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How to Find Schools with the Best Financial Aid
Last week we explained how schools use your FAFSA data to calculate your estimated financial need. This week we’re going to tell you about an incredibly helpful tool to help you identify schools that fit both your interests AND your budget.
It's important to find schools that have the major, location, and/or student body size that are right for you, but it's also important to have multiple schools on your list that are affordable. How do you find schools that meet all of those criteria? Start by using the College Board’s Big Future college search tool.
First, search based on major, location, type of school, and/or campus life. You’ll then see a list of schools that meet your criteria. To filter your list further and find schools that offer better financial aid, click on "Affordability" near the top of the page. Under “Financial Need Met,” select the "90% or more" option to find schools that meet at least 90% of financial need. These percentages are only averages, but they provide a good starting point when building your list of schools.
Once you have some schools on your list, you'll be able to dig in further and go beyond looking at averages. Start working on building your list of schools, and next week we'll share a tool to help you get an estimate of what a specific school will cost you. Stay tuned, and we'll connect again next Thursday.
Have Fun Building Your List!
Searching for colleges can be really exciting—the possibilities are endless! Did you know there are more than 3,800 colleges in the United States alone?
The Big Future college search tool makes searching for schools easy and allows you to focus on what matters most to you. You can search based on location, major, type of school, or aspects of campus life. Do you know what you want to study, or are you looking for a school where you can explore your options? Do you want to go to a large school where there are always new people to meet or a smaller school where most faces become familiar? How important are campus activities, and what types of experiences do you want to have? Make sure to check out the "Affordability" filter to find schools that cover a high percentage of financial need—you'll want to have financial flexibility after college, too!
For many students, researching schools is when the idea of college starts to feel real! It’s an important step in creating the future you want. And let’s be honest, it's more fun than learning about the FAFSA! Enjoy this step, and know that we're here to help in any way we can. Call us at 800-228-3734 (TTY: 207-626-2717), or send us an email at Education@FAMEmaine.com.
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