This guide is intended to assist financial aid officers interpret the coding on the Student Aid Report (SAR), which is sent directly to students, and on the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR), which is sent directly to institutions, in order to help students make the necessary corrections to their financial aid application data. The…

This guide advises students about college costs and how to pay them. The booklet explains financial aid and how it can help a student reach his or her educational goals. Merit-based and need-based aid programs are described, and the family's expected financial contribution is explained. The process of obtaining and completing the Free Application…

This document answers questions about the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) used to determine eligibility for financial aid at institutions of higher education. Answers are provided for the following questions: What is the EFC? What is the source of data used for EFC calculations? Who processes the application and how is the student notified?…

This guide, written in Spanish, describes federal student aid programs for postsecondary education and how to apply for them. It begins by outlining sources for learning about student aid, such as school financial aid administrators, state higher education agencies, foundations, organizations related to particular fields of interest and toll-free…

It is now possible to use the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program, along with the College Work-Study program, as a tool to restrict unreasonable borrowing for the majority of students who need financial assistance. A new aid packaging methodology initiated by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is described. (MLW)

This survey concludes that, overall, student debt has not caused most borrowers to make lifestyles changes nor regret their educational investment. Discussion analyzes borrower debt levels; payment-to-income and debt-to-income ratios; noneducation debt burden; student perceptions about borrowing and debt; effect of borrowing on decision making;…

Due to the increasing complexity in the financial aid process and the movement of available financial aid up the economic scale, poor people and minorities have less access to college, including engineering programs. Some impediments are lack of access to knowledge about college, increasing complexity and up-front costs in the application process…

The Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) is an independent, nonprofit research center based in Washington, DC that is dedicated to researching public policy and economic issues relating to postsecondary education. CCAP aims to facilitate a broader dialogue that challenges conventional thinking about costs, efficiency and…

Almost everyone agrees that colleges have become costly to attend and are a growing burden on society to finance. Rising tuition costs threaten the ability and desire of students to attend college. Are there things that can be done to significantly reduce the cost of college? The answer is an emphatic "yes." The Center for College Affordability…

Designed to help high school guidance counselors advise students about financial aid for postsecondary education, this handbook provides information on sources of aid from programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The guide is divided into three parts: (1) General Information about Postsecondary Opportunities; (2) The Application…

Designed to help high school guidance counselors advise students about financial aid for postsecondary education, this handbook provides information on sources of aid from programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The guide is divided into three parts: (1) General Information about Postsecondary Opportunities; (2) The Application…

This study examined the availability of federally subsidized Stafford student loans for postsecondary education in light of recent legislated changes, specifically the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 and the Student Loan Reform Act of 1993, which authorized the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, brought changes to the Federal Family…

This guide is intended to help financial aid administrators (FAAs) interpret student financial aid information that appears in the Student Aid Report (SAR), a paper output document sent to the student, or in an Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR), which is an electronic record sent to the institution. The guide explains the codes and…

This Handbook was designed to help high school guidance counselors advise students in seeking financial aid for postsecondary education. The information provided concentrates on sources of aid from the programs administered by the United States Department of Education. The guide is divided into three parts: (1) General Information about…

The report presents information collected by the U.S. General Accounting Office on the Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) program, which provides market rate loans to postsecondary students in addition to, or in lieu of, other financial aid such as Stafford Loans and Pell grants. Some of the data are as follows: over $3.2 billion in SLS loans…