What is financial aid exactly?

Financial aid is money to help pay for college or career school. Grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships help make college or career school affordable. A variety of financial aid sources are available to help you pay for college or career school.

Students have to pay back financial aid if it is in the form of a loan, but they do not have to pay back grants, scholarships or money awarded through a work-study program. Students eligible for grants or scholarships should exhaust those options before taking out any loans, experts say.

To apply for financial aid from the federal government, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at fafsa.gov. Your school will use information from your FAFSA to compile your financial aid offer, which may include a combination of grants, loans, and work-study.

If you receive a refund from unused federal student loan money, you're free to keep it, but remember you're still borrowing that money. You will need to pay any federal loan money refunded to you, with interest, starting six to nine months after you graduate.

The FAFSA is not a loan. It is an application form. However, you can use the FAFSA to apply for financial aid and federal student loans. The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is used to apply for several types of financial aid, including grants, student employment and federal student loans.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form applies to a single academic year. That means you need to submit a FAFSA form each year—and make sure you meet the FAFSA deadlines for state and college aid to maximize the aid you could receive.

Financial aid helps students cover tuition, room and board, travel expenses to the school, textbooks, school supplies, and even laptops. That's right! You can actually use your financial aid to buy a laptop if it's something you need for school.

Students who wish to keep the FAFSA refund check can still spend the money wisely. Spending a loan refund can include: Paying for books and campus meal plans. Paying for transportation to and from school.

Your FAFSA status can be found on the “My FAFSA” page, which displays immediately after you log in if you have already started or completed a FAFSA form. To check on the status of financial aid being disbursed to you or your account, check with the financial aid office at your college or career school.

Our general eligibility requirements include that you have financial need, are a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen, and are enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program at your college or career school. There are more eligibility requirements you must meet to qualify for federal student aid.

The amount of money you can get by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) depends on your financial need. But, the maximum amount can be in the low tens of thousands of dollars per year. Average amounts are about $9,000, with less than half of that in the form of grants.

Three to five days if you completed your forms online and provided an email address. Seven to 10 days if you submitted your forms online but didn't provide an email address. Three weeks if you file a paper FAFSA.

You are legally allowed to keep money from your Pell Grant and use it for non-education expenses. However, you must keep track of what you do not spend on education and report this as income on your taxes.

Typically, award letters will begin to arrive in March or April after you've received an accepted decision. The award letter will come around the same time as acceptance letters from your schools, typically around March or April.

Most colleges do not create award packages for every applicant who lists the college on a FAFSA form. You should contact the financial aid office at the college you plan to attend for information about applying for aid at that college.