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Financial Aid

Prepare for Tomorrow

An essential step toward a bright future involves securing financing for a college education. Learn more about preparing financially for your child’s education.

Checklists for Academic and Financial Preparation

Below are checklists with the steps you can take to help your child’s chances of getting into—and being able to afford—the school of their choice.

Types of Financial Aid

The two most common types of financial aid are merit scholarships and need-based assistance. Learn about other types of financial aid and watch for financial aid scams.

Merit Scholarships

Merit scholarships are based on grades, athletics, or service. You may be competing with a national pool of applicants. One alternative may be to search for scholarships that are local to your city or state. Completing a scholarship search is the best way to begin. Try fastweb.com or scholarships.com.

Financial Aid Based on Need

Many students receive need-based financial aid. Completion of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in October of your senior year is essential in this process. You should, however, complete a financial estimator form to determine just how much college will cost you before you get your FAFSA results. The FAFSA provides numerous video resources to help in filling out the application and answering questions.

Financial Aid Estimator Tools

Finances are an important part of the decision making process for college. We have several resources that can help you determine your expected financial aid and budget.

Scholarship Search Resources

  • Florida Scholarships and Grants: List of State of Florida Grant and Scholarship Programs administered by the Office of Student Financial Assistance.
  • Southern Scholarship Foundation: Southern Scholarship Foundation provides scholarship opportunities for students attending or planning to attend: Florida State University, Florida A&M University, University of Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Tallahassee Community College, and Santa Fe College.

    SSF provides rent-free scholarship housing for qualified students demonstrating academic achievement (with a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA), financial need (as identified on the FAFSA), and good character. With our scholarship, students save $10,000 - $12,000 per year.

  • Fastweb: One of the largest scholarship search tools available. Complete the online profile and Fastweb allows you to search over 1.5 million scholarships.
  • NAEHCY LeTendre Scholarship: The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth provides scholarship assistance to students who are homeless or have experienced homelessness during their Kindergarten–12th grade school attendance, and who have demonstrated average or higher than average achievement. Applicants may be high school seniors, students enrolled in a GED or other alternative education program, or recent graduates/GED recipients.
  • National Merit Scholarship Program: The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).
  • Quest Bridge College Prep Scholarships: The College Prep Scholarship awards give high-achieving, low-income juniors the tools they need to prepare successful applications to top colleges, and helps them understand that the generous financial aid at these colleges makes attending affordable–if not free. The awards include full scholarships to college summer programs, invitations to National College Admissions conferences, and more.
  • College Board: College Board’s scholarship search allows you to enter your information to find matches from over 24,000 programs, totaling over $1.5 billion scholarship dollars yearly. 
  • Scholarships.com: Scholarships.com is a free college scholarship search platform that matches you to college scholarships you qualify for.
  • Appily: Appily hosts the nation’s largest, multi-billion dollar scholarship database— create a free account to see all of your personalized matches and start applying today