THE AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING PROGRAM (ACT) and the COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP SERVICE (CSS). Most colleges accept the analysis by one of these services. The CSS processes the CSS Profile (formerly known as the Financial Aid Form or FAF), Find the ACT processes the Family Financial Statement (FFS). These forms can be obtained from the colleges where you plan to apply or from your high school guidance office. (Online forms are available at FinAid! http://www.finaid.org.

If you are applying for federal aid, use the free Application for Federal Student Aid (AFSA). Some colleges do not use the FFS or the CSS Profile. They may either use only the federal form (AFSA) or a state application form similar to the CSS Profile or FFS. For example, the PHEAA form used in Pennsylvania or the Student Aid Application for California (SAAC).

Once the completed applications are received, they are processed by the appropriate need analysis service, sent back to the college, and evaluated by the college FINANCIAL AID OFFICER. The financial aid officer determines whether a student is eligible for financial aid by reviewing the need analysis report in depth and from that point builds a FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE for the student.

After deducting the family contribution (an important factor is whether a student is classified as dependent or independent), the financial aid officer awards varying combinations of GRANTS, LOANS, SCHOLARSHIPS, and work/study programs (where the college gives students part-time jobs to help pay the expenses for school). This constitutes the financial aid package, which when added to the FAMILY CONTRIBUTION should cover 100 percent of the costs of attending one year of college.

Students are notified of the results of the financial aid package in the form of an award letter, which includes details of the proposed award. This letter must be carefully examined and responded to in order to safeguard the aid in a student's name. In most cases, grants and scholarships are the best types of financial aid awards, simply because they do not have to be paid back. They are gifts.

If a student or his family finds that it is difficult to meet their assigned contribution, it is often possible to work out a special payment plan through the college or arrange a commercial low-cost loan. The financial aid officer should be able to work with the family negotiating a package that everyone can live with.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Every student should apply for a Pell Grant even if he thinks he will not quality. In order to be considered for other financial aid programs, most schools require that a student apply for the Pell Grant. This can be done by just checking a box in either the FAF or FFS.