By Christina Good Voice
Staff Writer

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – As high school seniors buckle down for the last leg of their high school career, many will apply for admission to college, financial aid, student loans and housing. 

This guide can help students and their parents who may not know where to start in the college process, which can be confusing and overwhelming. 

It starts with the FAFSA

According to the Cherokee Nation Higher Education Office, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid starts the process when applying for federal a Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), state-based grants and federal student loans.

CN Higher Education officials said when a student initially completes a FAFSA, several items are needed. Those items include: 
•	A personal identification number or PIN, which students and parents can apply for at www.pin.ed.gov. Once the pin has been obtained, the FAFSA may be filled out online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. FAFSA applications may also be filled out and mailed in.
•	Social Security numbers, parents’ information, driver’s license number, alien registration number if not a U.S. citizen, federal tax information for both the student and the parents (including W-2 information) and records of untaxed income such as Social Security benefits, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits and veterans benefits.
 










  

 
   

 
        

 
           

 
           
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FAFSAs are available after Jan. 1 each year. It is recommended that students get their FAFSAs in as quickly as possible to avoid missing out on state and federal aid since state and university deadlines are usually earlier than the federal deadline in June.

What’s the difference between grants and student loans?

There are actually three types of federal student aid: grants, work study and student loans, according to www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov.

A grant is financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid unless, for example, a student withdraws from school and owes a refund. Work study is a campus job that allows a student to earn money for education. Loans allow students to borrow money for their education, and the loans must be repaid with interest. 

Grants

The five types of federal student aid grants are Pell, FSEOG, ACG, National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (National SMART) and Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH). 

The Pell provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain post-baccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education, according to the student aid Web site. Grant amounts are dependent on the student’s expected family contribution (EFC), the cost of attendance as determined by the institution, the student’s enrollment status (full-time or part-time) and whether the student attends for a full academic year or less.

The FSEOG is awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need – those with the lowest EFC amounts. Pell recipients receive priority for FSEOG awards, which range from $100 to $4,000 a year. The amount of the award is determined by your school’s financial aid office. 

For the ACG, the maximum award for a first-year eligible undergraduate student is $750, while the maximum award for a second-year eligible undergraduate student is $1,300.

To get the ACG, students must be Pell-eligible during the same award year and be enrolled at least half-time in college. Students must be a first-year or second-year undergraduate student or a student in a certificate program of at least one year in a degree program at a two-year or four-year degree granting institution and have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study. 

Students must be a first-year student; have completed secondary school after Jan. 1, 2006; not have been enrolled in ACG-eligible program while at or below age of compulsory school attendance. Or if a second-year student, have completed secondary school after Jan. 1, 2005, and have at least a 3.0 grade point average as of the end of the first year of undergraduate study. 

The National SMART Grant is for full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the third or fourth year of undergraduate study. The award is for up to $4,000 for each of the third and fourth years. To be eligible for the grant, students must be Pell-eligible during the same award year, enrolled at least half-time, in the third or fourth year of an undergraduate degree program (or fifth year of a five-year program), pursuing a major with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA in physical, life or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, engineering or a critical foreign language or non-major single liberal arts programs, and have at least a 3.0 GPA as of the end of the second award year and continue to maintain a 3.0 GPA that must be checked prior to the beginning of each payment period. 

The TEACH Grant provides up to $4,000 a year in assistance to students completing or who plan to complete course work needed to begin a career in teaching.

A student must sign an Agreement to Serve as a full-time teacher at certain low-income schools and within certain high-need fields for at least four academic years within eight years after completing or ceasing enrollment in the course of study for which the student received a grant.

TEACH Grant recipients must submit evidence of employment as certified by the chief administrative officer of the school upon completion of each year of teaching service.

If the grant recipient fails or refuses to carry out the teaching obligation, the amounts of the grants received are treated as an unsubsidized direct loan and must be repaid with interest.

Full-time students may receive $4,000 per year, up to a maximum of $16,000 for undergraduate and post baccalaureate study and up to a maximum of $8,000 for graduate study.

Amounts are prorated for less than full-time enrollment. The award, when combined with other assistance cannot exceed cost of attendance, and the EFC is not taken into account.

Student loans 

According to the student aid Web site, students should consider federal aid first because federal student loans usu¬ally offer borrowers lower interest rates and have more flexible repayment options than private student loans. 

Federal student loans are borrowed funds that students must repay with interest, and the loans al¬lows students and their parents to borrow money to help pay for college through loan programs supported by the federal government. They have low interest rates and offer flexible repayment terms, benefits and options.

One type of federal student loan is the Subsidized Stafford Loan in which the U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on the loan while the borrower is in school, as well as during grace and deferment periods. Students must be enrolled at least half -time.

The Unsubsidized Stafford Loan means the borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status. Students must be enrolled at least half-time and interest begins to accrue from the date of disbursement and continues throughout the life of the loan.

Parents can also apply for a PLUS Loan to help pay for their dependent child’s undergraduate education. PLUS Loans allows parents to obtain unsubsidized loans to help pay the cost of education for their dependent undergraduate children. The loans do accrue interest and there are no grace periods.

Information was based on the academic year 2009-10, according to CN Higher Education. For more information, contact a local school guidance counselor. 

Reach Staff Writer Christina Good Voice at (918) 207-3825 or christina-goodvoice@cherokee.org