FAFSA & Financial Aid

Every college and culinary school has a financial aid office. Talk with the school about what they can do to help you afford a culinary education. The information on this page is about getting financial aid from the federal government.

Federal Student Aid for College or Career School

The U.S. Department of Education provides grants, loans, and work-study programs to students with a proven financial need:

• Grants are a type of financial aid. Grants do not have to be paid back.
• Student loans are a type of financial aid. Loans have to be paid back. Student loans have a low interest rate. You do not start repaying until you leave school.
• Work-study programs are a type of financial aid. You earn money by working at a job assigned to you. It may on the school campus or off campus.

The following are the maximum amounts for federal financial aid per academic year (for 2008-2009) for three popular federal programs:

• Pell Grants: $4,731 (do not have to be repaid)
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants: $4,000 (do not have to be repaid)
• Perkins Loans: $4,000 (must be repaid)

The Department of Education is the source of nearly 70 percent of all student aid in the U.S. each year. The vast majority of federal aid is not based on academic merit – your grades. It has more to do with financial need.

Find Out More

• Online: Visit the U.S. Department of Education online at www.studentaid.ed.gov
• Telephone: Federal Student Aid Information Center: 1-800-4-FED-AID
  (1-800-433-3243) – toll-free call; or 1-319-337-5665 (not toll-free)
• For Hearing Impaired: TTY is 1-800-730-8913

FAFSA
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to get a picture of a family’s financial situation. The FAFSA shows if you are eligible for financial aid. (Almost everyone is!)

FAFSA is used to decide federal aid like Pell Grants and student loans. Most states and colleges also use FAFSA in awarding their financial aid programs. So filling out and submitting a FAFSA is a smart start in planning for culinary school. Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.htm for step-by-step instructions.