Federal Student Aid (2024)

FAQs

Federal Student Aid? ›

Through Federal Student Aid (a performance-based organization), the U.S. Department of Education awards more than $120 billion a year in grants, work-study funds, and low-interest loans to approximately 13 million students.

Through Federal Student Aid (a performance-based organization), the U.S. Department of Education awards more than $120 billion a year in grants, work-study funds, and low-interest loans to approximately 13 million students.

Apply for federal student aid—grants, work-study, and loans—using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form.

If you don't have an FSA ID and think this is an error, please call Federal Student Aid at 1-800-433-3243 for assistance with your FSA ID. Was this page helpful?

Go to fafsa.gov.

Once you graduate, drop below half-time enrollment, or leave school, your federal student loan goes into repayment. However, if you have a Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, or Federal Family Education Loan, you have a six-month grace period before you are required to start making regular payments.

To receive federal student aid, you'll need to… to obtain a college, career school, or trade school education, either by having a high school diploma or equivalent, by completing a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law, or by meeting the criteria for an ability-to-benefit alternative.

Eligibility for federal student aid is based on financial need and on several other factors such as U.S. citizenship or eligible noncitizenship, enrollment in an eligible program, satisfactory academic progress in college, and more.

It is a transportation expense, after all. Despite that, federal student loans don't allow you to use the funds to buy a car.

They can both be used to help fund education-related expenses. Financial aid doesn't typically need to be repaid. Student loans must be repaid within a given loan term, plus interest. FAFSA® must be filled out for financial aid and federal student loans.

How much is the total federal student aid? ›

How Much Aid Are Students Getting? $240.7 billion: The total amount of aid that undergraduate and graduate students received in 2022-23 from all grants, federal loans, federal education tax benefits, and federal work-study.

Federal student loans are owned by the U.S. Department of Education while private student loans are owned by the financial institution that granted them.

The primary factors that increase your total loan balance are loan interest, recapitalized interest, fees, and variable interest rates.

There is no set income limit for eligibility to qualify for financial aid through. You'll need to fill out the FAFSA every year to see what you qualify for at your college.

After logging in, you'll be given the option to select your applicable role to fill out the FAFSA form: “Student” or “Parent.” You (the student) should select “Student.” If a parent wants to start their dependent child's FAFSA form, they should select the “Parent” option.

You need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form only once per year, but the federal government, your state government, and your school have different dates by which you must do so to be eligible for each of their aid programs.

The FAFSA is an application that the federal government uses to gather the financial information it needs to assess what loans and grants you qualify for. The FAFSA needs to be completed each new aid year to determine eligibility for federal student aid.

A federal student loan is money that you or your parents borrow from the government to pay for your education and repay later with interest. Interest is the cost of borrowing that money, paid in the form of a percentage of your total loan amount. A higher interest rate means you pay more over time.

Financial aid is either money that doesn't need to be paid back, known as gift aid, or earned through a federal work-study program. Student loans must be repaid within a given loan term. Not only are students expected to pay back student loans, but there's typically interest that accrues over the life of the loan.

The maximum amount of money you can get from a Pell Grant is: $7,395 (2023–24). The amount granted depends on your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), cost of attendance, your status as a full-time or part-time student, and your plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.