Applying for financial aid can be an intimidating process, but understanding how it works is the first step. Knowing what you’re eligible for and how much federal financial aid you can get can help make the entire process a bit less overwhelming. Let’s look at what potential students need to know when applying for federal financial aid.
Understanding The FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the main form used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. It takes into account several factors such as income and assets, family size, number of people in college, cost of attendance, and other expenses. You must submit a new FAFSA each year that you plan to attend school in order to have your eligibility re-evaluated. To start your FAFSA visit studentaid.gov.
The Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Your EFC is the amount that your family is expected to contribute toward the cost of college each year. It’s determined by information provided on your FAFSA form and includes both your parents (dependent) and your income, assets, and benefits (such as unemployment or Social Security). Things also taken into consideration are your family size and the number of students attending college during that year. Your EFC may also be affected by certain life changes like marriage or additional children in the household.
How Much Financial Aid Can I Get?
Once your EFC is calculated, it’s then compared to how much money it will cost you to attend college; this amount varies depending on the institution you choose to attend. The difference between these two numbers will determine how much financial aid you are eligible for—the higher this number is, the more money you may receive in federal grants. Keep in mind the number of credits you are enrolled in also plays a role.
Conclusion
Applying for financial aid doesn’t have to be a daunting task if you understand all of your options before diving into filling out forms. Taking a few moments to familiarize yourself with FAFSA and calculating your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) can help immensely in determining how much federal financial aid you qualify for so that you can make informed decisions about which schools would be best suited for meeting your needs – both academically and financially! Understanding these concepts will put you one step ahead when it comes time to apply for financial assistance so that you get the most out of every dollar spent.
And when you get a degree in exercise science from Lionel University, you learn it all. Social media, fitness entrepreneurship, nutrition coaching, and more. You don’t just get a personal trainer certification (although, you get that too!). Instead, you’ll learn all the factors related to health, fitness, and wellness. This includes learning the ins and outs of the fitness business. Built into the education programs are elective fitness specializations which will earn you a master trainer certificate too. This allows you to work as a personal trainer (and a top-paid one) as you finish your degree program. You could almost consider it a well-paid internship. Plus, with all the peer and experienced faculty interaction, it’s like a personal trainer development center. You can’t get that with just an online personal training certification.
If you decide you want something more than just being a great personal trainer, you can! You’ll see the doors to fitness job opportunities are wide open once you have a degree in exercise science. Regardless of whether you’re pursuing an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree, specialists in exercise science are in demand.
With the help of financial aid, earning your exercise science degree is even more of a possibility. All of this means you can be learning from the best right away. And, in as little as six months, you can be a top personal trainer with the information you learn. It’s the best way to kick-start your dream personal training career.
Check out our programs and contact Lionel today!