Scholarships are typically categorized in three ways:

• Merit based Scholarships- these are scholarships that are given primarily based on grades, SAT scores, rank, GPA, special ability, etc.
• Need-based Scholarships- these scholarships consider a family's financial need for money to pay for college.
• Criteria based Scholarships- these are scholarships that are given based on a criteria such as a desire to study Nursing or Accounting. They often have a merit component.

• Grants- these are funds that do not have to be repaid. A familiar example is the Pell Grant, a need based grant given by the Federal Governement based on the FAFSA.
  
• Student Loans- college funding using loans, some are subsidized by the Federal Government (the Government pays the interest while the student is in college), and others are un-subsidized.
• Work Study- these are government funded jobs on college campus. 

PIN   http://www.pin.ed.gov/
This is the PIN, or Personal ID, site for the FAFSA. Use this site to register for
PIN that acts as an electronic signature for the FAFSA. Register before
completing the FAFSA to save time.


Finaid   http://www.finaid.com/
Lots of helpful information on this free site from grants to loans. Calculators availableto help estimate what the student will receive. 


CSS/ Profile   http://profileonline.collegeboard.com/  
The CSS /PROFILE is a  financial aid application service of the College Board. Many colleges, universities, and scholarship programs use the information collected on PROFILE to help award nonfederal student aid funds. Search to see which specific colleges uses the PROFILE.
 

College Foundation of NC   http://www.cfnc.org/  
CFNC has A-Z information on scholarships and financial aid. Look under the green "Paying for College" tab.


Demystifying Financial Aid    Demystifying Financial Aid
For the free booklet, a helpful guide for students, parents and educators.
(This site is run by a lender. Neither Cabarrus County nor Concord High School endorse this lender but provide this link for the valuable information available in it).