Paying for College

Financial aid is money to help pay for school and there are several types. Grants and Scholarships will reduce your overall college costs, while loans and work study are ways to help pay for your college expenses.   

Grants

Grants are gift aid based solely on financial need. You don't have to repay grants unless you withdraw from school and owe a refund. Grants can come from the federal government, your state government, your college or career school, or a private or nonprofit organization. 

Scholarships

Scholarships are gift aid, based on financial need and/or merit, and don't need to be paid back. They are either renewable, meaning the student can receive it each year of college, or one-time, meaning they are given once and do not reoccur. Students of any age can apply to and qualify for college scholarships - it is never too early to begin your college search!

Loans

The U.S. Department of Education offers federal low-interest loans to eligible students and parents to help cover the cost of college or career school. 

• Direct Subsidized Loans: Available to undergraduate students who have financial need; government pays the interest on the loan while you are enrolled in school.

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans: Available to undergraduate and graduate students; interest begins accruing as soon as the loan is dispersed, including while you are still enrolled in school.

• Direct PLUS Loans: Available to parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid; eligibility is not based on financial need.

Although federal student loans usually have more benefits, loans are also available from private sources, such as a bank or financial institution, or from other organizations.

Work Study

Federal Work-Study jobs help students earn money to pay for college or career school. Students will work part-time on or off campus while enrolled.

Thanks to financial aid, many students pay less than a college's sticker price. The sticker price is often advertised as "Cost of Attendance" on a college's website. When researching colleges and comparing costs, it's best to use the net price for a school. The net price is the real price you’ll pay for one year of tuition, room, and board at a college.

Cost of Attendance (Sticker Price)	Net Price	Net Price Calculator
Cost of Attendance (COA) is the sticker price colleges publish on their websites for prospective students. It's the fully loaded price of every component of cost, including tuition, room, and board.	Net Price is the amount a student pays to attend a college after subtracting scholarships and grants the student receives.  Formula: Cost of Attendance - Scholarships & Grants = Net Price	Most colleges offer an online calculator to estimate the net price you'll pay to attend. The calculator tells you what students like you paid in previous years, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account. These estimates provide important context for how your cost will differ between colleges. Find a college's Net Price Calculator

 

Some schools require the FAFSA, others require the CSS Profile, and some require both.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

What is the FAFSA?

The FAFSA form is an application for federal student aid. Students should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) every year to qualify for need-based financial aid. 

The FAFSA allows you to: 

• Access aid from the federal and state governments

• Get qualified by colleges for additional institutional aid

• Provide private scholarships with information about financial need

Filling out the FAFSA is optional. It's not needed to apply or attend college. Colleges will communicate your financial aid offers to you in your acceptance letter or before their decision deadline.

Do I need to fill out the FAFSA?

We recommend everyone fill out the FAFSA:

• Don't assume your family makes too much money; each institution has their own method for determining how aid is issued.

• It's required for any federal student or parent loan, regardless of income.

• Colleges may want to make sure a student has maximized need-based aid before awarding merit aid.

• Unforeseeable financial events can happen; your situation may change and having a FAFSA on file can give you a leg up.

FAFSA Deadline

The FAFSA deadlines set at the school, state and federal level. The application opens on October 1st each year and it is recommended you apply as soon as possible after that date. The FAFSA form must be submitted no later than June 30. Note: Each college has its own FAFSA priority deadline, usually found on their financial aid website. Submit by this date to receive the most money from that college. 

WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid)

Washington State students who are undocumented or do not qualify for federal financial aid because of their immigration status should complete the Washington Application For State Financial Aid (WASFA). The WASFA can also be used in limited circumstances by other select applicants who cannot file a FAFSA.

College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile

The CSS Profile is application for nonfederal student aid, used in addition to the FAFSA, to award aid to students. It is used mostly by private institutions or institutions that have large endowments. The CollegeBoard maintains a list of Participating Institutions and Programs on their website. 

Need-based

Need-based scholarships are awarded based on a student’s ability to pay for college. Need-based scholarships are often determined by your FAFSA/WASFA application and/or your CSS Profile, although some colleges have their own financial review processes. 

In our state, the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) offers several Washington need-based financial aid programs. In particular, our College and Career center is knowledgeable about the College Bound Scholarship and here to help. College Bound is an early commitment of state financial aid to eligible students (automatically enrolled in middle school) and meet the pledge requirements. 

Merit-based

Merit-based scholarships do not consider a student’s financial situation. Merit-based scholarships usually require some type of application, and can be awarded based on a combination of factors including merit. Merit aid is financial aid that does not consider a student's financial need, but rather is awarded based on academic, athletic, artistic, or special interest.

High School Scholarships

Many school districts and high schools provide scholarships to their students. Scholarships available to Liberty students include:

• The Liberty Booster Club awards LHS Booster Club Senior Awards to graduating seniors each year. 

• Issaquah Schools Foundation offers Impact Scholarships to juniors or seniors who have been positively impacted by Foundation-funded programs.

• The Issaquah Rotary Foundation offers student scholarships to graduating seniors from Issaquah, Liberty, and Gibson Ek High Schools each year.

• Two Liberty seniors are nominated for a WSU Regents Scholarship each year

Scholarships and Grants from Schools

Colleges offer a variety of scholarships and grant opportunities designed specifically for students that attend their school. Students can receive scholarships and grants based solely upon their application, and these are awarded to students along with their acceptance letters. Some colleges offer scholarships that additional application materials. Many colleges also keep scholarship lists or search engines with scholarships their students can apply for. Use the college website or contact the financial aid office of the school you plan to attend to learn more. 

Private Scholarships

Many scholarships are sponsored by foundations, civic groups, companies, banks, religious groups, professional organizations, charities, and individuals. Most private scholarships are only awarded for a single year. 

These are popular scholarship search tools students use:

• BigFuture Scholarship Search Requires sign-in; also requires you to add details to your profile before receiving any helpful scholarship matches

• GoingMerry.com their mission is to give every student truly equal access to life-changing education

• Washboard.org For Washington State students; requires setting up a profile to see matches

• Niche.com Search lists of scholarships by choosing a category or get matched to college scholarships for which you are eligible

• ScholarshipOwl.com is an innovative platform designed to dramatically speed up your scholarship application time. We'll match you with the award opportunities that best match your personality, grades, lifestyle, and more

• CareerOneStop.org (sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor) lists scholarships available for students pursuing vocational, associate, undergraduate and graduate degrees

The ISD High School College and Career Centers advertise scholarships we learn about from local community members and businesses on our Scholarship Calendar.

The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is an agreement between 16 WICHE states and territories in the Western U.S. which allows students to enroll as nonresidents in 160+ participating public colleges and universities and pay 150 percent (or less) of the enrolling institution’s resident tuition (rather than full, out-of-state tuition).  

Each school chooses how it will participate in the WUE. Some schools offer it to all qualifying students, some treat it as a scholarship, some only accept a percentage of qualifying students, and some allow only students in certain programs to participate.

The WUE handout provides a full list of participating schools, and the WUE Savings Finder can be used to see if a school (and specific program) participates.