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Paying for College

How To Pay For College

Identifying how you will finance your education after high school is one of the most common concerns for students and families. Costs are associated with every type of postsecondary education, whether you are pursuing a technical or trade certificate or a degree. Here is some insight on how you can start planning to fund your future right now!   

Understanding Financial Aid 
Technical schools, trade schools, and colleges all offer financial aid opportunities to help offset the cost of education. Understanding the types of financial aid available is of the utmost importance so that you have the information you need to make the best decision for both you and your family.    

If you're applying to 4-year colleges, you do want to make sure you apply by the financial aid priority deadline to be considered for school-specific financial aid. For many 4-year colleges, this can be as early as November 1st of your senior year. 

A graphic explaining the different types of financial aid, including grants, scholarships, work study, and loans.

Considering a 2- or 4-year college? Here are questions to ask financial aid counselors when you meet with the schools.   

Financial Aid Award Letters

Colleges will send you a financial aid award letter after you've been admitted. This is a letter outlining how much a school will cost and the kind of financial aid package you'll receive for a student's first year. 

All financial aid award letters do not look the same, but they contain the same general information:

  • Grant, Scholarships, Work-study, Federal student loans
  • Cost of attendance (COA) - an estimate of what you can expect to pay for tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and personal expenses for one year
  • Expected Family Contribution (EFC), an index number that colleges use to determine financial aid eligibility
  • The remaining amount, or funding gap, that you’ll have to make up from other sources.

Bring this to your College & Career Counselor to explore what that means for how much you'll be expected to pay for college.   

Creating Your FFAA Account

All seniors, regardless of plan for after high school, should create a Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) account, which is the application for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarships as well as other state-based grants for trade school and college. This cannot be created once a student has graduated from high school. If you do not create this account before graduation, you will not be able to receive any scholarships or grants that come from the FFAA (including Bright Futures), even if you meet the requirements.

  • See your school's College and Career Counselor for help, or view this step-by-step guide to be sure you create your account correctly.    

 

The FAFSA logo, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Traditionally, the FAFSA opens each year on October 1st and tells students and their families how much federal financial aid (grants and loans) a student is eligible for based on family income alone. The FAFSA cannot be completed until October 1st of senior year. It is the one thing in your college-readiness journey that you cannot get an early jump on.  

FAFSA is a multi-step process that involves both the student and a contributor. FAFSA is completed each year a student is enrolled in college. 

Steps include:

  • Contributor AND student each making their own, unique FSA ID 
  • Student completing & submitting student side of the FAFSA
    • Be sure to include every school you are applying to. Schools that do not receive your FAFSA will not be able to give you a financial aid package.
  • Contributor completing & submitting contributor side of the FAFSA 
  • After all parts of FAFSA are submitted, check your email AND your FAFSA.gov account to make sure no other additional paperowork is needed.
    • The FAFSA needs to be marked as PROCESSED in order to be considered complete and for your colleges to receive it 

Most trade schools, technical schools, and colleges will require a FAFSA on file before awarding any additional financial aid, and schools do have financial aid priority deadlines. Because of this, students are strongly encouraged to complete the FAFSA in October of their senior year, even if they are not sure of their postsecondary plans.

Completing FAFSA early (between October and December of senior year) can help increase your chance of receiving financial aid from your future institution. The earlier you complete FAFSA, the more financial aid you may be eligible for. 

There is no penalty for filing the FAFSA and choosing not to pursue secondary education or training. A completed FAFSA can only help. 

Even if you know you are not eligible for federal funding, it is still advantageous to fill out the FAFSA. Schools could decide to offer you more aid if they see you completed FAFSA and were not deemed eligible for any federal need-based aid. 

  • The 2025-2026 FAFSA underwent many changes and is once again delayed in opening. Traditionally, the 2025-2026 FAFSA would have opened on October 1, 2024. Due to these changes, the 2025-2026 FAFSA opened on November 21, 2024.   

    Students and contributors each create a unique FSA ID before the FAFSA can be completed. The FSA ID can take 48-72 hours to process after creation. (Find out who your contributor is using this tool!) Save your FSA IDs, passwords, and other information using this FSA ID worksheet.   

    • Students MUST complete ALL steps of the 2025-2026 FAFSA
    • The 2025-2026 FAFSA must be submitted AND processed to be eligible for financial aid at postsecondary institutions (trade school, 2-year college, 4-year college). 

    Additional verification steps are often needed in between submitting your FAFSA and having your FAFSA processed. You can find more information on this by checking your FAFSA status online. Colleges must be listed on your FAFSA in order for the institution to receive FAFSA information.     

    Seniors enrolling in college/trade school in Summer 2025 need to complete both the 2024-2025 FAFSA and the 2025-2026 FAFSA.

    Seniors enrolling in college/trade school in Fall 2025 need to complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA.

  • If you are having trouble viewing the document, you may download the document.

