Minnesota
Professional Development Council - Financial Aid for
Credit-Based Training
|
|
Making sense of financial
aid for education may seem like a challenge.
There are many resources to assist students, but
wading through it all can be overwhelming.
This page contains some of the basic information
that students need to know to begin planning for
educational costs. This page is specifically
designed to help Early Childhood and School Age
Care providers pursue credit-based training.
The information below is relevant to financial
aid for community and technical colleges as well
as four year colleges and universities.
Most colleges and universities will have a financial
aid office which will help current and prospective
students. Make sure that you contact these
offices to find out about any additional scholarship
or grant programs which they might have for their
own students. For links to specific institutions,
check out the Higher Ed Links.
You can read the page by scrolling
down or use the following links to bring you to
specific sections.
TYPES
OF FINANCIAL AID
|
Scholarships and
Awards |
Scholarships and awards
are forms of aid that do not require employment
or repayment. Most scholarships are based
on study in a particular field, or are set aside
for students with particular interests, from particular
regions of the country or under-represented groups.
Scholarships and awards are available from numerous
public and private sector sources.
Merit-based scholarships are awarded on
the basis of academic performance
without regard for financial need.
Private sector scholarships are given
by groups that are independent of collages and
universities, such as community organizations,
corporations and ROTC scholarships.
Institution Scholarships are given by
the college or university you are attending and
include awards for specific majors, fellowships
and athletic scholarships. |
|
Grants |
Grants are a need based
form of financial aid money that does not require
employment or repayment. Numerous private
organizations and government agencies offer grants
to students in all fields of study. |
|
Federal Work
Study |
Federal Work Study is
a need-based program in which the student works
part time at a particular job on or off campus.
The federal government pays 50-90 percent of the
student's wages, and the employer pays the remainder. |
|
Loans |
Loans are a form of
financial aid that must be repaid, with interest
unless otherwise noted (i.e. subsidized Stafford
loans described below). |
|
Forgivable Loans |
This type of loan does
not have to be repaid if the student fulfills
some agreement, usually the completion of the
program and/or post-school work in a particular
occupation or field. |
FINANCIAL
AID FORMS
| The Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to
apply for most federal and state loan, grant,
and scholarship programs.. When you submit
the FAFSA to the U.S. Department of Education,
they forward the information to the state student
assistance agency. This form can be requested
by mail or filled out online, for more information,
use the link below.
U.S. Department
of Education-Free Application for Student Aid
(FAFSA) |
Federal
Programs
|
Pell Grants |
Need-based
aid money that does not require employment or
repayment |
|
Supplemental
Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG) |
Need-based
aid money that does not require employment or
repayment |
|
Perkins Loan |
A needs
based subsidized loan awarded to undergraduate
and graduate students. This program is campus
based, with the school acting as the lender using
a limited pool of funds provided by the federal
government. Interest on Perkins Loans is
paid by the federal government while the student
is in school and for 9 months afterwards.
There is a ten year repayment period. |
|
PLUS
Loan |
A loan for
parents, intended to help them cover any educational
costs not already covered by the student's financial
aid package, up to the full cost of attendance. |
|
Stafford
Loan |
A need-based,
variable interest rate loan made to students based
on need. Stafford Loans can be either subsidized
or unsubsidized. With a Subsidized Stafford
Loan, the Government pays the interest as long
as the student is in school and taking at least
six credit hours. With an unsubsidized loan,
the student has the choice of paying the interest
while in school or allowing it to be added to
the principal. Repayment of both types of
loans begins six months after the student has
stopped taking classes. |
|
Institutional
Aid |
Individual
colleges and universities offer scholarships and
awards. For a list of institution-specific
financial aid, contact the school's financial
aid office. |
FEDERAL TAX CREDITS FOR HIGHER
ED
|
HOPE Scholarship |
The $1500 HOPE Scholarship is designed to make
the first two years of college and university
available. For students in the first two
years of college (or other available credit-based
post-secondary training, including both years
of a community or technical college program),
taxpayers will be eligible for a tax credit equal
to 100% of the first $1000 of tuition and fees
and 50% of the second $1000 (i.e. you can reduce
your federal taxable income by up to $1500 depending
on the cost of your classes). The credit
can be claimed for two taxable years.
For more information, click the link below.
Office
of Vocational and Adult Education: Hope Scholarship
|
|
Lifetime Learning
Credit |
The Lifetime Learning
Credit is available for college juniors, seniors,
graduate students and working Americans pursuing
lifetime learning to upgrade their skills.
For those beyond the first two years of college,
or taking classes part-time to improve or upgrade
their job skills, the family will receive a 20%
tax credit for first $5000 of tuition and fees
through 2002 and for the first $10000 thereafter.
The credit is available for net tuition and fees
(less grant aid) paid for post-secondary enrollment.
For more information click the link below.
Office
of Vocational and Adult Education: Lifetime Learning
Credit |
| Federal Student
Aid Hotline |
1-800-4FED-AID |
MINNESOTA
DCFL FORGIVABLE LOANS
| The Minnesota
Department of Children, Families and Learning
has set up a forgivable loans program using funds
from the federal Child Care Development Black
Grant Program. Eligible students can receive
as much as $1500 for credit-based training in
Early Childhood or School Age Care.
To learn more, see the section on Forgivable
Loans. |
|
Other
Financial Aid Resources/Links
Organizations
American Association
of University Women(AAUW)
AAUW Education Foundation
2201 N. Dodge Street
Iowa City, IA 52243 4030
(319) 337-1716 |
The AAUW promotes education and equity for women
and girls. They offer direct support to
women through fellowships, grants and awards;
research; voter education; educational resources;
grassroots activism; community action projects;
and legal assistance against sexual discrimination
in higher education. |
Business and Professional
Women's Foundation
2012 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 293-1200 |
This organization keeps a list of scholarships
and fellowships aimed at women age 30 and over,
who are going back to school to update or improve
their career skills, train for a new career, or
re-enter the job market. |
| Much of this information
was adapted from a booklet developed by Corey
Egge, Cesilee Fidler and Cari Olmsted from the
Region X Quality Center at the Early Childhood
Training Center, School of Extended Studies, Portland
State University. |
The
Mn PD Council's Web site is available solely in English at the present
time. However, several Internet sites offer free translation
tools to users who wish to view our Web site in another language.
The following sites provide translations from English to a
number of other languages including: Chinese, French, German,
Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish."
AltaVista
Babelfish Translation http://babelfish.altavista.com/
Prompt's Online Translator http://www.translate.ru/
The
Mn PD Council assumes no responsibility for the availability or
accuracy of the translation Web sites to which we provide
links.
|
