6 Quick Ways to Maximize Financial Aid at Public Colleges

Even though public schools are less expensive than private, students often need financial assistance. Here are six quick tips for maximizing your college aid.

One of the biggest factors for most students in determining where to go to college is the cost of attendance and how much financial aid is offered. If you decide to go to a public university, chances are that you will have access to an institutional scholarship (money that comes from the university you are attending). But how exactly do you get access to all that free money? Below are six steps that will help you to maximize financial aid at public institutions.

1. Apply early

With the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) financial aid is first come, first served. This is true whether you’re going to a public university or not. Additionally, many universities have an early financial aid application deadline, often called a priority deadline, for their institutional scholarships. Finally, when you apply early, you give yourself some slack in case there’s a problem with your application, so you’ll have time to correct it and still make the final deadline.

2. Check and double-check your deadlines

While applying early might be ideal, remember that your college or university will not make an exception for you if you’re late. Make sure you know what your deadlines are and that you are applying by the right ones (i.e., Early Decision versus Early Action versus Regular Decision) to make the most of the financial aid your university has to offer. For example, at UMass Boston, the spring semester priority FAFSA filing deadline for new and transfer students is November 1 of the year before they plan to attend. And if you don’t turn in your application—and all its parts—on time, you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of free money.

Related: All About Institutional Aid and Scholarships

3. Turn in all the necessary paperwork

In high school, you have people constantly reminding you to do things, from parents to teachers to school counselors. This isn’t the case when dealing with college admission and financial aid. At most colleges, the individuals who award financial aid are overseeing many more people than anyone did at your high school. They don’t have time to babysit you through every step of the process, so make sure you are on top of every form that needs submitted. But don’t let that deter you from reaching out. They may be too busy to chase you down, but they’re not too busy to answer questions you may have for them.

4. Get help with your writing

Schools will often require an essay, résumé, and/or other written proof that you’re deserving of the money for which you are applying—not often for loans but almost always for scholarships. Let others (e.g., your English teacher, school counselor, etc.) read your work and offer edits and suggestions. Find someone who knows you well enough to help you put your best foot forward. And don’t assume your scholarship essays can be the same as your admission essay. There are often specific prompts you’ll have to respond to in regard to how your scholarship award will be used if you win.

Related: Top Writing Tips for Every Situation Ever

5. Look for other scholarship opportunities from your school

Many schools offer privately funded scholarships for individuals in certain degree programs. At Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, there are more than 250 privately funded scholarships offered through the University. Search your school’s website, look online, and talk to financial aid and admission counselors (perhaps even faculty in your major) to leave no stone unturned.

6. Look for other financial opportunities from your state

Are there any articulation agreements between your school and state community colleges, where you could earn and transfer cheaper credits? Are there opportunities to attend state schools just over the border that are involved in any sort of reciprocity program? Or are there state-sponsored grants and scholarships you should be applying for? Investigate all these options!

Related: If I Don't Qualify For Merit Aid, Will Other Aid Be Available?

Whether you’re just starting off or you're well into your college search, it's important to consider the cost of attendance and the financial aid available at each institution you research. Hopefully, these six tips can help you make the most of the financial aid your college of choice has to offer.

You know how you can really maximize your ability to pay for college? By applying for scholarships you find on CollegeXpress, of course!

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress
Jasmine

Jasmine

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress helped me find the school I am currently attending by consistently sending me emails of other schools. This allowed me to do research on other schools as well as the one I am in now!

Asia Stockdale

Asia Stockdale

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress helped me overcome a huge hurdle. Because of the small town I live in, I felt like I would never achieve more. I felt like I could never go beyond because of costs. I feared I wouldn’t be able to find scholarships. I had no idea of where to start. With CollegeXpress, I easily found scholarships—they came to me. It was a helper, and I was instantly matched with opportunities to go above and beyond educationally.

Carlie Cadet

Carlie Cadet

High School Class of 2019

CollegeXpress has helped me learn about an abundance of scholarships available to me and my situation. I was able to do research for colleges in my best interest with your website. I've had multiple colleges email me and offer me multiple scholarships and things of that nature because of this website! Thank you so much for uploading scholarships I didn’t even know existed, even if my life took a huge turn and I wasn’t able to go to college straight out of high school. CollegeXpress helped me a lot in high school to be even more motivated to get into my dream college (which I did, by the way). I'm looking forward to using the materials CollegeXpress has kindly provided me for free to look for scholarships to help pay for college.

Abhishek Kumar

Abhishek Kumar

High School Class of 2022

As a high schooler, I know how hard it is to plan for college. You have to consider a lot of factors: SAT/ACT scores, college searches, scholarships, and more. CollegeXpress has been a helpful resource that solves all these problems. One can easily create a free account and search away. They help you search for scholarships and colleges, they have graduate program search, they have lists and rankings, and so much more. CX also has a lot of articles and advice to read—whether it’s financial aid, test prep, campus visits, internships/careers, or anything. Not only that, CX gives out free scholarship money to students who sign up and create a free CX account. I love CX and will continue to use it! Thank you CollegeXpress for making my college journey easier!

Farrah Macci

Farrah Macci

High School Class of 2016

CollegeXpress has helped me in many ways. For one, online searches are more organized and refined by filtering scholarships through by my personal and academic interests. Due to this, it has made searching for colleges and scholarships significantly less stressful. As a student, life can already get stressful pretty quickly. For me, it’s been helpful to utilize CollegeXpress since it keeps all of my searches and likes together, so I don’t have to branch out on multiple websites just to explore scholarship options.

College Matches
X

Colleges You May Be Interested In

Oakland University

Rochester, MI

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA