KEY Scholarship FREE MONEY! Okay, now that we have your attention, KEY Magazine gives away a $1,000 scholarship every year to one lucky high school student. There are two ways you can be eligible to win a free check: • Fill out a response card available in KEY Magazine and mail it. • Or click here and fill out the appropriate fields and click submit. It's that easy!

Click here now to find out more information about the KEY scholarship!

Financial Aid

All the information you need for financing an education can be found on the Internet, at the library or by visiting with your high school guidance counselor. But realize that there are several paths that can be taken in paying for school, namely scholarships and grants, which do not have to be repaid, and various types of student loans that do.

Of course, the goal of most college-bound high schoolers (and especially their parents) is to track down free money.

FAFSA

• Complete the form in January when your family receives the necessary income statements from the previous year.
• Colleges and universities also use the FAFSA, but you may have to fill out additional forms. Find out the deadlines and requirements at the colleges you’re considering.
• Fill out the form correctly and include all appropriate signatures or processing will be delayed.
• The FAFSA tells you how much money your family will need to contribute to your college costs – your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC.
• You’ll usually receive your Student Aid Report three to four weeks after submitting the FAFSA. It will summarize the data you reported on the application. Check the information for accuracy.

Now the financial picture should be a little clearer, you should know whether or not you need to borrow and, if so, how much. But before taking out student loans, there is another option to picking up some free money, (besides borrowing from your parents) such as scholarships.

Scholarships

There are four major sources of scholarships:

• Federal government
• State government
• Post secondary institutions (endowments, etc.)
• Private sources (businesses, service clubs, fraternal and religious organizations)

Most scholarships fall under one of the two categories:

• Need-based scholarships are based on family income, savings, assets, etc. About 90 percent of scholarships are need-based.
• Non-need or merit-based scholarships are granted based on academics, musical talent, athletic ability, community service, etc. Regardless of family income, only about 10 percent of scholarships are non-need based.

Aside from doing some research on the Internet (see our Links page for additional help), keep your eyes and ears open and apply for every scholarship for which you are eligible. Here are a few other tips to pick up some extra cash for school:

• Apply for all scholarships for which you are eligible. You may not get a particular scholarship that you do apply for, but you’ll never get a scholarship that you don't apply for.
• Pay attention to deadlines. Applying late will eliminate you from consideration.
• Visit your high school guidance office regularly to check on the latest scholarship opportunities.
• Every little bit helps: apply for small grants, too. A cash-strapped student can always put $100 toward the cost of books.

Click here for more helpful hints and links to web sites with useful information and related links on loans, college searches and test preparation.