Financial aid

There are two basic types of financial aid available to help pay for a college education: gift aid and self-help aid. Gift aid is the best, because it?s money that you don?t have to repay.

Common types of gift aid include grants, which are usually based on a student?s personal financial need, and scholarships, which are primarily awarded based on academic performance.

Fellowships are another form of gift aid, based on an individual?s merit, and are usually reserved for those pursuing a graduate degree. Self-help aid is money that you must earn or repay.

Loans are considered a type of self-help aid, because they must usually be repaid with interest. Government-run work-study programs, which provide a cash stipend in exchange for work at a specified job, are another common form of self-help aid.

For more information on the types of aid available and how to make the most of them, see Master the Financial Aid Process (http://www.kiplinger.com/basics/archives/2003/02/story11.html). Even if you aren't lucky enough to have the entire bill covered from gifted aid, there are plenty of other resources.

Also, check out Janet Bodnar's Money Smart Kids (http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/kids/archive.html) column. She did a 2-part series a couple weeks ago on paying for college that includes some creative strategies for covering expenses or trimming costs (such as attending a 2-year school and transferring, or graduating in three years instead of four). Read Part 1 (http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/drt/archive/2004/dt040304.html) & Part 2 (http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/drt/archive/2004/dt040311.html).

Erin Burt
Associate Editor
Kiplinger.com