Financial Aid     

          The Financial Aid Office at Pennsylvania College of Technology will offer a free session to help prospective students and families complete the FAFSA form.  The session will be held on Tuesday, April 2 from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  Registration is required.  For more information or to register, call 327-4766 or email finaid@pct.edu.

 

          The Educational Opportunity Center, Inc. (351 Tenny Street [Career Link]) in Bloomsburg offers free help to complete the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid.  To schedule an appointment, please call 387-6288, ext. 139 or e-mail elaines@eocinc.org. 

 

          The 2013 Masonic Scholarship Resource Guide is available in the guidance office.  The booklet contains scholarship, grant, and loan opportunities primarily for Masons, their siblings, children, grandchildren and members of the Masonic-related youth groups.  The booklet can also be found online at www.pmyf.org.

 

          The American Legion has valuable information on scholarship and financial aid information.  For more information, visit www.legion.org/needalift.

 

 

Types of Financial Aid

  • Grants – money from state and federal sources which you do not have to repay
  • Loans – money from federal sources and banks which must be repaid
  • Work Study – program within the college that allows the student to work on campus and receive money; NOTE: money is not given up front or taken off of your tuition; the student is paid depending on when and if they work
  • Scholarships – money from private sources and the college itself which you apply for and do not have to be repaid
    • Scholarships may be merit based (grades, clubs, leadership) or need based (financial)
    • The guidance office compiles scholarship lists and can now email you directly when they become available.  Also, check with the college to see what scholarships are available, and your parent’s employers and organizations.  Be sure to check early and often, as scholarship deadlines begin in September, and new scholarships arrive weekly.

          One of the first steps in the financial aid process is to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.  The FAFSA will ask information regarding both the student and the parent’s last year’s taxes.  The FAFSA cannot be filled out before January 1 of the student’s senior year.  While the federal filing date is in May, many colleges and universities require that the FAFSA be filed before May.  Check with each college to find out their deadline.

         

  • Private schools (which have higher tuition costs than public schools) often can offer more in the way of grants and scholarships.  So don't rule out a more costly private school if you are a strong student who might qualify for an academic scholarship.
.
.