    Six Things To Do After Filing Your FAFSA - Spanish

  • Seniors and their families can receive free FAFSA support at their high school through the Educational Opportunity Center with Educational Partners, Inc. See your high school's College & Career Counselor to schedule an appointment during the school day. For support after the school year ends or after school hours, please contact the following team members:

    Mrs. Hollye Hendricks & Mr. James Hendricks  

    • Preferred method of contact: Text or email (from a personal email account)
    • Phone Number: 407-931-6187
    • Email: Hollyehendricks.eoc@gmail.com & Jameshendricks03.eoc@gmail.com
    • Serving the following schools: Harmony High School, Neo City Academy, Osceola High School, Professional & Technical High School, St. Cloud High School, Tohopekaliga High School, Zenith Accelerated Academy 

    Dr. Terrace Brown, Mr. Mark Brown, & Mr. Brandon Wilson   

    • Preferred method of contact: Text or call. (If email is preferred, please email from a personal email account.)
    • Phone Number: 321-217-3442 
    • Email: terracebrown@mac.com & terracebrown@me.com
    • Serving the following schools: Celebration High School, Gateway High School, Liberty High School, Osceola County School For The Arts, Osceola Virtual School, Poinciana High School 

FAFSA Resources

Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program

The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program has helped more than 725,000 Florida students attend a postsecondary institution.The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program logo features a stylized sun and the words 'Bright Futures' in green and blue.

Bright Futures awards include:

The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program was created to establish a lottery-funded scholarship program to reward any Florida high school graduate who merits recognition of high academic achievement. The graduate must enroll in a degree program, certificate program or applied technology program at an eligible Florida public or private postsecondary education institution.

Students who complete a standard diploma may be considered for a Bright Futures Scholarship or other grant awarded through the state.

Click the link to explore how to qualify for the Bright Futures Scholarship program and other grants offered through the creation of a Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) account.

Seniors are expected to create this account before graduation. Students will not benefit from scholarships they are eligible for through the FFAA without creating an account before graduation. 

Scholarships

College is expensive, but there is good news – a lot of free money is available! Here you’ll find out how to access scholarships that could help you pay for tuition, books and other education-related expenses. 

You definitely won’t get scholarship money if you don’t try, so you have nothing to lose by applying.

(Seniors - be sure you’ve completed the FAFSA, as many scholarship applications require it and most colleges will not offer financial aid packages without it completed.)

A scholarship application form with a US dollar bill on top.

Additional scholarships & support resources

  • TheDream.US

    Scholarships for highly motivated undocumented students who want nothing more than to get a college education but are unable to afford the cost. They have no access to federal aid, limited access to state aid, and they sometimes face paying out-of-state tuition.

  • QuestBridge

    (For high school juniors and seniors.) If you are a high-achieving, low-income high school student, you are in the right place. We believe that attending a top college can be affordable and we are committed to helping you attain the college education you deserve.

  • Sunrise Scholars

    (For high school juniors.) The Sunrise Scholars Foundation’s mission is to provide free, comprehensive college counseling support to high-achieving underrepresented students in Florida. The goal is to graduate students from “best fit” universities with minimal debt.

Florida Prepaid Open Enrollment

A yellow banner advertises Florida Prepaid college plans, featuring a smiling child and the text 'Risk-free college plans starting at $34/month.'

Click here for more information! 

 

A yellow banner with the text 'Lowest college plan prices in 10 years!' and the Florida Prepaid logo.

Learn more and sign up

As our partner the Florida Prepaid College Plan Board celebrates 35 years of helping Florida families save affordably for college, they have lowered Prepaid Plan monthly prices by up to 25 percent during the Prepaid Plan Open Enrollment period from February 1 - April 30, 2024. 

The reductions will bring Prepaid Plan prices to their lowest level in 10 years, starting at just $34 per month for a 1-Year University Plan for a newborn.  The monthly cost of a four-year university plan for a newborn is down to $134 – that’s a monthly savings of about $50 compared to last year.

Our Prepaid Plans are made to fit growing families:

  • Risk-free: Your investment is protected by the State of Florida.
  • Flexible: Use in-state or out, at public or private colleges and universities, trade, and technical schools.
  • Worry-free: Cancel anytime for a full refund or transfer to another family member.

A yellow and blue advertisement for Florida Prepaid, featuring a young girl smiling and text in Spanish that reads: 'The lowest college plan prices in 10 years! Enrollment ends April 30th. Enroll Now.'

Aprende más y regístrate

Mientras nuestro socio el Consejo del Plan Universitario de Florida Prepaid celebra 35 años de ayudar a las familias de Florida a ahorrar de manera asequible para la universidad, han reducido los precios mensuales del Plan Prepagado hasta en un 25 por ciento durante el período de Inscripción Abierta del Plan Prepagado del 1 de febrero al 30 de abril de 2024.

Las reducciones llevarán los precios del Plan Prepagado a su nivel más bajo en 10 años, comenzando en sólo $34 por mes para un Plan Universitario de 1 Año para un recién nacido.  El costo mensual de un plan universitario de cuatro años para un recién nacido se reduce a $134, lo que supone un ahorro mensual de unos $50 en comparación con el año pasado. 

Nuestros planes prepagados se adaptan a las familias en crecimiento:

  • Libre de riesgos: Su inversión está protegida por el Estado de Florida.
  • Flexibles: Utilícelo dentro o fuera del estado, en universidades públicas o privadas, escuelas técnicas y de oficios.
  • Sin preocupaciones: Cancele en cualquier momento para obtener un reembolso completo o transfiéralo a otro miembro de la familia.