Let’s face it: school is expensive! This is probably something we all already know about. Something not everybody knows about though is what exactly the FAFSA form is. Simply put, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) allows you to receive federal support (grants, work-study access, and loans) that your school (currently MATC) then uses against the cost of your schooling (tuition, books, supplies, etc). Filling out the FAFSA form gives you access to these grants and loans provided by the government to your school.
What’s the difference between grants and loans though? Do I have to get loans in order to go to school? Why do I get disbursements when there are leftover funds?
Ultimately, it is 100% your decision whether or not to accept financial aid. It is absolutely a financial commitment, but as we know: school is NOT cheap! The first step for anyone is to fill out the FAFSA application. It’s best to start early, as the form asks for a lot of random information. The form also starts in the Fall of a year, for example, this FAFSA is for the Fall 2024 - Spring 2025 semester. Grants given to you are awards you do not have to pay back, whereas loans given to you must pay back. There are several different types of loans that the FAFSA form can provide to you.
If you choose to accept a loan, you will be given a loan servicer. Basically, the government will send your loan to a trusted servicer (examples include Nelnet, Aidvantage, ECSI) that you begin payments to once no longer enrolled. It depends on the student, but the amount & start date of payments can be found on your account. These loans are meant for students and are more reasonable than private loans. Again, you do not have to get loans, but schooling costs will be on you.
MATC Self Service
In order to receive these awards (loans or grants) you must go to self service (login found here: https://www.matc.edu/login/index.html) and accept the award letter. These awards are given to you directly and because of this, if the awards given to you are greater than your actual costs, the rest are disbursed to you. This year, they even changed the FAFSA to make it easier for you to get financial aid.
Inspired? Fill out the FAFSA form today! Start now here: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Thanks everybody for reading! Have a lovely and safe weekend.
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