As this website has mentioned in a few prior articles, both scholarships and need-based financial aid are available for students entering certain educational programs. Although scholarships are usually based on merit, need-based financial aid is typically doled out based on the financial background of students and their family. As mentioned previously, I received generous need-based financial aid to attend both college and law school. These experiences have shown me how to be more eligible for financial aid, and there are a few strategies individuals can implement to receive additional financial assistance to earn a degree.
One of the factors that schools consider when giving out financial aid is the number of children in a given family that are attending school. It is assumed that parents have more trouble paying for the educations of more than one child at the same time. As a result, schools will oftentimes be more willing to dole out financial aid if you can show that siblings will be in college or graduate school at the same time.
As previously mentioned on this website, I am a triplet and I have older brothers who are twins. Of course, all of my triplet brothers and myself entered college at the same time. In addition, one of my older brothers attended law school while my triplet brothers and myself attended college.
Since three of my brothers were in school at the same time as me, I was able to receive generous financial assistance. Of course, I needed to submit information about my brothers, and how much financial assistance they were receiving themselves in order to be eligible for the most financial aid. However, all of my brothers and myself received more financial assistance because we were in school at the same time, and having family in school at the same time as you is one way how to be more eligible for financial aid.
Of course, people oftentimes attend school at set periods in their lives, so it is difficult to time when individuals enter school in order to be matriculated at the same time as siblings. However, there is oftentimes some flexibility when choosing when to earn a degree. And if you are able to time matriculating into school at the same point as a sibling is enrolled in an education program, this is one way how to be more eligible for financial aid.
Another way how to be more eligible for financial aid is to make certain employment decisions. Normally when universities make financial aid determinations, they consider both a student’s financial background and their parents’ ability to pay educational costs. Of course, students graduating from high school are not typically employed, so their employment background does not usually impact their eligibility for financial aid.
However, as previously mentioned, need-based financial aid is available at some graduate schools, including top-tier law schools. Sometimes people choose to work for a few years before entering graduate school in order to save money and gain work experiences. However, this income could negatively affect one’s ability to obtain need-based financial aid.
As such, one way how to be more eligible for financial aid is to go straight to graduate school from college. If one does this, they will not have an employment history that could impact their ability to obtain financial aid. In addition, if someone pursues unpaid internships during gap years between college and graduate school, they could also preserve their ability to obtain need-based financial aid during graduate school.
In addition, another way how to be more eligible for financial aid is to receive assistance from grandparents or other family members. Most universities only assess the financial background of parents when making financial aid determinations. These schools stick to the traditional notion that parents are usually the ones responsible for paying for a student’s education.
In reality, students may receive financial help from other members of their families. Uncles and aunts may provide assistance, and often grandparents will help students as they earn their degrees. Indeed, while I was a student, I relied on my grandparents much more than my parents.
My mother passed away when I was a teenager, and my father did not have the financial means to help me as a student or during my student debt repayment saga. Although my grandparents were not well off themselves, they provided me with financial assistance whenever they could. My grandparents never paid for my educational costs, but they helped me pay my seat deposit for the first law school I attended. In addition, my grandparents bought me a laptop as a student after the one I had used for years finally crapped out on me. In addition, my grandparents always let me crash with them on holidays and during summer recesses from school.
I am sure that even if schools took my grandparents into consideration, I would still have been eligible for financial aid, since my grandparents were not well off by any stretch of the imagination. However, it is still important to note that schools typically do not consider assistance that students may receive from family members other than parents when making financial aid determinations.
In the end, there are a few ways how to be more eligible for financial aid. Indeed, students can matriculate into educational programs at the same time as siblings, and can make employment decisions with financial aid in mind. By following these strategies, students can ensure they receive the most financial aid possible to earn their degrees.