Financial Aid Overview
Financial Aid and Scholarship Information for Seniors
INTRODUCTION
There are many post-high school educational options that students may choose to pursue after high school, and the process for paying for those options can be complex. This newsletter is designed to offer information and resources to help families of current 12th grade students learn about financial aid for post-high school educational options and to support students pursuing the path that is right for them.
Please note: in this newsletter we will provide links to various web-based resources. We are providing these links for the convenience of families, however Westview High School and the Beaverton School District do not review, screen, or otherwise manage the information on these websites. Families should make their own choice about using the resources provided below.
What is Financial Aid?
“Financial Aid” is the term used to describe money that is awarded to students to help pay for post-high school educational options.
Financial Aid can include “gift aid”, or “self-help aid” and the money can come from various sources, including the Federal or State Government, Colleges, Scholarship Organizations, or in the case of loans, from banks.
Gift Aid
- This is money that does not have to be paid back
- The money for gift aid is usually given to students as scholarships or grants
Self-Help Aid
- This is money that a student needs to earn, or that the student/family will need to pay back later
- The money for self-help aid is usually given to students as loans or work study.
You can use the Net Price Calculator to estimate your true out-of-pocket cost to attend any college
- Get a personalized estimate based on your unique financial situation and college choices. To estimate your net price, the Net Price Calculator looks at the college's cost of attendance, your financial aid eligibility, and recent financial aid awards at the college.
Process for Applying for Financial Aid
The financial aid application process usually begins by completing either the FAFSA or ORSAA form during 12th grade.
FAFSA stands for: Free Application for Federal Student Aid
ORSAA stands for: Oregon Student Aid Application
Students will only need to complete one (1) of these forms, whichever one is right for them, and it is recommended that the form be completed as soon as possible after October 1st in 12th grade.
Both of these forms request information about a family’s financial situation and allow continuing education programs (2-year and 4-year colleges, universities, and career/technical schools) to offer financial aid to students who are applying to their programs.
To learn more about these forms and which one might be right for you, consider visiting the website for Oregon’s Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) linked below.
Click Here for OSAC's Homepage
Click Here for OSAC's FAFSA/ORSAA Information Page
The Federal Government has also created some helpful videos about the FAFSA form and the Federal Financial Aid Process.
Applying for Financial Aid from Colleges
Most students apply for and receive financial aid (including scholarships) from the continuing education program, college, or university to which they apply. We partnered with one of our local college colleagues to help families learn more about how this could work:
Please note: the Oregon Legislature made some changes to the Oregon Promise Grant in March of 2022, (after the video above was made). The required G.P.A. for this grant was reduced from 2.5 to 2.0.
Some colleges also have specific financial aid programs that are designed to support students experiencing significant financial need. These programs may have GPA requirements, and often include both a financial scholarship, as well as academic support and mentoring opportunities.
Colleges will typically provide information about these programs on their Financial Aid or Scholarship webpages. To learn more, consider reviewing information about opportunities at Oregon State University (OSU), Portland State University (PSU) and University of Oregon (UO) which are linked below.
Click Here for OSU's "Bridge to Success" Program
Click Here for PSU's "Four Years Free" Program
Click Here for UO's "Pathway Oregon" Program
Applying for Public Grants
Students may also apply for and receive financial aid in the forms of public grants. There are several grants available in the State of Oregon including the Oregon Promise Grant, Oregon Opportunity Grant, Oregon Tribal Student Grant, and the Chafee Education and Training Grant.
To learn more about these grants and other grants available to students in the State of Oregon, see the videos below and consider visiting the information pages on the website for Oregon’s Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) linked below the videos.
Please note: the Oregon Legislature made some changes to the Oregon Promise Grant in March of 2022, (after the video above was made). The required G.P.A. for this grant was reduced from 2.5 to 2.0.
Click Here for OSAC's Grants Information Webpage
Click Here for Oregon Tribal Student Grant Information
Click Here for Chafee Grant Information
Applying for Scholarships
Applying for scholarships can be one of the most complex parts of Financial Aid. Students are encouraged to pursue as many scholarship opportunities as possible that are available to them at the career/technical program, colleges, or universities to which they are applying. This is often the biggest source of scholarship money available to students.
OSAC also has a scholarship database with over 500 scholarships. Students can apply for up to 40 scholarships with their one application. To learn more about the scholarships available through OSAC, consider visiting the OSAC scholarship website linked below.
Click Here for OSAC's Scholarship Website
There are also many private foundations that individually offer scholarships to students. The qualifications and applications for these scholarships can vary widely.
Students and families are encouraged to carefully research the scholarship opportunities available through foundations and to remember that they should never have to pay to apply to a scholarship.
Oregon’s Gear Up program has collated a list of scholarships through their Oregon Goes to College program. Consider reviewing their website (linked below) to learn more about potential scholarship opportunities.
Click Here for the Oregon Goes To College Webpage
The Western Undergraduate Exchange Scholarship
Another scholarship opportunity that students may want to consider is the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) scholarship. This scholarship is designed to reduce the cost of attending out-of-state colleges and universities.
WUE scholarships are available at over 160 colleges and universities (including some 2-year colleges) in 16 Western States (including Oregon). The eligibility requirements for the WUE scholarship will be different at each college, and often there is a GPA requirement for earning the scholarship. To learn more, consider visiting the WUE webpages linked below.
Click Here for General WUE Information
Click Here for WUE Information for Students
Click Here for a list of Participating WUE Colleges
BSD Senior College Information Week
Thank you for reading our newsletter! If you would like to review additional information about post-high school planning, see below for links to the recordings from the 12th grade virtual College Information Weeks that occurred last fall in October 2021.
Link to Recordings for Senior College Information Week Presented in English
Topics include: Understanding Financial Aid/Scholarships, How to Apply to Art Colleges, 4-Year Public Universities, 4-Year Private Universities, Community College and Oregon Promise, College Essay Writing.
Link to recordings for Semana de Informacion Universitaria (Senior College Information Week Presented in Spanish).
Los videos disponibles en este sitio incluyen información acerca de los temas de Ayudas Financieras y Becas, el programa de Ayuda Financiera que se llama Promesa de Oregon, Universidades Públicas de 4 años, Universidades Privadas de 4 años, Colegio Comunitario, Programas de Carrera.
Tanya Stremme
College and Career Readiness Counselor
Westview High School
