Financial Aid & Scholarships
Financial Aid is meant to support students and their families in paying for college. It is available to most students and comprises 3 different forms: financial aid you don’t repay (grants and scholarships), financial aid you must repay (loans), and financial aid you earn (work study and community or military service). Most students receive a combination of the three forms of financial aid in what is called a financial aid package/award which is put together by each college the student has been accepted to. Check out the MN Office of Higher Education’s financial aid website for more information.
Types of Financial Aid
There are two general categories/types of financial aid: merit-based aid which is money given to a student based on their academic merit (typically GPA and/or test score), and need-based aid which is money given to a student based on the financial need of the student and/or their family.
Cost of Attendance and Net Price
Most students do not pay the cost of attendance (i.e. the “sticker price”) to attend college, but instead pay a net price which takes into account each student’s circumstances as well as the specific college’s financial aid structure. Every college is required to post a Net Price Calculator on their website. This tool can be used by students and families to gauge what they might pay to attend that specific college. Keep in mind, results are only an estimate. Financial aid specifics will be provided after (1) applying to the college, (2) being admitted, (3) submitting the required financial aid application(s), and (4) receiving the official financial aid package/award.”
Scholarships
DeLaSalle Scholarship Search Guide
We’d like to bring your attention to this Scholarship Guide. A few things to note about the Guide:
- It’s sorted by application deadline (not alphabetically), beginning with the first day of the school year. Deadlines indicated in black text have been confirmed for this school year while those in red text have not yet been updated/released. Those will be confirmed by the DeLaSalle college counseling office on an ongoing basis
- It’s not a comprehensive list. For more scholarships, we encourage you to also do your own research. You may refer to the bottom of the Guide for a list of some additional scholarship search resources.
Naviance
Naviance is another scholarship search resource. When logged in to the student or parent Naviance portal, click on the Colleges tab at the top of the screen > look under the Scholarships & Money column for:
- College-Specific Scholarships – list of scholarships offered by specific colleges
- Results show colleges that offer scholarships based on the student’s info in Naviance (GPA and test score, if applicable)
- National Scholarship Search – partnership with Sallie Mae
- Students can edit their profile to find scholarship matches
Keeping Track of it All
And finally, this Scholarship Tracker can be helpful to keep everything organized. Students can save a copy to their Google Drive in order to edit.
Financial Aid Applications
In order to qualify for and receive financial aid, students must apply. Depending on the requirements of each individual college, students will complete and submit one or more of the following financial aid applications:
