The last step is to make sure that you have completed all forms that are required for your school. To double check, make sure you call your school’s financial aid office.

There are many types of aid to help you pay for college. Besides for need-based aid, there are many other scholarships and grants available. These can come from the U.S. Government, your college, your home state, or nonprofit or private organizations. Please visit www.finaid.org/otheraid to see a list of aid options most suitable for you.

Colleges can also offer many scholarships for their students. These scholarships can be merit scholarships for academics, athletic scholarships for those high performing students- athletes, minority scholarships, women scholarships, and community service scholarships. It is important to apply for scholarships early so as not to miss the deadline. Most scholarships applications require an essay from the student that allows them to show their personality, writing skills, and explanations for why they are qualified for that particular scholarship.

Loans are also available to students to pay for college. There are various loans to apply for that can be awarded to students; some with high interest and others with no interest at all. Some of the most common types of loans are listed below:

Federal Stafford Loan:

This loan can be for long-term and is low-interest. There are two forms; subsidized and unsubsidized. The difference between the two is the interest that is paid. The subsidized loan’s interest is paid by the federal government while the student is in school while the unsubsidized loan’s interest is accrued during the years the student is attending school.

Federal Perkins Loan:

The Perkins loan offers low interest loans to students who show exceptional need for financial help. Repayment for this loan begins 9 months after the student graduates from their school and must be repaid within 10 years. The interest for this loan is paid by the federal government while the student is in school and is fixed at 5%.

Parent Loan (PLUS):

The parent loan is awarded to parents of dependent students. The parent does not need to have any specific income level, but must have good standing credit to be awarded the loan. The maximum amount that can be borrowed by parents is determined by the difference between the cost of attending the college and any other financial aid that was awarded to the student.

Institutional Loan:

Loans provided by your school would be considered institutional loans. These loans are not federally provided and are similar to private loans. The repayment and interest of these loans will vary from school to school. Call your school to learn more about this loan and their specific terms.

Private Loan:

Private loans are non-federal aid provided to the student or the parent. These loans can vary for their amounts, interest rates, and repayment options. It is important that the borrower be responsible when applying for private loans as these typically do not have any deferment options that most federally provided loans have. This is a good option for students and families that do not qualify for the above forms of aid.

Although most schools provide financial assistance to their students, not all schools are generous. Taken from cbsnews.com, below is a list of the 63 most generous colleges and universities when it comes to providing assistance:

1. Amherst College
2. Barnard College
3. Bates College
4. Boston College
5. Bowdoin College
6. Brown University
7. Bryn Mawr College
8. California Institute of Technology
9. Carleton College
10. Claremont McKenna College
11. Colby College
12. Colgate University
13. College of the Holy Cross
14. Columbia University
15. Connecticut College
16. Cornell University
17. Dartmouth College
18. Davidson College
19. Duke University
20. Emory University
21. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
22. Georgetown University
23. Gettysburg College
24. Grinnell College
25. Hamilton College
26. Harvard University
27. Harvey Mudd College
28. Haverford College
29. Macalester College
30. MIT
31. Middlebury College
32. Mount Holyoke College
33. Northwestern University
34. Oberlin College
35. Occidental College
36. Pitzer College
37. Pomona College
38. Princeton University
39. Reed College
40. Rice University
41. Scripps College
42. Smith College
43. St. Olaf College
44. Stanford University
45. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
46. Swarthmore College
47. Thomas Aquinas College
48. Trinity College
49. Tufts University
50. University of Chicago
51. University of Dayton
52. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
53. University of Northern Colorado
54. University of Pennsylvania
55. University of Richmond
56. University of Virginia
57. Vassar College
58. Washington and Lee University
59. Washington University, St. Louis
60. Wellesley College
61. Wesleyan University
62. Williams College
63. Yale University