Paying for School

• College can be a very expensive experience. However, there are many different ways that a student can help pay for college. He could apply for scholarships, grants, fellowships and loans. A college grant is an award that a student receives from the federal or state government, which he does not have to pay back.
  
  

Different Types

• There are two different types of college grants: direct and pass-through. A direct college grant is paid to the student directly from the federal government. A pass-through grant can be received when the state applies for it to the government, and it is then passed back to the state, and then to the student. The most common type of grant awarded is the federal Pell Grant, a direct grant.
  
  

Applying

• FAFSA
  
  If a student is applying for financial aid, he must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. He could do this by paper or through the FAFSA website. See the Resources for a link. To fill out a FAFSA form, a student needs to put down his own financial and school information as well as his parents' financial information. A grant is awarded based upon the estimated cost for attendance, estimated family contribution and enrollment status, among other factors.
  
  

Receiving the Grant

• Once the student's FAFSA form has been processed, he will be sent a Student Aid Report (SAR). This will indicate how much financial aid the government is willing to give him. The SAR is also sent to the student's school. Once the school receives the SAR and the student has started classes, there are three different ways the student will receive the grant money: it will be credited to their school account, the student will be paid directly by check or direct deposit, or some grant money will go to the account and the student will receive the rest. The student receives the grant money directly from the school, not the government.
  
  

Paying for the Grant

• The main difference between a student loan and grant, is that the student does not have to pay for the grant. Although, the grant is taxable, the student needs to report all the money that he receives from the government when he does his taxes.