Education is an investment in your future. Every year, the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office provides billions of dollars in assistance to millions of students and their families. This aid can be used to pay for tuition and fees and other educational expenses. Financial Aid falls into one of the four types:
| Type of Aid | Source | Basis of Award | Repayment Required | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grants | Federal State | Financial Need | No |
| 2 | Scholarships | State Institutional Private | Financial Need Non-Financial Need Academic Merit | No |
| 3 | Federal Work Study | Federal | Financial Need | No |
| 4 | Loans | Federal State Private | Financial Need Non-Financial Need | Yes |
Additional information about financial aid sources may be found below.
- The U.S. federal government at https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types
- Pennsylvania State Student Assistance at https://www.pheaa.org/
- The Institution (Catalog at https://unitedcareer.edu/consumer-information/ for scholarship listing)
- A nonprofit or private organization at https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types
- Veteran’s Benefits https://www.va.gov/education/
How Financial Aid is Awarded
- Financial Need
- The majority of financial aid is based on demonstrating a financial need through the completion of the FAFSA. Financial need is determined by subtracting the student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the Cost of Attendance (COA).
- Cost of Attendance
- The Cost of Attendance is more than direct costs of tuition, fees. Indirect expenses such as living
expenses, transportation and personal expenditures are considered. - COA-EFC=Financial Need
COA-EFC=Financial Need
- For more information on how financial aid is awarded and calculated, click here:
https://studentaid.gov/complete-aid-process/how-calculated#:~:text=The%20financial%20aid%20staff%20starts,based%20aid%20you%20can%20get.