Financial Aid
Five
Good Steps to a Financial Aid Process
- Conduct
your own scholarship search. Below are some
of the resources you can check
into for educational funding
opportunities:
- Baker College Website and the
Internet
- Church and/or religious organizations
- High School counselors
- Employer benefits for students
- Library (local, city, and state)
- Veteran’s benefits (refer
to our veteran's link on this website for more information)
- Associations (i.e.…Kiwanis, Rotary, Native
American…)
- Michigan Department for Career Development
(810) 760-2103
- Michigan programs www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid
- Beware of scholarship scams. There are
people and/or organizations who will
approach you to do a scholarship search
for you. They will charge you a fee for
their service. We recommend that if there
is a fee attached to this service that
you avoid them. If you decide to use their
service, insure that you research the organization
(people) completely. You can access this website www.finaid.org/scholarships/scams.phtml to
get information on people/organizations
that have been listed by the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) as scam artists. In most
cases, you can conduct your own scholarship search at
no cost, and get the same results.
- Use the correct form(s). It is extremely important
that you use the correct form(s).
- The Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the
form to use when applying for federal
and most state aid programs. You can
complete a financial aid application
with the paper version of this form,
or the electronic version on the Internet
(www.fafsa.ed.gov).
Remember only one application per student.
- College institutions may require you
to complete their own or other forms. Make
sure you ask the your admissions or financial
aid office on what forms are necessary
to complete the financial aid process at
the college you plan to attend.
- You may also be required to submit other
personal forms or documentation (i.e.
student tax returns, marriage license,
birth certificate…)
- Complete the forms accurately. As you
are going through the financial aid process
there will be forms you have to complete
(as we mentioned in Step 2). If the required
forms are not done correctly, you will
have problems. For example, there are specific
questions on the FASFA, which if left blank
will result in your application being rejected.
We recommend that if you are having problems
with your forms get professional help (i.e. financial aid or admission
offices, federal and state government,
and legitimate professional people).
Making
mistakes on your forms may result in a
loss of money you could have been eligible
for.
- Meet required deadlines. Always consult
your financial aid and/or admission offices
at the college you plan to attend about
these deadlines. Also, when applying for
scholarships, you may have to consult the
college/organization that you are applying
through for this type of information. Your
financial aid and admission offices may
not know about specific deadlines when
applying for money not controlled by the
college.
Missing required deadlines can result
in a loss of money you could have been eligible
for.
- Follow Through. After you have submitted
your financial aid application to the federal
government, you may still need to follow
up on certain requests. The application
sends information to the federal and state
Departments of Education, the college, and in some cases, other
organizations. As a result, these organizations
may request additional information in order
to complete the financial aid process and
determine your eligibility for financial
aid. Insure that you respond to these requests
as soon as possible. If you do not understand the information they
are requesting, seek professional help (i.e. financial or admissions
offices and other knowledgeable professional people.)