大学财务规划 （1. Financial Aid？）

大学学费和住宿费等年年涨，怎么办？
能因为费用问题，不让孩子读书？或者不敢生孩子？

告诉你：
今年，美国教育部预备了$83 billion多的financial aid准备给60%的大学生。

谁能申请到financial aid呢？怎样申请呢？

undergraduate students的financial aid有三种形式： grants, loans, or work-study wages.
Graduate students can receive loans and work-study but not FSA grants. （ federal student aid).

1. Grant (Programs)

Gift aid programs that require neither repayment nor a work obligation from students. FSA grant programs for students include:

• Federal Pell Grant Program： A federal grant program for undergraduate students with financial need.
• Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) Program： .
  

  ACGs are awarded to first-year and second-year full-time students who are receiving Pell grants, are U.S. citizens, and who have completed a rigorous high school program such as an advanced or honors diploma program.

  Beginning in 2009–2010, ACGs will also be available to students who are eligible noncitizens or, on a reduced basis, to those who are enrolled less than full time.
  (是不是还是入公民好？）

• National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant) Program： A Title IV grant program for Pell grant recipients in their 3rd and 4th year of study who have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and who are enrolled in eligible academic majors in math, the natural sciences, engineering, technology, or certain foreign languages.
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program
• Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program (Note: TEACH grants to students who do not fulfill their teaching service obligation convert to Direct Loans.)： Non-need based grants for undergraduates, graduates and professional students who agree to meet the teaching requirement.

2. Loan

介绍两种联邦助学贷款计划：

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program:

• Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan low-interest loans for financially needy undergraduate and graduate students. The U.S. government does not charge interest on the loan while the student is in school.
• Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan low-interest loans for undergraduate and graduate students. Students are responsible for the interest over the life of the loan, including time when they are in school. （not based on need）
• Direct PLUS Loan Direct PLUS loans are for parents to help pay the college expenses of their undergraduate dependent children and for eligible graduate and professional students to pay for their education. （not based on need）

Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program:

• FFEL Subsidized Stafford Loan
• FFEL Unsubsidized Stafford Loan （not based on need）
• FFEL PLUS Loan （not based on need）

The FFEL Program is regulated by the federal government, but the money comes from banks or other private lenders. Notice that the terms and conditions of the FFEL Program are similar to those of the Direct Loan Program.

.还有对某些特定学生的联邦贷款计划：

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Programs
• U.S. Department of Interior Programs
• Educational Assistance for Veterans and their Dependents
• AmeriCorps

3. Work-Study

An employment program that provides paying jobs for students who needs work to earn a portion of their education expenses. The Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program is an example of such a program that is federally funded.

能得到多少和怎样的financial aid, 和学生的 Enrollment Status （full time, three-quarter time, half time, or less-than-half time）息息相关。



而每年教育部给每个教育机构的款项Campus-based funds用于

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program,
Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program,
Federal Perkins Loan Program]

Financial Aid分发的guideline是由国会和教育部定的。但具体给谁，该给多少则完全有学校来定。

This table shows the annual award/loan limits for each program.
Pell Grant	Up to $4,731 for 2008-09
Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)	$750 for the first year and $1,300 for the second year.
National SMART Grant	$4,000 for eligible third- and fourth-year students.
TEACH Grant	Up to $4,000 per year.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant	From $100 to $4,000 a year. (It may be as much as $4,400 for study abroad.)
Federal Work-Study	No annual award limit
Perkins Loan	up to $4,000 a year for undergraduates and $6,000 a year for graduate/professional students
Direct and FFEL Stafford Loan (subsidized and unsubsidized)	Annual award limits for subsidized and unsubsidized loans depend on the students' dependent/independent status, and how many years of study they have completed.
Direct PLUS Loan FFEL PLUS Loan	A parent's PLUS Loan added to the student's other financial aid cannot exceed the student's cost of attendance. Likewise, PLUS loans to graduate/professional students combined with their other aid cannot exceed their COA.

另外还有一些非联邦的助学计划，来自：

• private organizations
• state agencies
• postsecondary institutions