according to the Department of Education’s computers. Usu-
ally financial need is determined by applying a formula to
the financial information that a student provides on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Based on the
formula, needy students can be awarded financial aid in the
form of grants, work-study payments, and loans. All states
provide financial aid to needy students, usually in addition
to the federal aid. And if the financial aid director wants you
to have a larger discount because the college wants/needs you
(in your case, for your athletic ability), in his/her professional
judgment you just might be needier than first evaluated.
It’s important to remember that all federal and state need
based financial aid is based on the formula used in the FAFSA.
Need does not mean poverty status. The best advice for a FAFSA
applicant is to assume nothing. The FAFSA forms are available
after January 1. You can get the form from your high-school
guidance counselor, or you can download a form or complete
the form online at http://www.fafsa.org.
Generally, state and federal funds are awarded to the enroll-
ing student, but paid directly to the college. Some colleges
offer their own grants or awards to students. Institutional
grants are based on a college’s own unique formula, called
institutional methodology, for awarding financial aid. This
money comes directly from the institution’s own financial aid
budget and not from the state or federal government. Accord-
ing to the College Board, $130 billion in financial aid was
available for students in the school year 2007–2008. That’s
a record. New numbers from the Department of Education
project that overall financial aid to students will be more than
$83 billion in 2008. That will equal about 60 percent of all
awarded financial aid. But, the 2008 Annual Report on College
20 The Sports Scholarships Insider’s Guide