FAFSA and Scholarships

 To complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you will need:

• Your Social Security Number
• Your Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
• Your most recent federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned. (Note: You may be able to transfer your federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.)
• Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)
• Records of untaxed income (if applicable)
• An FSA ID to sign electronically.

If you are a dependent student, then you will also need most of the above information for your parent(s).

• https://fafsa.ed.gov/
• https://www.studentscholarships.org
• https://www.obrella.com/resources/insurance-scholarships/
• http://www.sbscholarship.org
• http://www.calsoapsb.org/paying-for-college/scholarships/

There is a wealth of information regarding financial aid programs and scholarships on the internet. Please be aware that you should not have to pay money to apply for a scholarship or the FAFSA. If a site is requesting money, it is a scam!

Financial Aid:

• FAFSA – apply online for federal financial aid. Request a PIN to apply online at www.pin.ed.gov or download a paper FAFSA here.
• Filing the FAFSA: The Edvisors Guide to Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid - Your must-have resource! Download this free guide to help you (1) maximize eligibility for student aid, (2) avoid common errors, and (3) complete the FAFSA quickly, easily and accurately. Available for PC/Mac, smartphones and eReaders.
• Federal Student Aid- an office of the U.S. Department of Education
• California Student Aid Commission - making education beyond high school financially-accessible for all Californians
• College Affordability & Transparency Center - start here to find information about how much it costs students to attend different colleges, how fast those costs are going up, and information related to why costs are going up.
• More Ways to Pay for College Fact Sheet - info from the California Student Aid Commission
• Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) -Students who are residents of WICHE states are eligible to request a reduced tuition rate of 150% of resident tuition at participating two- and four-year college programs outside of their home state.

Scholarships:

• SB UNIFIED SCHOLARSHIP LIST
• Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara – our wonderful local scholarship source

Scholarship Search Sites:

• Fast Web – the largest FREE scholarship database
• Chegg – scholarship matching database
• College Answer - free scholarship information from Sallie Mae
• Scholarships.com – free national scholarship database
• Big Future - find all about how to pay for college with videos, information about scholarships, loans, and tools and calculators to help estimate college costs.
• Cappex.com -With the most comprehensive scholarship database available, students find national and local scholarships that match their qualifications and can sort them by level of effort or competition.

Make sure to check out the Financial Aid & Scholarships section on college websites for specific information related to their campus.