How does the whole scholarship process work?

Answered

Hey @poisonivy,

I'd like to add some extra clarify here - colleges will award Financial Aid depending on how much your family makes and can afford for college. That's why it's SO important to file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which will be sent to the schools you're applying to. For example, schools will see from the FAFSA that your family can afford $X/year for college. Then each school decides (separately) how much financial aid to give you. Very generous schools will give you the entire difference between what FAFSA says you can afford and how much the school costs per year. Other schools might give you less aid or even no aid at all, so they'll be asking you to pay MORE than FAFSA claims your family can afford.

Financial aid packages that schools give out can include scholarships, but there are other types of scholarships too - Merit Scholarships and Private Scholarships.

Merit Scholarships are given to students from the colleges based on their application/profile (not their financial situation.) Sometimes these scholarships come automatically and other times you have to write an additional essay or fill out an application -- it all depends on the school. So I'd recommend looking at the school's website for more information.

Private Scholarships are scholarships that aren't tied to a specific school. They can come through companies, your high school, your community, or other organizations. You typically have to apply to these scholarships, and the scholarship applications often require an essay. You can typically use these scholarships toward the cost of any school you attend.

Hope this helps!