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Clovis West

Part of the Clovis Unified School District

Scholarships & Financial Aid

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Financial Aid can help you afford college! In fact, most full-time college students receive some type of financial aid. While financial aid may help reduce the cost, it is important to remember college is NOT FREE! Students and their families are expected to contribute.

Free Application for federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application (CADAA)

The 2021-22 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application (CADAA) opens October 1, 2021. Your FAFSA or CADAA must be submitted by March 2, 2022 for Cal Grant consideration.

Attend a FREE Cash for College Workshop to receive help completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act (CADAA) and Chafee Grant for Foster Youth applications.

Don’t forget the documents needed to apply

For FAFSA!

Student social security number
Parents’ social security number dependent students
Drivers license number (if applicable)
Alien Registration number (if applicable)
2020 Federal Tax information (including IRS, W-2, IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, foreign tax return, or tax return for any US territories)
Records of untaxed income (including child support, interest income, and veterans’ benefits)
Assets information (bank statements, stocks, bonds, real estate, business and farm investments.)
Website www.fafsa.gov
FSA ID www.fsaid.gov students and parents need an ID to sign the application. (please create an FSAID prior to the workshop)

Did you miss the FAFSA workshop? Click Here for the presentation!

When completing the FAFSA or CADAA, applicants no longer need to estimate income and tax information and will be able to retrieve data using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, beginning the first day the FAFSA or CADAA is available. By submitting the FAFSA or CADAA early students will have information about their Expected Family Contribution (EFC) earlier, helping them as they go through the college application and selection process.

How to Create a FSA-ID

How to Regain Access to YOUR FSA ID

FAFSA ID Process

Enter your login information.
1. Provide your e-mail address, a unique username and password, and verify that you are at least 13 years old.
Enter your personal information.
1. Provide your Social Security number, name, and date of birth.
2. Include your mailing address, telephone number, and language preference.
3. For security purposes, provide answers to five challenge questions.
Submit your FSA ID information.
1. Agree to the terms and conditions.
2. Verify your email address. (This is optional, but helpful.) By verifying your e-mail address, you can use it as your username when logging into certain Federal Student Aid Websites.

NOTE: Remember do not share your FSA ID with anyone. The security of your FSA ID is important because it can be used to electronically sign Federal Student Aid documents, access your personal records, and make binding legal obligations.

Scholarships

It truly does pay to search and apply for scholarships! There are tons of scholarship search sites on the internet. Below are just a few to get you started...Remember, you should never pay to apply for a scholarship!

Fast Web- www.fastweb.com

Going Merry- www.goingmerry.com

Big Future- www.bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/grants-scholarships

CAL Grants

Cal Grant Awards are free money provided by the State of California to help pay for the cost of college. If you have a graduating high school senior, who meets academic, financial and eligibility requirements, your child may qualify to receive a Cal Grant.

Clovis Unified will electronically submit your CAL GRANT GPA verification for every senior in the district to the California Student Aid Commission so they may be considered for a Cal Grant award, but you must submit your own FAFSA.

To learn more, visit the California Student Aid Commission website

Out of State College Financial Tips Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)

Thinking about attending an out of state college but worried about paying non-resident tuition??? It's time you learn about WUE! California residents are eligible for consideration for reduced tuition rate offered at more than 150 participating WUE institutions. To be considered for the WUE rate (150% of resident tuition), apply directly to the WUE institutions of your choice.

Western Undergraduate Exchange

WUE Search

WUE FAQs

Aid

Free Aid:

Grants are awarded based on financial need and do NOT need to be repaid. One of the largest grant programs is the Federal Pell Grant. Federal and state governments, colleges, and individual organizations also award grants.

Scholarships do NOT need to be repaid and are awarded for many reasons - academic, financial need, ethnicity, organizational membership, private organizations, etc.

Work Aid:

Better known as Work-Study programs, provide part-time jobs so students can earn funds to pay for their education. These are offered by federal and state governments as well as individual schools.

Loan Aid: Loans are used to cover a portion of the college expenses and may come from federal and private sources. There are many types of loans; Federal Perkins, Federal Stafford, Subsidized Stafford, Direct Unsubsidized, Direct PLUS Parent Loans and Private Loans. Please be sure you are well-- educated in the types of loans you are considering.

FAFSA: (Federal Application for Federal Student Aid)

FAFSA is a form to be completed annually that determines eligibility for student financial aid. It is a gateway for all types of financial aid programs including most institutional aid, 605 state aid programs, and nine federal financial aid programs.

All students are advised to complete the FAFSA since colleges and universities will NOT award money (including merit-based) unless the form has been completed.

Application period is January 1 - March 1 of the year prior to starting college.

Apply online at: www.fafsa.ed.gov or call 1(800)433-3243.

FAFSA PIN Registration: www.pin.ed.gov

Additional Financial Aid Information

Federal Student Aid for Students visit: www.studentaid.ed.gov

Please have your student stop by the Counseling Center and pick up a current Scholarship Bulletin listing any upcoming scholarship opportunities including a comprehensive list of Scholarship search engines they may utilize to further enhance their financial aid opportunities.