For many students, this is the determining factor as to whether or not they will go to school. There are several options for paying for college or trade school.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

The FAFSA is something that all students need to complete. This application facilitated by the US Department of Education is completed online by a student and one of their parents. It determines a student's financial aid eligibility based on family income. Most schools and scholarship administrators use this to further determine any other financial aid a student may be eligible for. It also allows a student to take public student loans if necessary.

There are some rare exceptions that allow just the student to complete the application without a parent. Some examples include: being in foster care any time after the age of 13, being in a legal guardianship, designated homeless by the school district, having a child of their own, or both parents being deceased. But the student still needs to complete the FAFSA.

Click here for a list of documents that you should have access to prior to completing the FAFSA.

Some parents hesitate to complete the FAFSA because they do not want to share their financial information. To be honest, the Department of Education is the same federal government that houses the IRS, so if you file taxes each year you are not sharing anything with them that they do not already know.

The earlier you file, the more opportunities your student has for financial assistance. Many four-year colleges give additional financial incentives for completing the FAFSA before the priority deadline.

Click here for a link to the FAFSA application.

Military Service

Military service is also an excellent way that many students use to pay for college. There are many options within the military for paying for college - ROTC, Active Duty (full-time service), Reserves (part-time service), and National Guard (part-time service). When enlisted, students will receive tuition assistance. You can locate the list of recruiters by branch by clicking here.

Missouri A+ Scholarship

For students that complete the A+ Scholarship requirements, A+ will pay for the first two years of a degree program at specific, approved institutions. The A+ Scholarship is managed by the A+ Coordinator, NOT the counseling center. You can find A+ coordinator contact information, as well as the A+ handbook, here.

Missouri Scholarship & Loan Foundation Programs - click here

My Missouri "MyMO" Scholarship Promise Program - Students apply during the fall of their freshman year. Applications open October 1. Student must be Pell Eligible. To determine if student is Pell Eligible, student and family must fill out the Federal Student Aid Estimator. You will need information regarding your family’s income and assets to complete the calculator. Depending on your Student Aid Index (SAI), which determines if you are eligible for a Pell Grant, that will determine if you are eligible for the program. This is one of the easiest scholarships to apply for - and it is first come, first served. Please Note: As a 9th grader, you cannot yet complete the actual FAFSA. You must complete the FSA Estimator for the purposes of the MyMO application.

Missouri Scholarship & Loan Foundation's Access EXTRA Scholarship - This is a private scholarship for students eligible for the Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program and who have a 3.50 or higher cumulative high school GPA. Students will be required to complete an online application on My Scholarship Central, including uploading their SAR, high school transcript, and answering a few general questions. Awards will be prioritized by first-come, first-served and we will make awards until the funding is depleted. Applications must be submitted online through the My Scholarship Central application process.

Scholarships & Loans

There are many ways to obtain scholarships. A simple internet search will bring up an uncountable amount of opportunities. Many parents work at a place of employment that also may offer opportunities to children of employees. Grandview School District often has local scholarships offered through various local organizations and businesses beginning in the spring.

In addition, Scholarship databases bring several different scholarship opportunities together in one place. Below is a list of databases that may be helpful to students.

• The counseling center maintains a list of scholarships that are brought to our attention, and uploads them to the Grandview website here.

• My Scholarship Central connects students to financial resources for college. The My Scholarship Central Search Tool helps students in Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, and the Metro East counties of St. Louis in Illinois find the scholarship providers that serve their area. Students can also apply to more than 100 scholarships and interest-free loan programs that collect applications through My Scholarship Central.

• Scholarship Lifecycle Manager is a 'no-frills' database for students. Most of these are for students outside of our geographical region; however, type "graduating high school senior" in the quick search box to filter out most of the scholarships intended for students from specific counties/high schools.

• CareerOneStop is a career exploration website that also has a searchable database.

• ESA Foundation maintains a scholarship database that you can filter by state of residence. The application submission process is done online.

• StudentScholarships.org is another scholarship database, but it does include a lot of ads.

• Horatio Alger Association has a database of scholarships. Criteria include - critical financial need ($55,000 or lower adjusted gross family income); 2.0 GPA.

• Click on the respective links for colleges and universities that give scholarships for Boys State or Girls State attendees.