I’m Definetly going to need aid when going to college. I’m looking for colleges I’m interested in right now and was wondering which one will give how much aid? How do I look up that info?
Run the Net Price Calculator on each school’s web site.
For merit aid, you need to look up each school that interests you and see if they offer merit aid. You’ll have to see if it’s automatically offered for certain scores and GPA, or if it’s competitive, i.e., only offered to certain students.
There is a list here that I’ll try to find that has schools that offer merit. However, it changes yearly as the schools change their policies, so you need to be careful to check back to each school of interest early in the fall of the year you are applying.
Here is one list: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
Every school is required to have a Net Price Calculator on its website, usually under tuition and costs section. You will need your family’s tax forms and banking info (it is anonymous), and the calculator immediately processes the info to identify your family’s Expected Financial Contribution (EFC) and, if you are eligible for financial aid, what form that would take – grants, loans, work study.
Many families are not eligible for any financial aid (full pay) but cannot write checks for the full amount of college costs, and so search for merit awards, which are not need based. Many large public colleges have automatic merit awards based on a student’s gpa and test scores, the first place to start is your own public university campuses to see what you would be eligible for. Then, spend some time on the Financial Aid and Scholarship Board.
Good luck!