Financial Aid & Scholarships
父母经常会问他们的家庭是否应该申请经济援助. 加州学生援助委员会, 谁负责管理加州基金项目, 建议每个学生申请经济援助. Applying is also a good safety measure in case the family's financial situation changes.
The term Financial Aid includes need-based grants, scholarships, work study, student loans, and parent loans. All institutions of higher education evaluate requests for any type of financial aid by considering a student's 免费申请联邦学生援助（FAFSA）. 即使一个家庭的收入太高，无法提供基于需求的援助, 这个学生可能有资格获得奖学金, work-study, 或者低息学生贷款.
不要认为你没有资格获得经济援助. The FAFSA formula not only considers income and savings in calculating a family's 预期家庭贡献（EFC） but also other factors such as the age of the parents and the number of children enrolled in college. Families can receive a personalized estimate of the net price (not the sticker price) for the cost of of one year of college by using a Net Price calculator.
为2024-25年度的财政援助奖, FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is making several changes to determine a dependent student’s aid eligibility, 从计算一个家庭支付大学学费的能力开始. The new Student Aid Index (SAI) will replace 预期家庭贡献 (EFC) as the calculated amount a family is able to pay for college for a given year. Colleges will use SAI in place of EFC in the fundamental equation to determine need-based financial aid eligibility. 计算中最重要的变化是：
- 收到的子女抚养费将被视为财产
- 小型企业（或农场）将被视为一项资产
- 在大学的学生人数不再考虑(e.g. siblings, twins)
- 每位贡献者（学生） & parent/guardian) has to provide consent for the IRS retrieval tool to be used to verify income tax data
- 如果父母离婚了, the parent who provided more financial support over the past 12 months reports the income and assets; if both parents provided the same support, the parent with the greater income or assets must report their income and assets
有关FAFSA变化的详细摘要，请参阅 CA学生资助委员会.
学费-学生资助指数-经济需要
你的经济需求和你的经济援助资格是一样的, but rules on federal student aid plus a college’s own institutional need-based financial aid policies determine your financial aid package.
Filing the FAFSA on time is important in case circumstances suddenly change (e.g. a parent loses a job); it is much easier to amend an existing application and ask a college to reconsider the application before their discretionary funds are distributed. Families should NOT wait until the last year's tax return to complete the FAFSA; estimate information based on the previous year, 当你有了最准确的数据后再修改申请. It's important to file the FAFSA on time; check the colleges for specific deadlines.
For help and advice, you can call FAFSA Customer Service at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).