Financial Aid/Scholarship Opportunities | High School and Beyond

*Information & graphics gathered in part by the

University of the Pacific (2024) and the CA Student Aid Commission (2024)

• Don’t pay for a college scholarship search engine.
• Look for local (vs. national) scholarship opportunities; often there are less applicants.
• Ask friends/family for scholarship opportunities through their employers.
• Don't wait for admission to a school - many scholarship deadlines are early!

• • Offered directly by universities.
  • Often dependent on GPA/test scores.
  • Varying application dates for consideration.

• • • Online: fastweb.com, scholarships.com.
    • Foundations, religious, community, ethnicity-based organizations, local businesses, or civic groups.
    • Organizations/professional associations in your field of interest.
    • Your employer or parents’ employer.

Grants

Pell Grant (Federal)

Cal Grant (State0

Institutional Grants  

• Amounts and eligibility vary from school to school.

Federal Parent & Student Loans

Federal student loan options

Federal parent loan options: 

• Parent PLUS loan – up to the remaining cost of attendance
• Approval based on credit 
• Flexible repayment options and loan forgiveness opportunities

Cost of Attendance

• Each school will have their own cost of attendance: even CSU/UC and CC will vary from school to school.
• Direct costs vs. indirect costs: 
• Direct costs: expenses that have to be paid such as tuition, fees, books, housing (if living on-campus).
• Indirect costs: expenses you may come across to help you budget wisely for the year such as personal expenses, transportation, supplies, etc. 

Offer Letters

Each school sends out an offer letter with student’s aid eligibility.

• Layouts may be very different – look for: 
• Total direct costs 
• Loans vs. free money
• Total due after grants, scholarships, and student loans applied 
• Renewal terms 
• Verification requirements