FAFSA. FSAID. PHEAA. COA. EFC.

Confused? You might be if you’re a high school senior or the parent of a senior planning to attend college next year.

Fortunately, Emmaus High School’s guidance office sponsored a financial aid program Sept. 28 with Kim Adamson, assistant director of financial aid at Cedar Crest College, an expert at answering unending questions from students and parents alike.

The first thing to do, she said, was to fill out, online, the FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This was available Oct. 1 for college entrance in September of 2018. This is a free application and should be submitted through the official site with a suffix of .gov. If a credit card number is requested, do not use the site.

The FAFSA asks for student and parent income and will provide the applicant with an EFC -- the expected family contribution to college costs.

To access the FAFSA, parents and students need a FSAID – Federal Student Aid ID number, according to Adamson.

When the FAFSA information is received by a student’s school of choice, Adamson continued, financial aid specialists at the school will develop a profile of financial need. And that financial need is determined by COA – cost of attendance – less the expected family contribution.

Adamson said financial aid comes in two forms – grants and loans. Grants can be both state or federal. PHEAA, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, awarded grants of up to $4,340 to students enrolled in a Pennsylvania school full time.

Pell Grants are federal grants and do not need to be repaid. PHEAA grants do not need to be repaid.

Scholarships are another form of aid that do not need to be repaid. Adamson said students should search out all types of scholarships. Some employers offer scholarships to children and grandchildren of employees. Local Rotary or Kiwanis clubs often offer scholarships. Small scholarships of $300 or $400 all help toward the total cost of attendance.

Adamson cautioned against applying for any scholarships requiring an application fee.

Work study programs can also help with the cost of attendance. Students can receive a regular paycheck or sometimes receive free credit for a class.

Loans need to be repaid, usually over a 10-year period, but the time frame can be extended. The federal government has a direct student loan program with a fixed interest rate and a flexible payback schedule, Adamson continued.

When determining cost of attendance, be sure you count items like books, spending money and incidental costs, Adamson advised.

Adamson reiterated the need to ask questions and urged students to contact the financial aid office of the school they plan to attend. It’s a complicated process that takes time to work through.