Paying for College
Not all colleges offer full athletic scholarships. Those students not receiving full scholarships will need to search for additional money to pay for college.
With tuition at colleges across the nation spiraling upward non-stop, students and parents are looking for any way possible to pay for college. It's a long arduous process, but in the long run, the effort you put into finding money for college will pay off.
All colleges offer some type of financial aid. Whether it is based on academics, diversity, financial need or major, you should check with the school either by contacting the financial aid office or their website and see what scholarships you will automatically be considered for or which you may need to apply separately for. Please adhere to deadlines. There are rarely exceptions made for late scholarship applications.
In this section you will find numerous free search engines. You should never have to pay for a scholarship search service. Everything you need can be found right here and through your college counselor.
Beginning January 1 of your senior year, you must apply for the FAFSA (U.S. Department of Education Free Application for Federal Student Aid). All students should apply, whether you feel you will qualify or not. Without the FAFSA, students will not qualify for the federal funds (Pell Grant) or the federal Work Study program, both of which can make a nice dent the tuition you will be paying. Many of our local schools offer workshops on how to complete the FAFSA. Please feel free to call PIAA if you need additional assistance. PIAA recommends you file online so you will know your EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) which is very important to coaches when recruiting.
A group of 28 elite colleges offer the 568 Presidents' Group program. These schools take into consideration the high cost of living in Hawaii when evaluating a student's financial need.
(568 schools: MIT, Duke, Columbia, Amherst, Brown, Rice, Stanford, Boston University, Claremont McKenna, Davidson, Haverford, Macalester, Middlebury, Pomona, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Williams, Chicago, Columbia, Emory, Georgetown, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Wesleyan and Yale)
Remember to apply for the Stafford loan and the Parent PLUS loan, available at your local financial institution. Don't forget to ask the college financial aid officer and the coach about securing work study.
Important Links
Free scholarship search engines and financial aid info.
www.fafsa.ed.gov (required by everyone! Please fill this out January of your senior year)
http://www.schoolgrantsblog.com
Complete Western Undergraduate Exchange Information
Don't know about the WUE? Check out this site for fantastic discounts on your tuition because you are from Hawaii! Your college counselor also has a list and can explain how you can take advantage of the WUE
http://www.wiche.edu/SEP/WUE/index.asp
Scholarships Exclusively for Hawaii Students:
www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org
www.doe.k12.hi.us/college_financialaid.htm
http://www.hawaii.edu/diversity/index.htm
